Persuasion | Yascha Mounk | Substack

The Bondi Beach Massacre

Murderous ideology does not stop at borders.

12 hrs ago • Claire Lehmann

Trump Wants to Dominate Venezuela, Not Liberate It

Maduro destroyed my country. What comes next could be worse.

Dec 12 • Quico Toro

1:03:36

The Good Fight Club: Can Europe Control Its Fate?

Timothy Garton Ash, Sabina Ćudić, and Nathalie Tocci join Yascha Mounk to assess the state of Europe today.

Dec 13 • Yascha Mounk

The Quiet Scandal of Affirmative Action for Men

Colleges systematically disadvantage female applicants.

Dec 11 • Yascha Mounk

Israel—It's Complicated

A visit to a nation as resilient as it is traumatized.

Dec 10 • William Deresiewicz

Most Popular

Elon Musk and the Decline of Western Civilization

Jan 13 • Francis Fukuyama

It’s the Internet, Stupid

Oct 2 • Francis Fukuyama

A Letter From An Iranian

Jun 21

How Art Lost Its Way

Jan 6 • William Deresiewicz

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Frankly Fukuyama

42:30

Alex Stamos on the Real Threat Posed By AI

Alex Stamos was formerly head of security at Facebook/Meta and is a leading expert on computer security.

Dec 11 • Francis Fukuyama

45:56

Laura K. Field on the New Right

Francis Fukuyama and Laura K.

Dec 4 • Francis Fukuyama

32:55

Jim Fishkin on Deliberation and Democracy

Francis Fukuyama interviews Jim Fishkin, author of Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?, about why democracies need deliberation, the role of…

Nov 24 • Francis Fukuyama

Newsletters

Essays and conversations about big ideas from our editor-in-chief.

American Purpose

American Purpose at Persuasion is a continuation of the magazine, media project, and intellectual community chaired by Francis Fukuyama. Includes Larry Diamond's "Diamond on Democracy" column and the "Bookstack" podcast with Richard Aldous.

Yascha Mounk

The Quiet Scandal of Affirmative Action for Men

Colleges systematically disadvantage female applicants.

Dec 11 • Yascha Mounk

Colleges Are Surrendering to AI

Here’s a better strategy for equipping students for the age of artificial intelligence.

Nov 14 • Yascha Mounk

When They Go Low, We Go... Low

To combat Trumpism, Democrats play the imitation game.

Nov 5 • Yascha Mounk

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Podcast: The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk

1:03:36

The Good Fight Club: Can Europe Control Its Fate?

Timothy Garton Ash, Sabina Ćudić, and Nathalie Tocci join Yascha Mounk to assess the state of Europe today.

Dec 13 • Yascha Mounk

1:18:17

Jill Lepore on Why We Should Amend the U.S. Constitution

Yascha Mounk and Jill Lepore also discuss why she nearly quit academia.

Dec 9 • Yascha Mounk

1:11:36

Richard Thaler on Why People are Much More Irrational than Economists Believe

Yascha Mounk and Richard Thaler discuss where economics goes wrong.

Dec 6 • Yascha Mounk

Podcasts

The Good Fight

The Good Fight Club: Can Europe Control Its Fate?

Frankly Fukuyama

Alex Stamos on the Real Threat Posed By AI

Bookstack

Episode 177: Kori Schake on the State and the Soldier

American Purpose

Deliberation Can Save Democracy

Why conversation is the cure for what ails America.

Dec 12 • James Fishkin

Europe Needs A New Union

It’s time for a “North-Eastern federation” as a bulwark against Russia.

Dec 8 • Dalibor Rohac

Columbus Day, Wounded Knee, and the Lessons of Pine Ridge

What the Lakota Music Project says about the United States.

Dec 5 • joseph horowitz

Permitting Reform Alone Is No Panacea

We must tackle the regulatory barriers to building in America—but this is no miracle cure.

Nov 20 • Bruce Cain

Attention Is Power

Protecting free speech requires a new approach to social media.

