J.K. Rowling & the Fight for Free Speech | with Solomon Schmidt

Solomon Schmidt, the 22-year-old author of A Pen to Change the World, the only complete biography of J.K. Rowling, sits down with Alex Buxeda for a wide-ranging conversation about the woman behind Harry Potter and the courage it took her to speak out during the trans controversy. They get into the Christian story hidden inside Harry Potter, the moral panic that branded it witchcraft, cancel culture and the cost of saying what you believe, and where a Christian and a secular classical liberal find common ground. The purpose of dialogue is to let ideas die instead of us. 📖 J.K. Rowling's biography: https://www.solomonschmidt.com/jkrowlingbiography More about Solomon: https://www.solomonschmidt.com/about 00:00 – Teaser: The Christian story hidden in Harry Potter 00:46 – Free speech, Harvey's speech & rushing to judgment 04:33 – Why Rowling spoke out — and what it cost her 05:31 – Why the wisest people are the calmest 11:32 – "What does it even mean to be a Christian?" 20:02 – Writing the only complete Rowling biography 25:08 – The single mother who wrote the best-seller of all time 30:10 – Doing what you love vs. chasing success 31:42 – Could Rowling or Jane Goodall even succeed today? 42:38 – Censorship, paternalism & who gets to decide 48:54 – The state, incentives & market failure 51:37 – King Solomon's judgment & the ownership instinct 59:00 – Faith, reason & America's founding 1:07:05 – The art of disagreeing well 1:08:16 – Heading to Ukraine: Trump biography & war reporting Support Schweizer Monat: https://schweizermonat.payrexx.com/pay?cid=77cf037a