Censorship in America & the Future of Free Speech

Authors Amy Werbel and Fred Lane discuss what the past experience of censorship in America predicts about the future for free speech. Topics will include press and artistic freedom, mechanisms of censorship, social media, and the increasing globalization of speech regulation. 

Producers:  Amy Werbel & Frederick Lane

Amy Werbel's scholarship examines the relationship between censorship and cultural expression, focusing on the United States before World War I, and the lessons this period holds for our current moment. Her most recent book is Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity during the Reign of Anthony Comstock, which was published by Columbia University Press in spring, 2018. She is also the author of Thomas Eakins: Art, Medicine, and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia (Yale University Press, 2007). Werbel currently serves as Associate Professor of the History of Art at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She holds a BA degree from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, and a PhD from Yale University. 

Frederick Lane is an author, attorney, educational consultant, and lecturer based in East Hampton, NY. He is a nationally-recognized expert in the areas of cybersafety, digital misconduct, personal privacy, and other topics at the intersection of law, technology, and society. Lane has appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, the BBC, and MSNBC. He has written nine books, including most recently Cybertraps for Educators ( https://amzn.to/2De83VY ) and Cybertraps for Expecting Moms & Dad ( https://amzn.to/2Q8XEOg ). He is currently working on his newest book, The Rise of the Digital Mob (Beacon Press 2020). All of his books are available on Amazon.com or through his Web site, FrederickLane.com.