Jacob Mchangama
@mchangama.bsky.social
Executive Director at @futurefreespeech.org, Research professor Vanderbilt University, Senior Fellow at FIRE, author of "Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media"
We pitched an ambitious project focused on a global effort to revive free expression by sharing three core First Amendment principles with democratic swing states experiencing a deepening free speech recession.
November 13, 2025 at 7:26 PM
We pitched an ambitious project focused on a global effort to revive free expression by sharing three core First Amendment principles with democratic swing states experiencing a deepening free speech recession.
Deeply honored to take part in Atlas Network's Smart Bets Pitch Competition. A huge thank you to the Atlas team for giving us the opportunity to share our project.
November 13, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Deeply honored to take part in Atlas Network's Smart Bets Pitch Competition. A huge thank you to the Atlas team for giving us the opportunity to share our project.
The page proofs for my forthcoming book with @jkosseff.bsky.social have arrived!
Here’s a sneak peek at the contents:
Here’s a sneak peek at the contents:
October 30, 2025 at 9:13 PM
The page proofs for my forthcoming book with @jkosseff.bsky.social have arrived!
Here’s a sneak peek at the contents:
Here’s a sneak peek at the contents:
The efforts to shed light on just how bad things have gotten in Europe are gaining momentum. Another mainstream U.S. news outlet (Fareed Zakaria's GPS at @cnn.com) details the free speech recession we have been warning about for years.
October 27, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The efforts to shed light on just how bad things have gotten in Europe are gaining momentum. Another mainstream U.S. news outlet (Fareed Zakaria's GPS at @cnn.com) details the free speech recession we have been warning about for years.
This is the type of proposal that many people would condemn as "authoritarian" if proposed by Trump, but praise as a "defense of democracy" when proposed by EU member states.
October 23, 2025 at 8:20 PM
This is the type of proposal that many people would condemn as "authoritarian" if proposed by Trump, but praise as a "defense of democracy" when proposed by EU member states.
My review argues that Dabhoiwala ignores how free speech, for all its flaws, has been a genuine engine of emancipation—not a cynical cover for power.
October 21, 2025 at 7:02 PM
My review argues that Dabhoiwala ignores how free speech, for all its flaws, has been a genuine engine of emancipation—not a cynical cover for power.
In @foreignaffairs.com, I review Fara Dabhoiwala’s "What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea"—a book that treats the First Amendment as chiefly benefiting “propertied white men” and Europe's “balanced” approach as virtuous.
October 21, 2025 at 7:02 PM
In @foreignaffairs.com, I review Fara Dabhoiwala’s "What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea"—a book that treats the First Amendment as chiefly benefiting “propertied white men” and Europe's “balanced” approach as virtuous.
I’m not saying that free speech prevailed in this case because I happen to be in the UK this week. But I’m also not NOT saying it.
In all seriousness, this is a very welcome outcome in a country struggling with a declining commitment to free expression.
In all seriousness, this is a very welcome outcome in a country struggling with a declining commitment to free expression.
October 15, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I’m not saying that free speech prevailed in this case because I happen to be in the UK this week. But I’m also not NOT saying it.
In all seriousness, this is a very welcome outcome in a country struggling with a declining commitment to free expression.
In all seriousness, this is a very welcome outcome in a country struggling with a declining commitment to free expression.
At @cnn.com, I shared with @zbyronwolf.bsky.social that, when it comes to American history, free speech and racial equality are friends, not foes.
October 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
At @cnn.com, I shared with @zbyronwolf.bsky.social that, when it comes to American history, free speech and racial equality are friends, not foes.
From abolitionists jailed for spreading “dangerous ideas” to civil rights leaders who made free speech their shield—America’s most profound moral progress has depended on protecting speech we hate.
That’s the lesson we risk forgetting as we approach the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
That’s the lesson we risk forgetting as we approach the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
October 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
From abolitionists jailed for spreading “dangerous ideas” to civil rights leaders who made free speech their shield—America’s most profound moral progress has depended on protecting speech we hate.
That’s the lesson we risk forgetting as we approach the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
That’s the lesson we risk forgetting as we approach the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
From dissidents and journalists to scholars and technologists, the Summit showcased the best of what a free exchange of ideas can achieve.
Grateful to everyone who joined us for an unforgettable weekend of insight and inspiration.
Grateful to everyone who joined us for an unforgettable weekend of insight and inspiration.
October 7, 2025 at 9:57 PM
From dissidents and journalists to scholars and technologists, the Summit showcased the best of what a free exchange of ideas can achieve.
Grateful to everyone who joined us for an unforgettable weekend of insight and inspiration.
Grateful to everyone who joined us for an unforgettable weekend of insight and inspiration.
This weekend in Nashville, voices from every corner of the world came together around a simple truth: Free expression is still the foundation of every free and flourishing society.
#FreeSpeechSummit2025 reminded us what happens when courage meets open dialogue.
#FreeSpeechSummit2025 reminded us what happens when courage meets open dialogue.
October 7, 2025 at 9:57 PM
This weekend in Nashville, voices from every corner of the world came together around a simple truth: Free expression is still the foundation of every free and flourishing society.
#FreeSpeechSummit2025 reminded us what happens when courage meets open dialogue.
#FreeSpeechSummit2025 reminded us what happens when courage meets open dialogue.
Had a fascinating conversation with @noupside.bsky.social, Yascha Mounk, and @jonrauch.bsky.social in a live recording of The Good Fight podcast from Persuasion.