Nov 13 • Richard Reisman

Bookstack

26:00

Episode 177: Kori Schake on the State and the Soldier

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Dec 14 • Richard Aldous

30:40

Episode 176: Shadi Hamid on American Power

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Nov 30 • Richard Aldous

26:01

Episode 175: Sven Beckert on Capitalism

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Nov 23 • Richard Aldous

25:30

Episode 174: Vanessa Williamson on the Price of Democracy

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Nov 16 • Richard Aldous

Recent posts

Inside the Battle to Abolish Birthright Citizenship

Even if the Supreme Court overturns Trump’s executive order, he may eventually get what he wants.

Dec 9 • Damon Linker

There’s An AI Bubble. For Real.

Here’s what the numbers—and a little bit of history—tell us.

Dec 8 • Jerry Kaplan

What Jill Lepore Knows About Harvard

Universities face unprecedented attacks from the government. But those within must sort themselves out if they want to regain trust.

Dec 5 • Eboo Patel

The Strange Death of Trump's Signature Policy

On DOGE's demise and government-by-chaos.

Dec 4 • Sam Kahn

As a Twin, I'm Offended by Cloning

Why Tom Brady will never get his dog back.

Dec 3 • Leonora Barclay

The latest from

Richard Aldous

Episode 177: Kori Schake on the State and the Soldier

Yascha Mounk

The Good Fight Club: Can Europe Control Its Fate?

Quico Toro

Trump Wants to Dominate Venezuela, Not Liberate It

Francis Fukuyama

Alex Stamos on the Real Threat Posed By AI

Sam Kahn

The Strange Death of Trump's Signature Policy

Leonora Barclay

This Week At Persuasion

Luke Hallam

The Pentagon vs Mark Kelly

David Hamburger

A Letter From An Israeli Shelter

Why Liberalism: A Series By Persuasion

Liberalism As Mob Boss

How to respond to conservative critiques of actually existing liberal societies.

Oct 30 • Alexandre Lefebvre

An Open Society Requires Constant Vigilance

Liberalism is built on paradoxes—but we have a duty to defend it.

Sep 10 • Roger Partridge

Bringing Human Nature Back In

Francis Fukuyama in the latest of our series “Why Liberalism.”

Aug 13 • Francis Fukuyama

The Woke Right Stands At the Door

Whence comes this uncanniest of all guests?

Aug 6 • Jonathan Rauch

Gradual Change is F***ing Awesome—And Liberalism Knows It

On Darwin, abuse, and Costanza politics.

Jul 30 • Wayne Karol

The "Deep State" and Its Discontents: A Series By American Purpose

Deregulation for Me, Regulation for Thee

Trump hasn’t actually reduced the burden of the administrative state—he’s just shifted it onto all of us.

Oct 20 • Matthew Wollin

What Wednesday Taught Us About Trump’s Attitude to the Federal Bureaucracy

As if we needed any more reminders.

Oct 17 • Don Kettl

Armageddon in the Civil Service

Under cover of the government shutdown, Trump is stretching presidential powers even further by firing thousands of workers.

Oct 15 • Don Kettl

From Retribution to Regulatory Regime

The Trump administration has learned from earlier mistakes in its education policies.

Sep 15 • R. Shep Melnick

Universities, Liberalism and Democracy: A Series By Persuasion

A Pedagogy of the Empowered

The left-wing cancellations of yesteryear teach us how to respond to the right-wing censorship of today.

May 26 • Eboo Patel

How I Learned To Stop Criticizing Everything

There are two directions higher education can take. Here’s why I chose pluralism.

Oct 25, 2024 • Eboo Patel

The current system is broken. Here’s what truly inclusive institutions would look like.

Sep 26, 2024 • Rachel Kleinfeld

Reflections on the New Encampment Culture

There were many puzzling features of the recent protests. This coming year, universities must course correct—while protecting the right to dissent.

Sep 20, 2024 • David Bromwich

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