Speech Science

Free speech is the bedrock of all our liberties, and yet in recent years, it has come to be mistrusted. A new form of social justice activism, which perceives language as potentially violent, has prompted a national debate on where the limitations of acceptable speech should be drawn. Governments throughout Europe have enacted 'hate speech' legislation to curb the dissemination of objectionable ideas, Silicon Valley tech giants are collaborating to ensure that they control the limitations of public discourse, and campaigners in the US are calling for revisions to the First Amendment.

What makes us human? Why are we the only animals who wear clothes, drive cars, trawl the internet, and fly helicopters on Mars? It’s all because we’ve learnt to talk, yet remarkably, we still don’t know how we did it. Speech! suggests an answer that’s been hiding in plain sight - the simple yet radical shift that turned our analog grunts and shrieks into words. But, its consequences are far from simple: being able to share ideas through language was an evolutionary tipping point - it allowed us to link up our minds.

Speeches of Note is a celebration of oratory old, new and unspoken. It is an obsessively curated, richly illustrated and sumptuously produced collection of speeches from throughout the ages. Some are surprising, inspiring, hilarious; others are moving, comforting, enlightening. Some of these speeches changed the course of history; others are all but unknown, even undelivered to this day, such as the chilling public announcement to be made by President Nixon should Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become stranded on the moon. All are extraordinary.

Hailed as the 'first freedom', free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat. In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political and cultural history of this idea. Through captivating stories of free speech's many defenders, Mchangama demonstrates how the free exchange of ideas underlies all intellectual achievement and has enabled the advancement of both freedom and equality worldwide.

One of the most important and controversial figures in the history of race relations in America and the world at large, Marcus Garvey was the first great black orator of the 20th century. The Jamaican-born African American rights advocated dismayed his enemies as much as he dazzled his admirers. Essential listening for students of African American history, this volume will also serve as a useful reference for anyone interested in the history of the civil rights movement.

Sound Medicine takes listeners on a journey through the structure of the mouth, ears, and brain to understand how sound is translated from acoustic vibrations into meaningful neurological impulses. Renowned neurologist and Ayurvedic expert Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary explains how different types of sound impact the human body and brain uniquely, and explores the physiological effects of sound vibration, from altering mood to healing disease.

Imaginative and insightful, Seeing Voices offers a way into a world that is, for many people, alien and unfamiliar - for to be profoundly deaf is not just to live in a world of silence but also to live in a world where the visual is paramount. In this remarkable book, Oliver Sacks explores the consequences of this, including the different ways in which the deaf and the hearing impaired learn to categorise their respective worlds - and how they convey and communicate those experiences to others.

There's a critical debate taking place over one of our most treasured rights: free speech. We argue about whether it's at risk, whether college students fear it, whether neo-Nazis deserve it, and whether the government is adequately upholding it. But as P. E. Moskowitz provocatively shows in The Case Against Free Speech, the term has been defined and redefined to suit those in power, and in recent years, it has been captured by the Right to push their agenda. What's more, our investment in the First Amendment obscures an uncomfortable truth

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) was a British statesman, soldier and writer who served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. An economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the US. These recordings capture 51 of Churchill’s speeches over 1934-45.

Spanning four decades, these essays, speeches and meditations interrogate the world around us. They are concerned with race, gender and globalisation. The sweep of American history and the current state of politics. The duty of the press and the role of the artist. Throughout A Mouth Full of Blood our search for truth, moral integrity and expertise is met by Toni Morrison with controlled anger, elegance and literary excellence.

In this blistering polemic, veteran journalist Mick Hume presents an uncompromising defence of freedom of expression, which he argues is threatened in the West not by jackbooted censorship but by a creeping culture of conformism and you-can't-say-that. The cold-blooded murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in January 2015 brought a deadly focus to the issue of free speech. Leaders of the free-thinking world united in condemning the killings, proclaiming ‘Je suis Charlie'.

At what point do you stand up to power? Age 14, Joshua Wong made history. While the adults stayed silent, Joshua staged the first ever student protest in Hong Kong to oppose National Education - and won. Since then Joshua founded Demosisto, led the Umbrella Revolution and spearheaded the Extradition Bill protests, which have seen an estimated 2 million people - more than a quarter of the population - take to Hong Kong’s streets. His actions have sparked worldwide attention, a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and over 100 days in jail.

We are in a unique moment as it is becoming clear that the old frames of reference are not working, that the narratives used for decades to stave off progressive causes are in danger of being exposed as falsehoods, that the myths, be it of sexual liberation or of white non-identity, are at odds with the lived experience and in urgent need of revision. Nesrine Malik applies her uniquely sharp intellect to a range of stories used to maintain the status quo.

Wondering when to expect baby's first word? Want to get your toddler talking? Worried your child is not speaking as clearly as his peers? When it comes to language acquisition, all parents have questions, and Time to Talk has the answers.

Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. The Kingdom of Speech is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech - not evolution - is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements.

Lying has been with us from time immemorial. Yet today is different - and in many respects worse. All over the world, people are circulating damaging lies, and these falsehoods are amplified as never before through powerful social media platforms that reach billions. Liars are saying that COVID-19 is a hoax. They are claiming that vaccines cause autism. In the face of those problems, the renowned legal scholar Cass Sunstein probes the fundamental question of how we can deter lies while also protecting freedom of speech.

This definitive box set includes all the landmark speeches of the great orator and American leader Martin Luther King, Jr., from his inspirational "I Have a Dream" to his firey "Give Us the Ballot." Comprised of recordings previously included in A Call to Conscience and A Knock at Midnight, The Essential Box Set is a must-have for any home, library, or school collection.

In his work as a speechwriter to senior politicians and business leaders around the world, Philip Collins has become well versed in understanding what it is that makes a speech great. When They Go Low, We Go High explores the ways in which the most notable speeches in history have worked, analysing the rhetorical tricks to uncover how the right speech at the right time can profoundly shape the world.

A prose polemic delivered to Parliament in 1644, "Areopagitica" stands as one of the most impassioned defenses of the freedom of expression in Western history.

You have the right to to remain silent.... Terrifying violence on college campuses across America. Students lashing out at any speaker brave enough to say something they disagree with. Precious snowflakes demanding "Safe Spaces" to protect them from any idea they haven't heard from their liberal professors. In this book and the accompanying movie, Dennis Prager, Mark Joseph, and Adam Carolla expose the attack on free speech and free thought. It began in the universities, but - fair warning - it's coming to your neighborhood and your workplace.