Best Index On Censorship Podcasts (2025)

1
“People were disappeared, just like the smoke.” Omar Gómez Trejo on seeking truth and justice in the 2014 Ayotzinapa case in Iguala, Mexico 27:30

1M ago27:30

27:30

Free to Think speaks with Omar Gómez Trejo, a lawyer and human rights advocate from Mexico. Omar gained prominence as the special prosecutor leading the investigation into the disappearance of 43 student teachers from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in the city of Iguala, Mexico. From 2019-2022, Omar’s team secured indictments for over 100 f…

1
Seeds From The Rubble — with Reem Assil 38:45

2M ago38:45

38:45

Join host Zahyr Lauren – aka The Artist L. Haz – as they talk with Palestinian-Syrian culinary phenom and social justice warrior REEM ASSIL about harnessing community power for protection, standing firm in the stories of her people, and food as a force for liberation. Based in Oakland, California, Reem is the founder of nationally-acclaimed Reem’s …

1
"Before being a scientist, I'm a human being:" Dr. Encieh Erfani on exile and solidarity among Iranian academics abroad 33:15

2M ago33:15

33:15

As the first in her family to attend university, Dr. Encieh Erfani was drawn to the stars. Her interest led her to physics and cosmology, examining the origin of the universe – a rare subject in Iran at the time. Dr. Erfani was traveling outside of Iran in September 2022 when the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement began, sparked by the death in custod…

1
“It never crossed my mind to stop…” Omar Mohammed on using scholarship for the public good 39:41

3M ago39:41

39:41

Omar Mohammed first gained international prominence in 2014 as the anonymous blogger “Mosul Eye”, risking his life to document daily existence in the occupied city of Mosul, Iraq. His blog was considered one of the few reliable, real-time sources of information on life under the Islamic State (aka ISIS or Daesh in Arabic), and proved to be a critic…

1
Finding solidarity “beyond the border” in Southeast Asia – Khoo Ying Hooi on how building regional coalitions can help protect scholars & academic freedom 30:48

4M ago30:48

30:48

Free to Think speaks with Dr. Khoo Ying Hooi, an Associate Professor at the University of Malaya and 2022-23 Mellon/SAR Academic Freedom Fellow, on academic freedom and coalition building in Southeast Asia. Ying Hooi discusses her research and shares how building an academic freedom coalition across Southeast Asia – a region that spans 11 countries…

1
LANDBACK For The People — with NDN Collective and The Red Nation 51:56

6M ago51:56

51:56

For this episode we're doing something new… We're calling it The Surge Series: a podcast-to-podcast act of solidarity. The definition of surge is "a sudden, powerful forward or upward movement, especially by a crowd or by a natural force such as the waves or tide." And that is what we're trying to create here, by lifting up other radical podcasts w…

1
The Risk Is My Soul — with Chani Nicholas 47:52

7M ago47:52

47:52

Join host Zahyr Lauren – aka The Artist L. Haz – in conversation with activist and astrologer Chani Nicholas about her journey as a Jewish person in solidarity with Palestinian liberation, and the ways astrology can be a tool for contextualizing both the struggle and beauty of our human experience. Visit our website for full show notes. ___________…

1
We Will Carry On Forever — with Tania Aparicio, Zahyr Lauren and Thania Petersen 33:24

8M ago33:24

33:24

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 OF THE SOLIDARITY INDEX! Join host Zahyr Lauren – aka The Artist L. Haz – in a cross-continental conversation with South African artist, activist and cultural worker Thania Petersen and Brooklyn-based cultural sociologist, professor, arts administrator and advocate Tania Aparicio. They talk Cape Town organizing for Palestine, ar…

1
‘Refusing to accept the status quo’ — Students speak up for at-risk scholars through SAR seminars & legal clinics 34:47

11M ago34:47

34:47

Free to Think speaks with three university students who express the profound impact of joining the SAR student advocacy community. “Being involved in the amplification of the voice of somebody who's marginalized doesn't just affect the person who's marginalized,” says Samkele Shange, a SAR Student Advocacy Seminar participant at the University of S…

