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…

Palestianian novelist Abbad Yahya speaks about the difficult choices for those living in the West Bank and the effects of censorshipAf Index on Censorship

Index's editorial assistant Benjamin Lynch talks to comedian and author Andrew Doyle about his new book, "Free Speech and Why It Matters". They discuss incitement and his thoughts on why President Donald Trump shouldn't have been removed from Twitter, as well as the state of free speech on the left and right. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? p…

Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been in prison in Iran for the past five years. He talks about the end of her house arrest, what has got her through solitary confinement and the attitude of the British government to her case and other Britons imprisoned in the country…

Index’s Benjamin Lynch talks to author, historian and modern China expert Jeff Wasserstrom about why China censors, the Chinese Communist Party's growing influence and what their censorship policies mean for the rest of the world. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about…

Index's Mark Frary talks to actor and barrister Shereener Browne. Browne talks about the drill music scene and her fight to stop censorship of the genre by the government and Metropolitan Police. She talks about how the black community has been singled out by the authorities and how banning the music, which often has violent lyrics, does not solve …

Index's Mark Frary talks to Rahima Mahmut, Uighur singer and UK project director of the World Uyghur Congress. She discusses why the world is afraid of China's power and the plight of the Uighur people. She also talks of the importance of cultural memories, including song and poetry, and her concerns for the future. Index on Censorship's What the F…

Index's Mark Frary talks to Dr Tunc Aybak, programme leader of the international politics degree at Middlesex University, about the trials of Alexei Navalny in Russia, Putin's Palace and the golden toilet brush revolution. He discusses political technology and the state of the media in the country. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invi…

Index's Benjamin Lynch talks to youth activist Thay Graciano, co-founder of Skaped, about the importance of young activism and people self-censoring themselves on US college campuses, as well as the problems caused by Jair Bolsonaro in her birth country of Brazil. She also talks of working with arts organisations in Belarus. Index on Censorship's W…

Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to groundbreaking electro-pop artist LAYKE, who has worked with Snoop Dogg and is an activist fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights. We discuss racial equality in a Black Lives Matter world, the task facing Joe Biden, growing up in Texas and her pansexuality. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites pol…

Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Kirstin McCudden, managing editor of the US Press Freedom Tracker ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States. McCudden talks about attacks on the press during the Black Lives Matter protests, the storming of the US Capitol and Donald Trump's legacy. Index on Censorship'…

Index's head of content Jemimah Steinfeld talks to freelance journalist and Index contributor Issa Sikiti da Silva ahead of the upcoming Ugandan presidential elections which are expected to return President Yoweri Museveni to power once again. Issa talks about the role of social media and the future of the free press in the region. Index on Censors…

Index's editorial assistant Benjamin Lynch talks to Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders, Rebecca Vincent. She shares the stories and cases that continue to motivate her today, including the time she was kicked out of Azerbaijan as well as the importance of the Julian Assange case. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? …

Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to singer, poet and writer Amyra about her collaboration with the Tongue Fu collective on the album Boat Building. Amyra talks about Black Lives Matter and her anger over the lack of resources for women, especially women of colour. She talks about how she wants her work to be empowering to others and why sh…

Index's head of content Jemimah Steinfeld talks to Tom Grundy, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hong Kong Free Press. Grundy talks about how Hong Kong has changed since the publication was founded, media freedom in the shadow of China's National Security Law and the challenges that his journalists work under to get the news out with many criti…

In this episode, Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Dr Emese Pásztor, director of the Political Freedoms Project at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. Pásztor talks about the Hungarian government’s ban on the freedom of assembly, making it against the law to make political protests. The ban comes as Viktor Orban’s majority government is…

In this episode, Index’s associate editor Mark Frary talks to musician, poet and activist Penny Rimbaud, who founded anarchistic punk band Crass in the 1970s. He talks about why the battle isn’t against Donald Trump but against all US presidencies and why the British are the most repressed in the world. He says the Sex Pistols and the Clash were on…

In the latest episode of Index on Censorship’s What the Fuck!? podcast, associate editor Mark Frary talks to actor Natalia Tena, known for playing Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter movies as well as Lana Pierce in the YouTube science fiction series Origin and Osha in Game of Thrones. Tena talks about how she became aware of female genital cuttin…

In this episode, Index on Censorship’s associate editor Mark Frary talks to photographer and artist Alison Jackson, who is renowned for her explorations into how photography and the cult of the celebrity have transformed our relationship to what is ‘real’. She talks about her latest work, a sculpture of President Donald Trump in a compromising posi…

In the Index on Censorship autumn 2019 podcast, we focus on how travel restrictions at borders are limiting the flow of free thought and ideas. Lewis Jennings and Sally Gimson discuss the latest issue of the magazine and reveal what to expect. Guests include trans woman and activist Peppermint, runner-up of RuPaul's Drag Race season nine, who opens…

In the summer 2019 podcast, Judged, we focus on how governments use power to undermine justice and freedom. Lewis Jennings and Rachael Jolley discuss the latest issue of the magazine, revealing their top picks and debating what rating they would be under China's social credit rating system. Guests include best-selling Chinese author Xinran, who del…

In this special edition of the Index on Censorship podcast, we celebrate the winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards 2019. Mimi Mefo, a leading voice in exposing the mistreatment of Cameroonian journalists, talks about press freedom in her country; Ritu Gairola, from Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), discusses why it is effective…

Is this all the local news? We discuss this in the latest podcast. In the spring 2019 edition of Index on Censorship magazine, we explore what happens when the local news media is not there to hold power to account. Guests on this edition of the podcast are all featured in the latest magazine. Beijing-based reporter Karoline Kan, who writes for thi…

What are we afraid to talk about? In the Winter 2018 edition of Index on Censorship magazine, we explore taboos surrounding birth, marriage and death around the world. Author Jieun Baek reveals the difficulties of obtaining interviews with North Korean defectors; Sharon Thompson, senior lecturer at Cardiff Law School, talks gold diggers and prenups…

Are facts under attack? We explore this question in the Autumn issue of Index on Censorship magazine. In the podcast, we speak to Academy of Ideas founder and director Claire Fox about why we need to leave our echo chambers; Tanzanian blogger Elsie Eyakuze discusses a current blogging tax in her country pricing writers offline; and journalist Dan N…