Listen free for 30 days
-
Free Speech and Why It Matters
- Why It Matters
- Narrated by: Andrew Doyle
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £19.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The War on the West
- How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The War on the West, international best-selling author Douglas Murray asks: if the history of humankind is a history of slavery, conquest, prejudice, genocide and exploitation, why are only Western nations taking the blame for it? It’s become, he explains, perfectly acceptable to celebrate the contributions of non-Western cultures, but discussing their flaws and crimes is called hate speech. What’s more it has become acceptable to discuss the flaws and crimes of Western culture, but celebrating their contributions is also called hate speech.
-
-
In the land of the blind …
- By theantlion on 01-05-22
-
Cynical Theories
- How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody
- By: Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay
- Narrated by: Helen Pluckrose
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only White people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed to challenge the logic of Western society? In this probing volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields.
-
-
Outstanding scholarship and eloquent arguments
- By Oxfordians on 04-12-20
-
Irreversible Damage
- The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
- By: Abigail Shrier
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenage girls are taking courses of testosterone and disfiguring their bodies. Parents are undermined; experts are over-relied upon; dissenters in science and medicine are intimidated; free speech truckles under renewed attack; socialized medicine bears hidden consequences; and an intersectional era has arisen in which the desire to escape a dominant identity encourages individuals to take cover in victim groups. Every person who has ever had a skeptical thought about the sudden rush toward a non-binary future but been afraid to express it - this book is for you.
-
-
An excellent book
- By Dunfermline woman on 05-07-20
-
The Coddling of the American Mind
- How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
- By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
- Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Coddling of the America Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, read by Jonathan Haidt. What doesn't kill you makes you weaker. Always trust your feelings. Life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. And yet they have become increasingly woven into education, culminating in a stifling culture of 'safetyism' that began on American college campuses.
-
-
An Important book marred by false "balance"
- By SwissTony on 10-02-19
-
Material Girls
- Why Reality Matters for Feminism
- By: Kathleen Stock
- Narrated by: Kathleen Stock
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Material Girls is a timely and trenchant critique of the influential theory that we all have an inner feeling known as a gender identity, and that this feeling is more socially significant than our biological sex. Professor Kathleen Stock surveys the philosophical ideas that led to this point, and closely interrogates each one, from De Beauvoir's statement that, 'One is not born, but rather becomes a woman' (an assertion she contends has been misinterpreted and repurposed), to Judith Butler's claim that language creates biological reality, rather than describing it.
-
-
A really important book for our age
- By SilverSea on 20-09-21
-
Trans
- When Ideology Meets Reality
- By: Helen Joyce
- Narrated by: Helen Joyce
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gender identity ideology is about more than Twitter storms and using the right pronouns. In just 10 years, laws, company policies, school and university curricula, sport, medical protocols, and the media have been reshaped to privilege self-declared gender identity over biological sex. People are being shamed and silenced for attempting to understand the consequences of redefining "man" and "woman". While compassion for transgender lives is well-intentioned, it is stifling much-needed inquiry into the significance of our bodies.
-
-
Bravely highlighting the danger of trans activism
- By Scott on 08-11-21
-
The War on the West
- How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The War on the West, international best-selling author Douglas Murray asks: if the history of humankind is a history of slavery, conquest, prejudice, genocide and exploitation, why are only Western nations taking the blame for it? It’s become, he explains, perfectly acceptable to celebrate the contributions of non-Western cultures, but discussing their flaws and crimes is called hate speech. What’s more it has become acceptable to discuss the flaws and crimes of Western culture, but celebrating their contributions is also called hate speech.
-
-
In the land of the blind …
- By theantlion on 01-05-22
-
Cynical Theories
- How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody
- By: Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay
- Narrated by: Helen Pluckrose
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only White people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed to challenge the logic of Western society? In this probing volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields.
-
-
Outstanding scholarship and eloquent arguments
- By Oxfordians on 04-12-20
-
Irreversible Damage
- The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
- By: Abigail Shrier
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenage girls are taking courses of testosterone and disfiguring their bodies. Parents are undermined; experts are over-relied upon; dissenters in science and medicine are intimidated; free speech truckles under renewed attack; socialized medicine bears hidden consequences; and an intersectional era has arisen in which the desire to escape a dominant identity encourages individuals to take cover in victim groups. Every person who has ever had a skeptical thought about the sudden rush toward a non-binary future but been afraid to express it - this book is for you.
-
-
An excellent book
- By Dunfermline woman on 05-07-20
-
The Coddling of the American Mind
- How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
- By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
- Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Coddling of the America Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, read by Jonathan Haidt. What doesn't kill you makes you weaker. Always trust your feelings. Life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. And yet they have become increasingly woven into education, culminating in a stifling culture of 'safetyism' that began on American college campuses.