1
Navigating the ‘mental prison’ – Mubashar Hasan on higher education in Bangladesh 32:48

1y ago32:48

32:48

Free to Think speaks with academic, policy analyst and human rights activist Mubashar Hasan. He describes how in Bangladesh certain research topics are off-limits, particularly those that threaten the power of the ruling class, and speaks from first-hand experience — Hasan survived 44 days of “enforced disappearance” in Bangladesh in 2017. Now base…

1
Solidarity Voices — Season 1 Highlights with Christian Allaire, Korina Emmerich, Doreen St Félix, Morgan Bassichis, Alsarah, Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L.Haz, Arooj Aftab, Samir Eskanda and Huda Asfour ... 20:56

1y ago20:56

20:56

“We are a mass movement of people who are interconnected not only in our struggle against injustice, but in celebration of our collective power to demand and create change.” — Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L.Haz Join us as we look back at The Solidarity Index podcast’s first season, where we spoke with renowned musicians, designers, and writers whose…

1
Gaining or losing academic freedom? Decoding the Academic Freedom Index with Katrin Kinzelbach and Lars Lott 33:13

1y ago33:13

33:13

Free to Think speaks with Katrin Kinzelbach and Lars Lott, researchers behind the Academic Freedom Index (AFI) which assesses levels of academic freedom in 179 countries and territories from 1900 to the present. Recent headlines suggest academic freedom is in retreat everywhere, but is it true? Katrin Kinzelbach and Lars Lott discuss the latest dat…

1
“Undoing the censorship that was stuck in me” – A conversation with Achiro Olwoch, writer, playwright, filmmaker from Northern Uganda 27:03

1y ago27:03

27:03

Free to Think speaks with Achiro P. Olwoch, an award-winning writer, playwright, and filmmaker from Northern Uganda, and current scholar-at-risk and Weiss International Fellow at Barnard College in New York City. Achiro describes her recent play ‘The Survival,’ the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Uganda, and how living in New York has made her a “bol…

1
“We have no definition” — MSCA4Ukraine fellow Artem Nazarko on prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine 31:27

1y ago31:27

31:27

In February 2022, Artem Nazarko was in Odesa, Ukraine with his family, coming to terms with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It was huge traffic jams everywhere, empty shops, panic and confusion” he says. “No food, no petrol. It was tough times, and dark days.” Two years later, Artem is a PhD candidate and MSCA4Ukraine fellow at the University of …

1
Special Edition - Artists for a Just Peace 36:40

1+ y ago36:40

36:40

Artists For A Just Peace – with Doreen St. Félix, Samir Eskanda, and Morgan Bassichis Join us for an urgent conversation on solidarity, accountability, and cultural power, with artists and organizers united by the call for ceasefire. Presented with Jewish Voice for Peace and Adalah Justice Project Hosted by Judson Memorial Church, NYC [December 202…

1
The Heart is an Instrument – with Huda Asfour 44:32

1+ y ago44:32

44:32

"I am fascinated by the interconnections… how certain frequencies can alter your reality really, can put you in another state, can actually allow you to breathe." Welcome to Episode 6 of The Solidarity Index – with our final guest of the season! Join host Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L.Haz as they talk with musician, educator, and engineer Huda Asfo…

1
The Most Beautiful Thing — with Christian Allaire 46:29

2y ago46:29

46:29

"The hope was to inspire kids to be proud of where they're from and to rock it with their style." Welcome to Episode 5 of The Solidarity Index! Join host Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L. Haz as they talk with Christian Allaire about crossing borders, rejecting boxes, rocking culture wear, and making it a mission to redistribute the spotlight. Christi…

1
We Are That Wave - with Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L.Haz 37:35

2y ago37:35

37:35

“What I'm trying to do with my life … is to continually think about the ways I can be an asset to humans in general, but Black people in specific. And wanting to share … and use my art to benefit all the people who are doing the same.” – The Artist L.Haz Welcome to Episode 4 of THE SOLIDARITY INDEX! Join producer Stina Hamlin as she flips the scrip…

1
“Our voices really do matter from an early age” – Student advocates at UC Santa Barbara highlight wrongful charges against Egyptian scholar Patrick Zaki 29:14

2y ago29:14

29:14

Emma Hartley and Jonathan Gelfond, undergraduates at UC Santa Barbara in California, weren’t sure if elected officials in Washington DC would agree to speak with them. They were advocating on behalf of Patrick Zaki – a University of Bologna graduate student formerly detained for two years, in apparent retaliation for his human rights research in Eg…

