Joe Raiola was not kidding when he said there would be absolutely no censorship in his lecture Thursday night.

“Tonight’s program is unrated, completely unrated,” Raiola began. “There will be no parental discretions.”

It became quite apparent early on why senior editor of MAD Magazine has captured the attention of audiences in 41 different states across the country.

In his lecture, Raiola led his audience through some of America’s most pressing censorship and free-speech issues. He shared his many experiences with censorship throughout his life, beginning as early as his years within his private Catholic school, and finished by leading his audience through some of MAD Magazine’s most controversial covers and cartoons.

MAD Magazine, the first comic to make fun of comics, is printed for 11 different countries in eight languages.

Raiola hopes the main message his audience leaves with is that “we all have to exercise our free-speech muscles, because if we don’t it is a muscle that atrophies.”

Yet, most interesting, Raiola does believe there are limits to free speech. Raiola explained how early in his life he really did not care about censorship or free-speech rights. After he began working for MAD Magazine is when he really started to passionately fight against unwarranted censorship.

Raiola had his audience hooked from the moment he picked up the microphone. Raiola’s opinion on censorship and free speech immediately came out in his introduction. His passion for free speech was clear for the the entire hour.

Three-year MAD reader and audience member Gabe McCoy, freshman in engineering, said he was most impressed with Raiola’s ability to “uncensor himself yet still appear to be an intelligent respectful person.”

McCoy found himself questioning just how much is censored in our society and re-evaluating the effects censorship has had on us all.

In the end, Raiola believes the greatest champions of free speech have been comedians, and hopes his audience understands “that what censors do, is try to protect us from what frightens them.”