Two of the strongest defenders of free speech, political writer Professor Timothy Garton Ash and journalist Mick Hume, debate the issues around freedom of expression under the chairmanship of philosopher Stephen Law.

How do we maintain freedom of expression in a society of different faith and cultures? Are there any taboos that we cannot talk about? How far can we go in challenging limits to our freedom of expression? What are the real threats to freedom of expression – dictatorship or a creeping self-censorship? And what are the implications of the Charlie Hebdo massacre for freedom of expression?

Garton Ash is a political writer and professor of European studies at the University of Oxford. Many of his thoughts on free speech are contained in a new collection of his writings, Facts are Subversive and he has a new book, Free Speech, out in May. He is also director of the Dahrendorf Programme for the Study of Freedom and leads the Free Speech Debate project.

Hume is editor-at-large of online current affairs magazine Spiked and writes regularly on free speech for many national newspapers. In his new book, Trigger Warning: Is the Fear of Being Offensive Killing Free Speech?, he argues that unfettered freedom of expression is the most important liberty of all despite the problems it brings.

Law is senior lecturer in philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London. He is also a well-known atheist and humanist writer and blogger.

Presented by the Centre for Inquiry.