Roger Berkowitz’s TEDx talk, Speak Your Mind: Why Free Speech and Listening Matter, argues that democracy thrives on open dialogue and the exchange of differing viewpoints, rather than a commitment to facts or to truth. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s philosophy, he emphasizes that politics is about persuasion, understanding, and civic friendship—where even those who disagree engage in meaningful conversation to build a common world together. Roger Berkowitz is Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities and Professor of Politics, Philosophy, and Human Rights at Bard College. His newest book, A World We Share: The Power of Friendship in Politics will appear from Yale University Press in 2026. He is the author The Gift of Science: Leibniz and the Modern Legal Tradition (Harvard, 2005, Fordham, 2010; Chinese Law Press 2011) and editor of On Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau and Hannah Arendt (Library of America, 2024) and Perils of Invention: Lying, Technology and the Human Condition (Blackrose Books, 2022), amongst many titles. Berkowitz hosts the podcast, "Reading Hannah Arendt with Roger Berkowitz." This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx