One’s mind is deceptive. 

That’s what Greg Lukianoff, a best-selling author, lawyer and First Amendment advocate, wants people to consider after his lecture at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre on Oct. 8. 

Spotlight Santa Barbara will feature “Free Speech Under Fire: Greg Lukianoff on the New Age of Censorship” as part of its speaker series.

Spotlight SB was founded by Brian Goebel and Jeff Giordano.

“I thought it would be appropriate in a speaker series that’s really devoted to promoting viewpoint diversity to bring in the primary spokesperson for the importance of viewpoint diversity in democracy,” Goebel said.  

Lukianoff has spent decades advocating for the First Amendment and has appeared on numerous television and podcast programs to discuss free speech.

He is also the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which serves to “defend and sustain the rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought.”

Goebel will join Lukianoff on the Lobero Theatre stage for a conversation before taking live questions from the crowd. Noozhawk is an event sponsor.

They plan to discuss how to foster a free speech culture while encouraging civility and community and discouraging disrespectful or violent responses.

“I think that’s going to be a really interesting topic with Greg when he’s on stage,” Goebel said.

Additionally, the two will draw a handful of free speech controversies from the day and discuss what the First Amendment says and potential responses.

“There’s no shortage of free speech issues, controversies, things happening every single day, whether it’s at the national level, here in California or even locally in Santa Barbara,” Goebel said. 

The lecture is particularly relevant as President Donald Trump recently tried to enact a media ban on reporting about him, Goebel added.

Topics also will include the state of the U.S. Supreme Court with regard to the First Amendment and free expression culture, which Goebel is especially excited about.

Attendees can also participate in a question-and-answer segment with Lukianoff. 

The free-speech advocate will further examine FIRE’s college rankings, which assess more than 250 colleges across the country based on their state of free speech.

UC Santa Barbara received an overall F grade in 2025, pulling a 152nd rank out of 261. 

Lukianoff plans to explore the ranking and free speech at UCSB’s campus, including former UCSB Student Body President Tessa Veksler’s lawsuit claiming antisemitism on campus. 

It came after a tense end to the 2024 academic year, which included protests in support of Palestine and Israel after the 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks.

On Oct. 8, Lukianoff also plans to make people think about freedom of speech.

“It’s one of the things that Americans have been lucky enough to be able to take for granted,” he said.

Additionally, he hopes to illustrate his idea that people’s minds can be deceptive. 

“We are hardwired to see the world in ways that are helpful for us to survive and reproduce,” he said. “Sometimes it’s by making us much more sure that we are right about some things we are entirely wrong about.”

Lukianoff looks forward to the event and said he feels most comfortable in a diverse crowd.

To him, a successful appearance is measured by the types of questions he receives from the audience. 

“If you get questions that are where it’s clear, people are understanding what you said, and even if they hate it, but they’re understanding it, then that’s great,” Lukianoff said.

He said attendees might leave the event shocked at his personality.

 In a short video marketing Lukianoff’s appearance, a sequence of words including “provocative” flashed on screen alongside clips of his past appearances on podcasts and television shows.

“I think what I can say can be provocative,” he said, “but overall I am pretty mild-mannered.”

Along with his extensive list of accolades, he is a self-described comic book nerd, with Spider-Man as his favorite. 

The event will take place Oct. 8 with pre-event drinks and mingling at 6 p.m. on the Lobero Theatre Esplanade. The lecture is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Afterward, Lukianoff will be available for book signing and extra questions, according to Goebel. Tickets are available here.