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The week in free expression: 19–25 April 2025
Index rounds up of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days
Latest news
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When trade wars become culture wars
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly under pressure to repeal hate speech laws in order to secure a favourable trade deal with the USA
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RFK Jr could be a disaster for American healthcare
It is deeply troubling that the USA’s new health secretary believes in conspiracy theories and is hostile towards modern medicine
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Mahmoud Muna: “There is a policy of oppression towards cultural institutions”
Index interviews “the bookseller of Jerusalem” about the recent raids on his bookshop and the ongoing crackdown on literary free expression in Isra...
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The week in free expression: 12–18 April 2025
Index rounds up of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days
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Spotlight: Shakespeare's birthday
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Plays, protests and the censor’s pencil
Shakespeare was no stranger to censorship from the Elizabethan and Jacobean police states. Here we chart how the Bard’s plays amused monarchs and d...
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Talking censorship at the University of Essex
Trevor Phillips, chair of Index on Censorship, talked about censorship as part of the Essex Book Festival.
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Challenging authority: Shakespeare and radical theatre today
“When you hold the mirror up to nature and up to a totalitarian regime, it recognises it and attempts to stamp it out”
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Rising star: Since Chairman Mao’s ban was lifted, China has embraced Shakespeare
China has swung from banning Shakespeare to embracing his work, with performances spanning from brash pro-government productions to a Tibetan Hamlet
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MAGAZINE
LATEST ISSUE: VOLUME 54.01 SPRING 2025
The forgotten patients: Lost voices in the global healthcare system
Modern medicine is a wonderful thing. Before Edward Jenner’s development of the smallpox vaccination in 1796, infectious diseases and viruses killed millions. The introduction of anaesthetic gases during surgical procedures in 1846 eliminated the excruciating pain of surgery. And before Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928, people died unnecessarily from cuts and grazes.
But the benefits of modern medicine are not felt equally around the world. In this issue, we explore the forgotten patients in global healthcare settings – the marginalised groups who fall through the cracks or are actively shut out of healthcare provision, then ignored or silenced when they raise concerns.
Just like free speech, healthcare is an indisputable human right. But for many around the globe, both these rights are being removed in conjunction with each other. Through telling their stories, this edition aims to shine a light on these injustices and – we hope – empower more people to speak up for the right to health for themselves and others.
Uncensored gallery
Index commissions censored and exiled artists from around the world to illustrate our magazine covers and feature stories. You can view some of their work here