New Books in History Jacob Mchangama, "Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" (Basic Books, 2022)
Feb 12, 2026
Jacob Mchangama, founder of the Danish think tank Justitia and author on free speech history. He traces free-speech debates from ancient Athens to social media. Topics include medieval Muslim skeptics, universities as early havens of academic freedom, the printing press and Reformation, decentralization fostering dissent, and how repression often backfires.
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Athenian Speech Fueled Civic Accountability
- Ancient Athens combined isegoria (political equality of speech) and parrhesia (uninhibited cultural speech).
- That combination allowed citizens to criticize their own constitution, linking speech to democratic accountability.
Medieval Islamic Skeptics Challenged Orthodoxy
- Jacob describes Ibn al-Rawandi and al-Razi as radical medieval Islamic free thinkers who challenged orthodoxy.
- Their skeptical writings show medieval Islam contained unusually bold dissenters compared with contemporary Christendom.
Universities Sparked Intellectual Curiosity
- Medieval Europe had both inquisitorial repression and burgeoning universities that fostered inquiry.
- Universities created a culture of 'pok[ing] around' that seeded later scientific and philosophical revolutions.
