#1732 It's Never Just About the Kids (Online Censorship, Age Verification, and the Project 2025 Agenda)

#1732 It's Never Just About the Kids (Online Censorship, Age Verification, and the Project 2025 Agenda)

Author: Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics August 24, 2025 Duration: 2:53:34

Air Date 8/24/2025

The nature of politics and public policy is that there's always a need to balance opposing interests. Almost nowhere is there a more intractable set of opposing interests than in the attempt to protect children from harmful content on the internet while maintaining free access to adults, particularly because people wildly disagree about what qualifies as harmful and what degree of privacy invasion is an acceptable tradeoff.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Age Verification Will Kill Free Speech Online - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 6-6-25

KP 2: Can the UK Child-proof the Internet? - Front Burner - Air Date 7-31-25

KP 3: Social Media Is Making Us Self-Censor - The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini) - Air Date 8-14-25

KP 4: Republicans Want to Redefine 'Obscenity' - Here's Why That Should TERRIFY You - What A Day - Air Day 5-17-25

KP 5: Meet the Creepy Pro-Trump Billionaire Profiting Off of Internet Censorship - The Humanist Report - Air Date 8-7-25

KP 6: Freedom to Connect: Aaron Swartz (1986-2013) on Victory To Save Open Internet, Fight Online Censors - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-14-13


(00:46:37) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the need to demand serious arguments about serious issues


DEEPER DIVES

(00:52:04) SECTION A: AGE VERIFICATION

(01:19:18) SECTION B: SAVE THE CHILDREN

(01:45:50) SECTION C: CENSORSHIP

(02:20:34) SECTION D: ANTI-PORN AGENDA

 

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Photo of a stack of protest signs that say "Fight for your digital rights!"

Credit: "Netzpolitik Demonstration for press freedom in Berlin" by Sebaso, Wikimedia Commons | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 | Changes: Cropped

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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For over fifteen years, Best of the Left-Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy has served as a vital, human-curated digest of voices from across the progressive spectrum. Instead of presenting a single opinion, each episode is built around a specific theme-from economic inequality to climate policy to cultural shifts-and weaves together insightful commentary from a diverse array of journalists, activists, and thinkers. This approach allows you to efficiently grasp the nuances of complex issues by hearing multiple expert angles in one sitting, all while discovering new commentators and sources you might not have encountered otherwise. The result is a richly layered analysis that algorithms simply cannot replicate, offering depth and context often missing from the daily news cycle. Since 2006, this award-winning podcast has cut through the noise, drawing from hundreds of independent and established sources to provide a coherent, thoughtful examination of the forces shaping our society and governments. Tuning in means joining a long-running conversation dedicated to understanding and advancing democratic principles, social justice, and a more equitable economy, all through the focused lens of leftist thought.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
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