1
Going Up Together — with Arooj Aftab 41:03

2y ago41:03

41:03

“It is literally a choice… to not hide… to choose the more difficult route and challenge the norm.” – Arooj Aftab Welcome to Episode 3 of The Solidarity Index! Join host Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L. Haz as they reunite with longtime friend Arooj Aftab to talk creative kinship, pursuing dreams, art as self healing, and limitless fashion. Lauded by…

1
“‘Jane from California' might be an Afghan woman…” University of the People's Shai Reshef on education in Afghanistan under the Taliban 24:01

2y ago24:01

24:01

Free to Think speaks with Shai Reshef, President of the University of the People, the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, online university whose mission is to help students worldwide overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal obstacles to higher education. Since August 2021, University of the People has received incr…

1
“Raising the cost of repression” — Sol Iglesias on political violence, red tagging, and threats to academic freedom in the Philippines 33:31

2y ago33:31

33:31

Free to Think speaks with political scientist Sol Iglesias about "violence for social control" and threats to scholars in the Philippines, including online trolling, "red-tagging," threats, and violent attacks. Iglesias, who is a professor at the University of the Philippines and contributes to SAR’s monitoring of attacks on higher education in the…

1
Colors Our Ancestors Can See — with Korina Emmerich 34:05

2y ago34:05

34:05

“We are all related. We need to take care of each other like a family.” – Korina Emmerich – Welcome to Episode 2 of The Solidarity Index! Join host Zahyr Lauren|The Artist L. Haz as they dive into designer Korina Emmerich’s colorful work – exploring heritage, sustainability, storytelling, and inspiration. Korina’s work has been featured at The Met,…

1
“Every day my children can go to school, I laugh, because my heart is full of joy,” with SAR scholar Zahra Hakimi 36:20

2y ago36:20

36:20

In Herat, Afghanistan, Zahra Hakimi was a faculty member, midwife, family planning trainer, and women’s reproductive healthcare provider. She often worked in secret and at personal risk to provide treatment to survivors of sexual assault. Within a week of taking control of her city, the Taliban raided Hakimi’s home. They condemned her work as “anti…

1
The "forgotten crisis" of attacks on higher education in Venezuela 31:40

2y ago31:40

31:40

Venezuelan higher education is in crisis. After decades of political attacks on universities, many professors struggle to survive a national economic collapse that threatens the whole society with runaway inflation, skyrocketing poverty, and mass outward migration of millions. Professors rely on multiple side jobs and foreign remittances but still …

1
“There Were No Fatalities. . . [But] If This Happens Again, I Am Not So Sure.” Discussing The Forcible Violation Of The Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, Lima, Peru, With Salvador Herencia-Carrasco 28:23

2+ y ago28:23

28:23

On January 21st, police forcibly entered the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru, arresting over 200 people including students pulled from their dormitories. Free to Think speaks with Salvador Herencia-Carrasco about his work with colleagues inside and outside Peru to free students from unlawful detention and to defend academic f…

1
My Love Language is Action – with Alsarah 34:24

2+ y ago34:24

34:24

“My commitment to your freedom is real, whether you're around or not.” –Alsarah– Welcome to the first episode of The Solidarity Index! Join host Zahyr Lauren aka The Artist L. Haz as they talk with Alsarah about taking freedom as a lover, finding reflection as a displaced people, and choosing to do the unsafest thing that makes your heart sing. Als…

1
Season 1 Trailer 1:39

2+ y ago1:39

1:39

Decolonize. Solidarity. Liberation. Love. What do they sound, look, feel like in action? Join host Zahyr Lauren – aka The Artist L. Haz – to explore these questions with trailblazing artists who are using cultural power to confront erasure and censorship with creativity and connection. EPISODE 1 OUT JANUARY 16TH – with special guest Alsarah _______…

1
“Academic Activism” In Southeast Asia, With SHAPE-SEA’s Joel Mark Barredo 24:51

2+ y ago24:51

24:51

What is ‘academic activism?’ What responsibility, if any, do scholars have for engaging outside of academia, with the public and with marginalized communities in particular? Free to Think speaks with Joel Mark Barredo, the Executive Director of SHAPE-SEA, the “Strengthening Human rights and Peace Research and Education in ASEAN/Southeast Asia” prog…

