Table of Contents
So to Speak podcast: Words, violence, and censorship at Williams College

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Williams College Professor of Biology .
Professor Maroja’s experience growing up under a dictatorship in Brazil led her to become an outspoken advocate for free speech at Williams College and a skeptic of the idea that words are violence.
Show notes:
- Podcast transcript
- Relevant writings from Professor Maroja:
- “”
- “”
- “”
- “”
- Student petition in response to faculty Chicago Statement petition
- Chicago Statement: University and faculty body support
- “”
- “”
- So to Speak podcast: “Uncensored” with Zachary Wood
You can subscribe and listen to So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast on , , and , or download episodes directly from .
Stay up to date with So to Speak on the show’s and pages, and subscribe to the show’s newsletter at sotospeakpodcast.com.
Have questions or ideas for future shows? Email us at sotospeak@thefire.org.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Supreme Court case upholding age-verification for online adult content newly references 'partially protected speech,' gives it lesser First Amendment scrutiny
In FSC v. Paxton, the Court lowers First Amendment protections for adult sites, upholding Texas’ age-verification law and coining a new category — “partially protected speech.”

All that glitters is not gold: A brief history of efforts to rebrand social media censorship
Lawmakers are rebranding online speech regulations as child safety or consumer protection, but the First Amendment isn’t fooled. This piece unpacks the censorship hiding behind the spin.

Missouri governor signs legislation securing students’ rights to freely associate on campus
A new law protects campus groups’ freedom to set their own membership rules — affirming students don’t leave the First Amendment at the campus gate.

Purdue fails its own test on institutional neutrality
Purdue claimed neutrality — until a student paper challenged it. But pressuring the paper to change its name is not neutrality. It’s censorship.