Over a month on from the Charlie Hebdo shootings, free speech remains very much on the news agenda, and a renewed topic for debate.  2014 was a bad year for freedom of expression – a greater number of journalists killed, feminist writers threatened and harassed online, controversial performance Exhibit B cancelled at the Barbican due to protest.  The trend looks to continue in 2015: with the UK government trying to increase surveillance powers, influencing what we write; colleges frequently advocating ‘no platform’ against controversial and inflammatory speakers; and journalists and bloggers such as Raif Badawi still under threat, imprisoned or punished for their writings.

Join Joyce McMillan, Alan Bissett and Greg Moodie to discuss the pressures facing artists and whether the climate is likely to improve with the renewed focus on free speech.