1
“Empathy is Active.” Henry Reese, on Salman Rushdie, City of Asylum, and the “Reader Effect.” 31:17

2+ y ago31:17

31:17

In 1997, Henry Reese and his wife, Diane Samuels, were at a public talk by writer Salman Rushdie, and inspired by his call for communities around the world to offer sanctuary to exiled writers. They "kicked each other under the chair" and thought, why not? Six years later, they founded the City of Asylum, Pittsburgh, a multi-unit residency program …

1
“The Fear has Fallen away…” Roya Hakakian and Sasha Gladkikh on the Death of Mahsa Amini and the Protests in Iran 23:58

2+ y ago23:58

23:58

Free to Think talks with Roya Hakakian, a writer and founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and Sasha Gladkikh, a student activist and director of philanthropy at the Iranian Student Group at UCLA about the recent protests in Iran. On September 16th, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman died in the custody …

1
Hong Kong goes back 1:27:29

3y ago1:27:29

1:27:29

Six months after the handover of Hong Kong from British rule, Index on Censorship published a special edition: Hong Kong Goes Back. In it various people predicted what the future might hold. Jonathan Mirsky, then East Asia editor of The Times, wrote on how freedom of expression began to crumble in Hong Kong in anticipation of the handover. He descr…

1
“They Were Trying to Keep Education Going.” Ukrainian Higher Education Endures the Conflict 31:23

3y ago31:23

31:23

Free to Think talks with Yulia Bezvershenko, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and Liz Shchepetylnykova, a civil society activist, on the state of higher education in Ukraine after four months of war. As Russia invaded Ukraine, and war broke out across the country, professors and students in Ukraine fought to keep education going. Even fro…

1
"The Life of Dr. Djalali is Paramount." 25:21

3y ago25:21

25:21

Free to Think talks with Hadi Ghaemi, founding Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Why is Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian scholar and 2021 SAR Courage to Think Award winner, at risk of imminent execution in Iran? And what can advocates worldwide do to help? Ghaemi describes Dr. Djalali’s imprisonment since 201…

1
“There’s No Way You Did That!” 21:48

3y ago21:48

21:48

Free to Think talks with Brian Mello, a professor of political science at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, where he leads a Scholars at Risk Student Advocacy Seminar. He’s joined by his student, Bhavna Prakash, a biology major and political science minor at the university. “You’re 19,” said Prakash’s friend. “There's no way you got a meeting at…

1
“A Virtual Target Painted on my Back…” 34:38

3y ago34:38

34:38

Free to Think talks with Colin Harvey, a Professor of Human Rights Law and former Head of the School of Law, Queen’s University, Belfast about what UN experts described as a “smear campaign” against him for his work debating the possibility of new constitutional arrangements for the island of Ireland after Brexit. An expert on human rights and cons…

1
“We Lost 20 Years of Achievements.” An Afghan Scholar Resumes Life in Ireland 36:45

3y ago36:45

36:45

Free to Think talks with Dr. Aziz Mohibbi, an environmental engineer and former chancellor of Afghanistan’s Bamyan University, about his recent relocation to Ireland following the return of the Taliban, and Dr. Roja Fazaeli, an Associate Professor of Islamic Civilization, Near & Middle Eastern Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, who helped to arran…

1
“No Red Lines?” The ‘KIWi Compass’ Guide For Scientific Cooperation Under Complex Conditions 30:38

3+ y ago30:38

30:38

Free to Think talks with Christiane Schmeken, Director of the Strategy Department of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and Julia Linder, at the Center for International Academic Collaborations (KIWi) at DAAD. They discuss DAAD’s new ‘KIWi Compass,’ a guide for institutions and leaders navigating complex security, political, economic, and…

1
“The Lack of Clarity…Creates a Climate of Fear” 28:20

3+ y ago28:20

28:20

Free to Think talks with Mai El-Sadany, Managing Director and Legal and Judicial Director at the Tahir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP). El-Sadany discusses the cases of Patrick George Zaki and Ahmed Samir Santawy, two graduate students targeted by Egyptian authorities. She describes the arbitrariness of such detentions and how the global a…