-
-
An Important book marred by false "balance"
- By SwissTony on 10-02-19
-
Material Girls
- Why Reality Matters for Feminism
- By: Kathleen Stock
- Narrated by: Kathleen Stock
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Material Girls is a timely and trenchant critique of the influential theory that we all have an inner feeling known as a gender identity, and that this feeling is more socially significant than our biological sex. Professor Kathleen Stock surveys the philosophical ideas that led to this point, and closely interrogates each one, from De Beauvoir's statement that, 'One is not born, but rather becomes a woman' (an assertion she contends has been misinterpreted and repurposed), to Judith Butler's claim that language creates biological reality, rather than describing it.
-
-
A really important book for our age
- By SilverSea on 20-09-21
-
Trans
- When Ideology Meets Reality
- By: Helen Joyce
- Narrated by: Helen Joyce
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gender identity ideology is about more than Twitter storms and using the right pronouns. In just 10 years, laws, company policies, school and university curricula, sport, medical protocols, and the media have been reshaped to privilege self-declared gender identity over biological sex. People are being shamed and silenced for attempting to understand the consequences of redefining "man" and "woman". While compassion for transgender lives is well-intentioned, it is stifling much-needed inquiry into the significance of our bodies.
-
-
Bravely highlighting the danger of trans activism
- By Scott on 08-11-21
-
Unmasked
- Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy
- By: Andy Ngo
- Narrated by: Cecil Harold
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Andy Ngo was attacked in the streets by antifa in the summer of 2019, most people assumed it was an isolated incident. But those who'd been following Ngo's reporting in outlets like the New York Post and Quillette knew that the attack was only the latest in a long line of crimes perpetrated by antifa.
-
-
Left wing terrorists
- By mark cullen on 19-02-21
-
Woke Racism
- How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and acclaimed linguist John McWhorter argues that an illiberal neoracism, disguised as antiracism, is hurting Black communities and weakening the social fabric. In Woke Racism, McWhorter reveals the workings of this new religion, from the original sin of 'white privilege' and the weaponisation of cancel culture to ban heretics, to the evangelical fervour of the 'woke mob'.
-
-
WOW! What an incredibly
- By Michael on 16-02-22
-
Woke
- A Guide to Social Justice
- By: Titania McGrath
- Narrated by: Alice Marshall
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Woke, Titania McGrath demonstrates how everybody can play their part in the pursuit of social justice. As a millennial icon on the forefront of online activism, Titania is uniquely placed to guide her listeners through the often bewildering array of terminology and concepts that constitute 21st-century 'wokeness'. These new ideas often leave the general public bemused, particularly if they don't read the Guardian. Being woke is actually much easier than people think. As Titania demonstrates, anyone can be an activist.
-
-
Both funny and scary
- By Mr on 27-01-20
-
My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism
- By: Titania McGrath
- Narrated by: Alice Marshall
- Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the success of her debut Woke: A Guide to Social Justice, radical slam poet and intersectional feminist Titania McGrath has turned her talents to the realm of children's non-fiction. Aimed at activists from the age of six months to six years, Titania's book will help cultivate a new progressive generation. In a series of groundbreaking and poignant chapters, she will take you on a journey with some of the most inspiring individuals in history, such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Meghan Markle, Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton and Joseph Stalin.
-
-
Not for the woke. At all! You have been warned!
- By Denis Adshead on 15-10-20
-
Where Did I Go Right?
- How the Left Lost Me
- By: Geoff Norcott
- Narrated by: Geoff Norcott
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Comedian Geoff Norcott should have been Labour through and through. He grew up on a council estate, both of his parents were disabled, and his Dad was a Union man. So, how was it that he grew up to vote Tory? In this courageously honest and provocative memoir, Geoff unpicks his working-class upbringing and his political journey from left to right.
-
-
Every Labour MP should read or listen to this book
- By KJ Greenhalgh on 07-06-21
-
The Smallest Minority
- Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics
- By: Kevin D. Williamson
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listener beware: Kevin D. Williamson - the lively, literary firebrand from National Review who was too hot for The Atlantic to handle - comes to bury democracy, not to praise it. With electrifying honesty and spirit, Williamson takes a flamethrower to mob politics, the “beast with many heads” that haunts social media and what currently passes for real life. It’s destroying our capacity for individualism and dragging us down “the Road to Smurfdom, the place where the deracinated demos of the Twitter age finds itself feeling small and blue.”
