Persuasion | Yascha Mounk | Substack

What Locke Knew About Elites

How liberals learned to stop worrying and love the establishment.

Aug 14 • Teresa M. Bejan

Wealth Taxes Are Slopulism

A viral proposal makes no economic sense.

Aug 12 • Joseph Heath

This Could Be the Year Germany's Far-Right Goes Mainstream

One forgotten region is about to make history.

Aug 11 • Katja Hoyer

We Must Save Sociology From Itself

A field that once illuminated scarce truths has become an ideology in search of evidence.

Aug 10 • Eboo Patel

How Ukrainians Are Surviving

It's a day at a time.

Aug 7 • Anastasia Lebedenko

Most Popular

The University As We Know It Is Finished

Jun 17 • Nils Gilman

It’s the Internet, Stupid

Oct 2, 2025 • Francis Fukuyama

What “Western Civilization” Really Means

Mar 3 • Francis Fukuyama

The Unexpected Persistence of John Rawls

Feb 10 • Joseph Heath

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Francis Fukuyama

Trump Has Revolutionized Executive Power

It will take a supreme act of will for the next administration to put the genie back in the bottle.

Jul 31 • Francis Fukuyama

America’s AI Policy Is Truly Chaotic

What we need is real regulation, fast.

Jun 29 • Francis Fukuyama

The Art of the Non-Deal

With this ceasefire, Trump has capitulated to Iran.

Jun 15 • Francis Fukuyama

Newsletters

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

Francis Fukuyama

Francis Fukuyama shares some of the many things on his mind.

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

Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism

Jews have always benefitted from strong protections for free speech.

Aug 6 • Yascha Mounk

Trump Is Finally Fading

This may, at long last, be the beginning of his political end.

Apr 29 • Yascha Mounk

The Post-Populist Dilemma

Orbán is out. Now comes the hard part.

Apr 13 • Yascha Mounk

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Notes from the Middleground

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FIRE

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The Future of Free Speech

Podcast: The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk

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The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: Building Things

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss his lifelong hobbies—from building furniture to robotics—and why they might save us in the age of big tech.

Aug 22 • Yascha Mounk

1:18:21

The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: How States Form

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama delve into 9/11, the hubris of humanitarian intervention, and the letter he regretted signing.

Aug 15 • Yascha Mounk

1:20:58

Adam Bodnar on Why Defeating Populists at the Ballot Box Isn’t Enough

Yascha Mounk and Adam Bodnar examine why Poland’s celebrated victory over illiberalism is now very much in doubt.

Aug 11 • Yascha Mounk

Podcasts

The Good Fight

The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: Building Things

Bookstack

Episode 190: Antonia Senior on the Cambridge Five

Frankly Fukuyama Podcast

On Executive Authority

American Purpose

Serbia Turns Toward the West

President Vučić is navigating a course between Putin and Trump—but will soon have to choose.

Aug 13 • Nikola Mikovic

What Ceuta Shows About Europe

Why left vs right is too simplistic to explain attitudes to immigration.

Aug 11 • Ines Burrell

Putin is Running Out of Troops

As the war in Ukraine continues, Russian military recruitment is lagging.

Aug 5 • Kathryn Stoner

Resistance to Authoritarianism Must Be Local

Lessons from recent history.

Aug 3 • Adam Fefer

J.K. Rowling Is Turning A Free Speech Victory Into A Defeat

The backlash against Amnesty was justified. