Navy cancels Ryan Holiday lecture over criticism of book bans

In the United States, the US Naval Academy canceled a scheduled lecture by author Ryan Holiday on April 14, 2025, just an hour before it was set to begin. Holiday was invited to speak about wisdom to midshipmen but faced pushback from academy officials who requested that he remove slides criticizing the institution's recent decision to remove nearly 400 books from the library. This decision was reportedly made to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion content in educational institutions, which has significant implications for military academies as well. Holiday, who has lectured at the academy multiple times since 2019, expressed disappointment over the cancellation, asserting that he couldn't ethically discuss courage and doing the right thing without addressing the issue of censorship in the context of the book removals. He emphasized that leaders should foster independent thinking and critical analysis among future military officers, which he felt was directly undermined by the academy's censorship of literature and ideas. His presentation was set to include quotes from influential figures promoting the value of extensive reading, including controversial titles. Just before the event, he received a call from academy leadership asking him to skip references to the book removals, which included notable titles like Maya Angelou's