-
Taboo
- 10 Facts [You Can't Talk About]
- By: Wilfred Reilly
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has become virtually impossible to honestly discuss race, gender, and class issues in mainstream American society because if you dare repeat certain "tabooo truths", you'll be ostracized as a bigot. Professor Wilfred Reilly (author of Hate Crime Hoax and The $50,000,000 Question) fearlessly presents ten of these truths here and investigates why the mainstream is so afraid to acknowledge that they're true.
-
-
The truth, and nothing but the truth.
- By Steven Brown on 24-06-20
-
Dare to Speak
- Defending Free Speech for All
- By: Suzanne Nossel
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dare to Speak, Suzanne Nossel, a leading voice in support of free expression, delivers a vital, necessary guide to maintaining democratic debate that is open, freewheeling but at the same time respectful of the rich diversity of backgrounds and opinions in a changing country. Centered on practical principles, Nossel’s primer equips listeners with the tools needed to speak one’s mind in today’s diverse, digitized, and highly divided society without resorting to curbs on free expression.
-
-
Too technical
- By Paul La Femina on 05-12-21
-
The Parasitic Mind
- How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
- By: Gad Saad
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Serving as a powerful follow-up to Jordan Peterson’s book 12 Rules for Life, Dr. Gad Saad unpacks what is really happening in progressive safe zones, why we need to be paying more attention to these trends, and what we must do to stop the spread of dangerous thinking. A professor at Concordia University who has witnessed this troubling epidemic firsthand, Dr. Saad dissects a multitude of these concerning forces (corrupt thought patterns, belief systems, attitudes, etc.) that have given rise to a stifling political correctness in our society.
-
-
Rubbish
- By D. M. Evans on 04-11-20
-
Don't Burn This Book
- Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason
- By: Dave Rubin
- Narrated by: Dave Rubin
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dave Rubin launched his political talk show The Rubin Report in 2015 as a meeting ground for free thinkers who realize that partisan politics is a dead end. He hosts people he both agrees and disagrees with - including those who have been dismissed, deplatformed, and despised - taking on the most controversial issues of our day. As a result, he's become a voice of reason in a time of madness.
-
-
Good book for burgeoning free thinkers
- By Kevin Ring on 29-04-20
-
Speechless
- Controlling Words, Controlling Minds
- By: Michael Knowles
- Narrated by: Michael Knowles
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Number one nationally best-selling author and political commentator Michael Knowles masterfully traces the history and effects of political correctness from the early 20th century to the present, revealing its insidious roots, exposing the power-hungry language architects behind its ever-growing control, and examining what this concerted manipulation of speech means for the future of American culture, politics, and minds.
-
-
In the culture war language is the greatest weapon
- By David on 22-09-21
-
The End of Gender
- Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society
- By: Debra W. Soh
- Narrated by: Debra Soh
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
International sex researcher, neuroscientist, and columnist Debra Soh debunks popular gender myths in this scientific examination of the many facets of gender identity that “is not only eminently reasonable and beautifully-written, it is brave and vital” (Ben Shapiro, number-one New York Times best-selling author).
-
-
Finally!
- By Laveyheed on 17-09-20
Summary
Free speech is the bedrock of all our liberties, and yet in recent years, it has come to be mistrusted. A new form of social justice activism, which perceives language as potentially violent, has prompted a national debate on where the limitations of acceptable speech should be drawn. Governments throughout Europe have enacted 'hate speech' legislation to curb the dissemination of objectionable ideas, Silicon Valley tech giants are collaborating to ensure that they control the limitations of public discourse, and campaigners in the US are calling for revisions to the First Amendment.
However well-intentioned, these trends represent a threat to the freedoms that our ancestors fought and died to secure. In this incisive and fascinating book, Andrew Doyle addresses head-on the most common concerns of free speech sceptics, and offers a timely and robust defence of this most foundational of principles.
Critic reviews
"A fantastically timely book written by one of the smartest thinkers in Britain." (Piers Morgan)
"Impassioned, scholarly and succinct." (The Times)
More from the same
What listeners say about Free Speech and Why It Matters
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian
- 25-02-21
A voice of reason in troubling times
Doyle succinctly modernises free speech principles for the social media age, which has forgotten them.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Slubberd
- 25-07-21
Wise Words -Take Heed No Matter What Your Politics
It's a very short book for Andrew Doyle dealing with a serious topic - so don't expected his usual jocular delivery.
We seemed to have reached a point where people are deliberately taking what others say in bad faith. This is a mistake. It is necessary for the derangement on the left and the right to fly a truce flag and come into the centre. In order to do that people must be allowed to express themselves freely, talk about their fears - no matter if they are unfounded - without judgement. We may not like everything that is to be heard but we will have a better understanding of another's viewpoint.
I wish folk would take a deep breath and stand back. Politics is as tribal as ever and I fear if the adults don't come into the room shortly we won't be able to go forward.
