Free Speech in Comedy with Leo Kearse

Professor Len Shackleton (Research and Editorial Fellow, IEA) sits down with comedian Leo Kearse to discuss Leo’s chapter in the IEA’s new book ‘Having Your Say’. Leo’s chapter focuses on free speech in comedy and explores the area of censorship. You can read Having Your Say here – https://iea.org.uk/publications/having-your-say-threats-to-free-speech-in-the-21st-century/ The prevailing mood of political correctness inhibits comedians and makes people ashamed of what they or their parents used to laugh at in the past. While the consensus may be that there have to be some externally imposed limits on comedic speech, we can’t assume that those who police this speech will act reasonably. A healthy society needs to be able to laugh at itself, even if it occasionally hurts.