Year in review: 2023
The editorial team looks back at the major issues debated in the Freethinker this year.
‘When the chips are down, the philosophers turn out to have been bluffing’
Emma Park speaks to Alex Byrne, professor of philosophy at MIT and author of 'Trouble with Gender', about what a philosopher can bring to the trans debate, and why some philosophers have shrunk from 'questioning orthodoxy'.
The power of outrage
Tehreem Azeem argues that the Pakistani media's emotive coverage of the recent Quran-burning in Sweden is a disproportionate reaction.
The return of blasphemy in Ireland
The Irish parliament is currently debating a new bill on 'hate offences' which would severely limit free speech.
Blasphemy and bishops: how secularists are navigating the culture wars
Review of two recent events: Blasphemy Law by the Back Door (Free Speech Union); and Future of Church and State (National Secular Society).
Breaking the silence: Pakistani ex-Muslims find a voice on social media
How ex-Muslims in Pakistan are turning to social media to explore their views and meet like-minded people – and what they risk in doing so.