About

Jacob Mchangama is the founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Jacob has written and commented extensively on free speech and human rights in international media outlets including the Economist, L.A. Times, Washington Post, BBC, CBS News, NPR, CNN, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, Politico as well as top-tier academic and peer-reviewed journals. Jacob frequently appears on international TV and Radio providing expert commentary on issues related to free speech, tech and human rights.  Jacob is the producer and narrator of the podcast “Clear and Present” Danger: A History of Free Speech and author of the critically acclaimed book “Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media” published by Basic Books in 2022.

Jacob is an experienced public speaker and has given talks and participated in debates at numerous high-level conferences and fora including the, Chatham House, Columbia University, NYU, Stanford, Yale, Stanford, Syracuse University, The British Library, The Bilderberg Meeting, RightsCon, Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, Brookings Institution, Web Summit, Oslo Freedom Forum, MozFest Doha Forum, OSCE and the European Parliament.

Jacob Mchangama, Executive Director, The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University