1
“Self-Censorship is Hard to Admit” 26:15

3+ y ago26:15

26:15

Free to Think talks with Elizaveta Potapova, a researcher at the Public Policy and Management Institute in Lithuania. She holds a PhD from the Central European University, where she did her dissertation on academic freedom in Russia. Potapova discusses DOXA, an independent student journal which focuses on the problems of the modern academic environ…

1
"We Do Not Accept. We Do Not Give Up" 35:01

3+ y ago35:01

35:01

Free to Think talks with Zeynep Gambetti, Associate Professor of Political Theory, and Can Candan, a documentary filmmaker and academic, both at Turkey's Bogazici University. They discuss the collapse of institutional autonomy in Turkey, the one-year anniversary of faculty and student resistance, and how the struggle "isn't only about Bogazici, and…

1
"Weaponization" of Higher Education 22:52

3+ y ago22:52

22:52

Free to Think talks with Camila Nobrega, a Brazilian journalist, fellow at the Alice Salomon Hochschule, and PhD candidate in the political science department at the Free University of Berlin, and Dr. Débora Medeiros, a researcher at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies and researcher with the Collaborative Research Center Affective So…

1
"Nobody's Working on Your Case" 23:57

3+ y ago23:57

23:57

Free to Think talks with Ali Arab, Associate Professor of Statistics at Georgetown University and board member of Hostage Aid Worldwide, which fights globally for the release of hostages while aiming to study and prevent hostage-taking against other innocent people. Arab discusses "hostage diplomacy," "ransom creep," and the importance of sharing i…

1
Higher Education for Democracy 34:09

3+ y ago34:09

34:09

Free to Think talks with Dr. William Tierney, university professor emeritus and founding director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. He discusses his new book, Higher education for Democracy: The Role of the University in Civil Society, released by SUNY press in July 2021, in which he argues that be…

1
Free to Think Message on the Crisis in Afghanistan 37:01

3+ y ago37:01

37:01

University scholars and students, public intellectuals, civil society leaders and human rights defenders across Afghanistan, especially women and ethnic and religious minorities, are in fear for their lives. None of them wore a uniform or got a government paycheck, but for the better part of twenty years these talented individuals have worked for a…

1
Beyond Solidarity: Bangladesh's Dr. Shuchi Karim on Being a SAR-Assisted Scholar 39:57

4y ago39:57

39:57

Free to Think talks with Dr. Shuchi Karim, an academic, researcher, feminist and activist from Bangladesh. Her work on gender and sexuality brought her praise, and condemnation, forcing her into exile. On continuing her work despite threats, Shuchi notes "Fear does live with you, you know, not only for your sake, but your loved ones, because we are…

1
"No Regrets for Telling the Truth" 33:28

4y ago33:28

33:28

Free to Think talks with Dr. Jo Smith Finley, a Reader in Chinese studies at Newcastle University, UK. In March 2021, Dr. Smith Finley was sanctioned by the government of the People's Republic of China, along with a group of UK politicians and peers, a legal chambers, and the entire staff of The Uyghur Tribunal. The sanctions include a ban on trave…

1
Still Very Much in Africa, in a Way... 31:32

4y ago31:32

31:32

Free to Think talks with Dr. Prosper Maguchu, researcher, human rights lawyer and activist from Zimbabwe. He worked to defend victims of state violence before domestic and international courts, bringing vindication to his clients, but drawing threats and violence against himself. "I wanted to be on the right side of history," he said, "I was motiva…

1
Questioning Authority in Myanmar 31:21

4y ago31:21

31:21

Free to Think talks with Kyaw Moe Tun, executive director of the Parami University, the first private, non-profit, liberal arts and sciences university in Myanmar. Parami nurtures future leaders by providing students from various cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds with skills in global citizenship and critical thinking. Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun comp…

1
Transforming Afghanistan Through Education 35:33

4y ago35:33

35:33

Free to Think talks with Aziz Royesh, a leading advocate for primary and secondary education in Afghanistan and the founder of the Marefat High School in Kabul, which currently serves more than 3100 Afghan students, about half of whom are girls. Royesh is a former fellow at the US National Endowment for Democracy and Yale University, and a 2014 fin…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Index On Censorship Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen