Topics › Politics, History & Society
Best Free speech, censorship & civil liberties videos, as recommended on Hacker News
63 videos about free speech, censorship & civil liberties that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2010 and 2026. Mostly talk, commentary, comedy. Channels that come up most: PowerfulJRE, Talks at Google, TED, Question Copyright. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.
The most recommended is Republic, Lost | Lawrence Lessig | Talks at Google: A perennial HN recommendation whenever lobbying, SOPA, taxes or political corruption come up, with several commenters saying it changed their views.
talkRepublic, Lost | Lawrence Lessig | Talks at GoogleTalks at Google · 10 HN recommenders · 2011–2017
talkChristopher Hitchens - Free Speechhitch archive · 9 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
talkWe the People, and the Republic we must reclaim | Lawrence LessigTED · 8 HN recommenders · 2013–2026
talk28c3: The coming war on general computation28c3 · 6 HN recommenders · 2011–2026
podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1258 - Jack Dorsey, Vijaya Gadde & Tim PoolPowerfulJRE · 6 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
musicCopying Is Not Theft - Official VersionQuestion Copyright · 6 HN recommenders · 2010–2026
talkCivil War General-Purpose Computing | Cory Doctorow | Talks at GoogleTalks at Google · 4 HN recommenders · 2012–2026
lecture"Two incompatible sacred values in American universities" Jon Haidt, Hayek Lecture SeriesDuke University Department of Political Science · 6 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
lectureJames Baldwin Debates William F. Buckley (1965)The Riverbends Channel · 5 HN recommenders · 2016–2024
talkADL's Never Is Now 2019 | ADL International Leadership Award Presented to Sacha Baron CohenAnti-Defamation League · 6 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
commentaryThe Alt-Right Playbook: Control the ConversationInnuendo Studios · 4 HN recommenders · 2017–2025
talk29C3 Panel: Jesselyn Radack, Thomas Drake, William Binney on whistleblowing and surveillancethisdayinwikileaks · 3 HN recommenders · 2013–2017
talkJames Baldwin vs William F Buckley: A legendary debate from 1965Aeon Video · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
interviewSlavoj Žižek + Paul Holdengräber "Surveillance and whistleblowers" - International Authors' StageDet Kgl. Bibliotek · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2016
commentaryStephen Fry on the Joys of Swearinggsmokeyjoe · 5 HN recommenders · 2011–2016
talkAstroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson | TEDxUniversityofNevadaTEDx Talks · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2018
commentaryChina & Uighurs: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
commentaryJ.K. Rowling | ContraPointsContraPoints · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
documentaryThe Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz | full movie (2014)moviemaniacsDE · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2026
interviewAbolish Copyrights and Patents? A Soho Forum DebateReasonTV · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
comedyI made a talking bananaUseless Duck Company · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
comedyyoutube YouTube Stewart Lee 9 Political Correctness 41st Best Stand Up everMrSenseisnotcommon · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2022
comedyRaiden Warned About AI Censorship - MGS2 Codec Call (2023 Version)CYBERGEM · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
talkLaws that choke creativity | Larry LessigTED · 2 HN recommenders · 2011–2012
podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1191 - Peter Boghossian & James LindsayPowerfulJRE · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2019
talkIn full: Rowan Atkinson on free speechDefend Free Speech · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
commentaryShould Knowledge Be Free?Medlife Crisis · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
explainerHow to Fix America's Corrupt Political SystemRepresentUs · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
commentaryBitcoin Is Protecting Human Rights Around the WorldReasonTV · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2021
talkF2C2012: Aaron Swartz keynote - "How we stopped SOPA"F2C2012 · 2 HN recommenders · 2013–2023
commentarySLAPP Suits: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
talkre:publica 2012 - Eben Moglen - Freedom of Thought Requires Free Mediare:publica · 2 HN recommenders · 2012–2022
talkRowan Atkinson on free speechThe Christian Institute · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2026
documentaryBUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police EncountersFlex Your Rights · 2 HN recommenders · 2010–2014
interviewGaiman on Copyright Piracy and the WebOpenRightsGroup · 2 HN recommenders · 2011–2014
explainerWhy Web Filters Don't Work: Penistone and the Scunthorpe ProblemTom Scott · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
documentaryPart One: The Evergreen Equity CouncilMichael Nayna · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
commentaryThe Really Dark Truth About BotsBenn Jordan · 3 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
talkNoam Chomsky: "Free Markets?"Santarchy · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2020
talkCopyright is Brain Damage | Nina Paley | TEDxMaastrichtTEDx Talks · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
commentary"You Couldn't Make Blazing Saddles Today!"Infranaut · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
documentaryJohn Stossel's Illegal EverythingVP attnm · 2 HN recommenders · 2012–2026
comedyGeorge Carlin - Euphemisms & political correctnessaaron pryor · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2022
comedyThe Whitest Kids U' Know - I want to kill the presidentWeidmann · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2023
commentaryNoam Chomsky - Freedom of Speech for Views You Don't LikeChomsky's Philosophy · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2021
podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1006 - Jordan Peterson & Bret WeinsteinPowerfulJRE · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2018
explainerWho is Manipulating Facebook? - Smarter Every Day 215SmarterEveryDay · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2020
newsWatch Cops Seize Combat Vet's Life Savings [RARE FOOTAGE]Institute for Justice · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2022
otherA Man For All Seasons - Giving the Devil the Benefit of LawCrassHeretic · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2024
otherA Man for All Seasons - The Devil Speechdniete97 · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2025
podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1236 - Jack DorseyPowerfulJRE · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2019
comedyComic Database: Steve Hughes... Offended?TheVoxRox · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2019
documentaryThis is Cuba's Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify – all without the internetVox · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2026
talkPdF 2011 | Eben Moglen: The alternate net we need, and how we can build it ourselvesPdF YouTube · 1 HN recommender · 2011–2023
otherAll Creative Work Is DerivativeQuestion Copyright · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2022
interviewWikipedia co-founder: I no longer trust the website I createdUnHerd · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
interviewNoam Chomsky Stumps Andrew MarrUnapproved Narratives · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2022
talkDEFCON 20: Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The National Security Agency and the ConstitutionChristiaan008 · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2019
other4th of July DUI Checkpoint - Drug Dogs, Searched without Consent, while InnocentChris Voluntaryist · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2016
documentarySilence U Part 2: What Has Yale Become? | We the Internet DocumentaryWe the Internet TV · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2019
comedyStewart Lee - Political CorrectnessJimmy Lee · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2025
podcastProf. Timur Kuran on "The Portal", Episode #004: "The Economics of Revolution and Mass Deception."Eric Weinstein · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2025
talkKonstantin Kisin: Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far - 7/8 | Oxford UnionOxfordUnion · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2023