Some people have different viewpoints to you. Be offended if you want - but you did that to yourself no matter your politics.
Excellent essay by a very smart man. This needed to be written.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Terri Roskruge
- 02-03-21
EVERYONE needs to read this
Everyone needs to read this. Too important not.... from a non university educated individual.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B. Whelan
- 27-02-21
Good but very short
Good book but very short , feels like it could be a chapter in a much wider discussion.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DW
- 19-12-21
Worth a listen
Short but insightful. Some really thought provoking passages. No matter what side of the political spectrum your on, you'll find this eye opening. The auther does a great job.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr. Ronald Wild
- 27-10-21
An Essential Read
This is a short and well put explanation of just how far the West has fallen and what needs to be done to rectify it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T
- 21-10-21
Thoughtful, clear, excellent.
A much needed reminder of why freedom of expression is the foundation of any society that values liberty, democracy and equality, irrespective of its political tilt.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 12-10-21
Succinct argument and playful
Succinct argument for freedom of speech with playful overtones. I will gladly revisit this book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Antony
- 14-07-21
Weak sixth form essay
This is a poor book. No original facts or arguments. Clichés and arguments based on supposed slippery slopes.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HarryR
- 16-06-21
Concise, thoughtful, well articulated.
Gives a good exposition of the value of our freedom to express ourselves. Worrying that the popularity of social censorship is higher than I thought. The best test of our ideas is to listen to opposing views. The best way to know what others are thinking is to hear their ideas and challenge them if they concern us. We do not all think the same about much, if anything. Ideas must be tested. Even good ideas can be improved. Our willingness to freely express ourselves does seem to be wilting as we see others hounded for saying off narrative things.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- The Cimmerian
- 27-07-21
So short, yet so quotable.
I was impressed of how short the book was (for such a subject and all the examples that could have been used), but I found myself thankful for that same reason. The book is very quotable and I could not stop making notes (in the Kindle version); and for such a small book, I was impressed of how many notes the author included (literally half of the book are notes that you can consult). Another great surprise was the Immersion Reading experience (when you have both the audiobook and the e-book). Nearly all the book is identical to the audible one, which I very much appreciate. My only complain is that the book ends somewhat abruptly (honestly, I was expecting the next character) and is on the short side, but this latter "defect" make it enjoyable and easy to consult on a whim.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- C8
- 06-04-22
Least we forget
Andrew Doyle is right on point. The progressives are just as bad as any totalitarian regime. Humanity must stand up for our basic right of free speech least we forget the atrocities of the past if we want to preserve it for today and the future.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 15-02-22
The content is sad but true.
I hope we get truly free speech again some day. We need to end woke censorship.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gavin W. Bates
- 23-12-21
Overall Reasonable Arguments
Not really understanding the simping for J. K. Rowling though. She has one of the loudest platforms and has not been silenced in any way as far as I can tell. Just a misandrist flailing and whining as the snake of progressivism eats itself, leaving her on a lower rung of the progressive stack.
There's an important distinction lacking in the discussion of the inception of gender ideology that is conspicuously missing. But the book is about free speech, so I wouldn't necessarily expect the author to be correct on this issue.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- il914
- 06-06-21
Important perspective our times
Doyle explores the diminishment of the right of free speech in many liberal Western democracies. He approaches the subject both from a historical perspective as well as by examining current events, and makes a strong case for protecting this foundational liberal value.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mike W.
- 05-06-21
must read
perfect.....this book should be mandatory reading in all schools. Thank you for writing it.
Keep up the good fight.
-
Overall
-
Performance

- caverley1zr
- 16-04-21
McGrath is gonna be angry....
I mostly know Doyle from his alter ego, Titiana McGrath. In this book, Doyle shows his philosophical and rhetorical chops to be quite impressive. I'm actually prepared to sit down and listen again soon, although I will say the only sad part is those that should listen/read this book probably will not.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- David A Welsh
- 18-03-21
Fight for Free Speech
This short book will provide you with some good ammunition when faced with the opportunity to defend free speech.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Packbacker
- 01-03-21
There is a war going on for your mind.
This book really paints a fantastic picture of tolerance for the sake of knowledge and understanding.
Without dialog, how will it be possible to share and express information?
How can we understand those who have differing views, if all we do is push them to the side.
How can we make jokes?
Silencing thoughts and beliefs has never worked and we would be wise to stop debating, and start having dialog. We might be surprised of what we can learn.
Make Orwell fiction again!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- mashuki
- 28-02-21
Okay
If you have listened to Doyle on TV and online, then there is nothing new in this book. It is a regurgitation of the usual talking points that have been put forward recently ad nauseum.
If you are new to this topic, then you will love it and it will open your eyes, but there is little new here in this very brief book.