Speech Science

Decades before the impeachment of an American president for a similar offense, Angelo Herndon was charged under Georgia law with "attempting to incite insurrection"—a crime punishable by death. In 1932, the eighteen-year-old Black Communist Party organizer was arrested and had his room illegally searched and his radical literature seized. Charged under an old slave insurrection statute, Herndon was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to eighteen to twenty years on a chain gang.

There's a critical debate taking place over one of our most treasured rights: free speech. We argue about whether it's at risk, whether college students fear it, whether neo-Nazis deserve it, and whether the government is adequately upholding it. But as P. E. Moskowitz provocatively shows in The Case Against Free Speech, the term has been defined and redefined to suit those in power, and in recent years, it has been captured by the Right to push their agenda. What's more, our investment in the First Amendment obscures an uncomfortable truth

Alan Dershowitz has been called "one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America" by Politico and "the nation's most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights" by Newsweek. He is also a fair-minded and even-handed expert on the Constitution and our civil liberties, and in this book offers his knowledge and insight to help listeners understand the war being waged against free speech by the ostensibly well-meaning forces seeking to constrain this basic right.

Bringing together a new introduction by Volodymyr Zelensky with his most powerful war speeches, this book recounts Ukraine’s story through the words of its president. It is the story of a nation valiantly defending itself from Russian aggression. And it is the story of a people leading the world in the struggle for democracy. Above all, it is a battle cry for us all to stand up and fight for liberty. If not now, when?

Lydia Denworth presents insights from studies of everything from at-risk kids in Head Start to noisy cocktail party conversation, from songbirds to signal processing, and from the invention of the telephone to sign language. Weaving together tales from the centuries-long quest to develop the cochlear implant and simultaneous leaps in neuroscientific knowledge against a tumultuous backdrop of identity politics, I Can Hear You Whisper shows how sound sculpts our children’s brains and the life changing consequences of that delicate process.

This collects the Presidential speeches of President Harry S. Truman during his term of office (1945 - 1953). Speeches concerning the end of the Second World War and victory celebrations, The Truman Doctrine, Korea, the veto of Taft-Hartley, addresses to the NAACP and press association, rear platform remarks and his inaugural, and farewell addresses. Truman's term was dominated by foreign policy topics as the Second World War came to a close and the post-war order was being negotiated.

Ask Not is a beautifully detailed account of the week leading up to the inaugural which stands as one of the most moving spectacles in the history of American politics. At the heart of the narrative is Kennedy's quest to create a speech that would distill American dreams and empower a new generation. Clarke's portrait of JFK during what intimates called his happiest days is balanced, revealing the president at his most dazzlingly charismatic (and cunningly pragmatic).

When the Founding Fathers drafted our Constitution, they had no idea there would be a “Big Tech”–nor any concept of the immense power these companies would wield over our people. But the Fathers did provide mechanisms—a system of check and balances—for the people to stop dangerous monopolies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon from suffocating our business and political life. Few know more about these mechanisms than Rep. Ken Buck, who has been a leader in Congress fighting against the unchecked power of Big Tech.

Features Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Fireside Chats that were used to inform and build support for his presidency. From 1933 to 1945, families would gather around their living room radio to listen to the president explain everything from why he was closing banks to declaring war on Japan following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Produced by the Speech Resource Company and fully narrated by Robert Wikstrom.

As a young political geek, Matt Latimer dreamed of one day heading to Washington to work for a conservative president and usher in another Reagan Revolution. With the support of his slightly mortified liberal parents, he tried to do just that - but his youthful exuberance began to cool as he moved up the rungs of power.

HATE dispels misunderstandings plaguing our perennial debates about "hate speech vs. free speech", showing that the First Amendment approach promotes free speech and democracy, equality, and societal harmony. We hear too many incorrect assertions that "hate speech" - which has no generally accepted definition - is either absolutely unprotected or absolutely protected from censorship. Rather, US law allows government to punish hateful or discriminatory speech in specific contexts when it directly causes imminent serious harm.

George H.W. Bush takes a special look back on the momentous global events of 1989-1992 - the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the liberation of Kuwait, to name a few - and reminisces about what it was like to be President through such unprecedented times. Choosing from among the hundreds of speeches he gave while in office, former President Bush selects the speeches that meant the most to him, and introduces each one with candid comments.

College campuses have become flashpoints of the current culture war and, consequently, much ink has been spilled over the relationship between universities and the cultivation or coddling of young American minds. Philosopher Sigal R. Ben-Porath takes head-on arguments that infantilize students who speak out against violent and racist discourse on campus or rehash interpretations of the First Amendment. Ben-Porath sets out to demonstrate the role of the university in American society and, specifically, how it can model free speech in ways that promote democratic ideals.

At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter’s presidency, he gave a speech that should have changed the country. Instead it led to his downfall and ushered in the rise of the conservative movement in America. In What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President? Kevin Mattson gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the weeks leading up to Carter’s "malaise" speech, a period of great upheaval in the United States: the energy crisis had resulted in mile-long gas lines, inciting suburban riots and violence; the country’s morale was low and Carter’s ratings were even lower.

When the United States government passed the Bill of Rights in 1791, its uncompromising protection of speech and of the press were unlike anything the world had ever seen before. But by 1798, the once-dazzling young republic of the United States was on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July, President John Adams and the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime.

From Robert Spencer, the New York Times best-selling author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and The Complete Infidel's Guide to ISIS, comes a bold defense of freedom of speech - the single most valuable freedom humanity has, a freedom now endangered worldwide.

From the time he arrived on the political scene in 1964, throughout his presidency and beyond, Ronald Reagan used his speeches to inspire and reinvigorate America. When he spoke, Reagan said, he was "preaching a sermon". The American people saw his vision of America and his dreams for the future, and they overwhelmingly responded; he was reelected in 1984 by the largest number of electoral votes in the nation's history.

This book provides an engaging, rigorous and thought-provoking exploration of cancel culture. Listeners will leave with a nuanced understanding of its complexities, ethical dimensions, and long-term implications. Cancel culture has emerged as one of the most controversial and complex phenomena in modern society. This course provides a deep dive into its origins, mechanisms, ethical debates, and real-world consequences. We will critically examine the role of social media, corporate responses, public backlash, and the psychological and societal effects of cancellation.

"I have a dream." When those words were spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, the crowd stood, electrified, as Martin Luther King, Jr. brought the plight of African Americans to the public consciousness and firmly established himself as one of the greatest orators of all time. Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nationis a thrilling, behind-the-scenes account of the weeks leading up to the great event, as told by Clarence Jones, co-writer of the speech and close confidant to King.

The most profound and important speeches ever delivered are collected in this anthology, featuring some of the most influential figures in world history. From ancient times to the American Revolution to as recently as this past century, Fort Raphael Publishing has collected seven of the most important and iconic speeches of all time, featuring such disparate historical characters as the prophet Moses, the Greek general Pericles, France's architect of the Reign of Terror Maximilien Robespierre, President Thomas Jefferson...