The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan Greg Lukianoff On Free Speech Fights
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Apr 24, 2026 
Greg Lukianoff, lawyer and president of FIRE who writes about free speech and campus culture. He recounts his immigrant family history and multilingual upbringing. Conversations cover First Amendment fights, social media’s role in polarization, protecting kids versus censorship, campus controversies, and the challenges of defending free expression in today’s politics.
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Father's Odyssey From Orphan To Interpreter
- Greg Lukianoff's father survived being an orphan in Yugoslavia and fled Soviet capture after WWII to the American zone.
- He studied in Marburg, got a scholarship to University of Wisconsin, served briefly in the U.S. military, and became a multilingual simultaneous interpreter.
Danbury Roots And Defending Gifted Students
- Greg Lukianoff grew up in Danbury, Connecticut in a mixed immigrant neighborhood and balanced being a football player with nerdy pursuits like the library and literary magazine.
- He later taught gifted kids in DC and lamented the dismantling of gifted-and-talented programs that helped many black and brown students.
Free Speech Rooted In Anti-Totalitarian Instinct
- Lukianoff links his free-speech commitment to family history of fleeing totalitarianism and a personal discomfort with unanimous crowds.
- He sees a deep psychological aversion to enforced consensus as central to defending open expression.
