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Interviews

Book Bans and Free Speech with Suzanne Nossel

Book Bans and Free Speech with Suzanne Nossel

How does American society uphold the First Amendment while restricting books and censoring diverse ideas? Sharon talks with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, about the surge in book bans, now over 4,000 nationwide. Suzanne explains how vague language about “protecting children” is used to remove books that reflect marginalized voices, often labeling them as “indecent” without justification. The result is classic literature and health-related content being removed from the shelves.

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  • Host: Sharon McMahon
  • Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks
  • Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
  • Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Guests

Guests

Guest image for Suzanne Nossel

Suzanne Nossel

Suzanne Nossel currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of PEN America, the leading human rights and free expression organization, and is author of Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All. She also serves on the Meta Oversight Board. Her prior career spanned government service and leadership roles in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. She has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Human Rights Watch and as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. During the first term of the Obama Administration, Nossel served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Nossel coined the term “Smart Power,” which was the title of a 2004 article she published in Foreign Affairs Magazine and later became the theme of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure in office. Nossel is a featured columnist for Foreign Policy magazine and has published op-eds in The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and dozens of other outlets, as well as scholarly articles in Foreign Affairs, Dissent, Democracy, and other journals.