October 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Had a fascinating conversation with @noupside.bsky.social, Yascha Mounk, and @jonrauch.bsky.social in a live recording of The Good Fight podcast from Persuasion.
Kicking off #FreeSpeechSummit2025 by setting the stage and introducing @vanderbilt.edu Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
October 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Kicking off #FreeSpeechSummit2025 by setting the stage and introducing @vanderbilt.edu Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
At @telegraphnews.bsky.social, I show how Britain went from being a beacon of free speech to punishing peaceful protest—while excusing violence committed in the name of offense. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
September 30, 2025 at 6:30 PM
At @telegraphnews.bsky.social, I show how Britain went from being a beacon of free speech to punishing peaceful protest—while excusing violence committed in the name of offense. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
20 years ago, 12 cartoons shook the world.
They sparked riots, terror attacks, and a lasting question: Do democracies still have the courage to defend free speech when it offends?
A short thread on why this moment still matters 🧵
They sparked riots, terror attacks, and a lasting question: Do democracies still have the courage to defend free speech when it offends?
A short thread on why this moment still matters 🧵
September 30, 2025 at 6:30 PM
20 years ago, 12 cartoons shook the world.
They sparked riots, terror attacks, and a lasting question: Do democracies still have the courage to defend free speech when it offends?
A short thread on why this moment still matters 🧵
They sparked riots, terror attacks, and a lasting question: Do democracies still have the courage to defend free speech when it offends?
A short thread on why this moment still matters 🧵
And here’s how they compared to 18-34-year-old U.S. respondents from our global survey. The Vanderbilt students were much more speech protective than average young Americans on almost every issue.
September 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
And here’s how they compared to 18-34-year-old U.S. respondents from our global survey. The Vanderbilt students were much more speech protective than average young Americans on almost every issue.
Here’s how they responded:
September 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Here’s how they responded:
I recently had the opportunity to guest lecture to a class of over 120 students, mostly freshmen and sophomores, where I surveyed them using the same questions as The Future of Free Speech Index 2025, our global survey of 33 countries. futurefreespeech.org/who-supports...
September 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I recently had the opportunity to guest lecture to a class of over 120 students, mostly freshmen and sophomores, where I surveyed them using the same questions as The Future of Free Speech Index 2025, our global survey of 33 countries. futurefreespeech.org/who-supports...
Congrats to Vanderbilt, home of @futurefreespeech.org, for its climb to 7th in @thefireorg.bsky.social College Free Speech Rankings!
September 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Congrats to Vanderbilt, home of @futurefreespeech.org, for its climb to 7th in @thefireorg.bsky.social College Free Speech Rankings!
If free speech only protects the views we like, it isn’t free speech.
In 1649, radicals warned UK Parliament that censorship was “dangerous to the liberties of the people.” Yet in Britain today, people are arrested for tweets, protests, and even satire.
In 1649, radicals warned UK Parliament that censorship was “dangerous to the liberties of the people.” Yet in Britain today, people are arrested for tweets, protests, and even satire.
September 8, 2025 at 7:51 PM
If free speech only protects the views we like, it isn’t free speech.
In 1649, radicals warned UK Parliament that censorship was “dangerous to the liberties of the people.” Yet in Britain today, people are arrested for tweets, protests, and even satire.
In 1649, radicals warned UK Parliament that censorship was “dangerous to the liberties of the people.” Yet in Britain today, people are arrested for tweets, protests, and even satire.
Once governments are empowered to decide which values are “too sacred” to offend, free speech becomes conditional. Just ask John Ruggles, who in 1811 was sentenced to three months in prison for shouting profanities against Christianity in a New York tavern.
August 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Once governments are empowered to decide which values are “too sacred” to offend, free speech becomes conditional. Just ask John Ruggles, who in 1811 was sentenced to three months in prison for shouting profanities against Christianity in a New York tavern.
Is banning flag burning just a secular blasphemy law?
Trump’s EO treats the flag the way old laws treated religion: as a sacred symbol beyond insult. Different symbols, same instinct—punish irreverence to enforce orthodoxy.
Trump’s EO treats the flag the way old laws treated religion: as a sacred symbol beyond insult. Different symbols, same instinct—punish irreverence to enforce orthodoxy.
August 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Is banning flag burning just a secular blasphemy law?
Trump’s EO treats the flag the way old laws treated religion: as a sacred symbol beyond insult. Different symbols, same instinct—punish irreverence to enforce orthodoxy.
Trump’s EO treats the flag the way old laws treated religion: as a sacred symbol beyond insult. Different symbols, same instinct—punish irreverence to enforce orthodoxy.
On one side, you have a J.D. Vance who disagrees with the SCOTUS opinion that flag burning is protected political expression. On the other, you have a Vance who (rightly) scoffs at a Swedish judge who argued there should be limits on free expression when it comes to burning religious texts.
August 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM
On one side, you have a J.D. Vance who disagrees with the SCOTUS opinion that flag burning is protected political expression. On the other, you have a Vance who (rightly) scoffs at a Swedish judge who argued there should be limits on free expression when it comes to burning religious texts.
The First Amendment is what makes America exceptional.
Outlaw burning the symbol of those freedoms, and you burn the ideals it stands for.
Outlaw burning the symbol of those freedoms, and you burn the ideals it stands for.
August 26, 2025 at 11:52 PM
The First Amendment is what makes America exceptional.
Outlaw burning the symbol of those freedoms, and you burn the ideals it stands for.
Outlaw burning the symbol of those freedoms, and you burn the ideals it stands for.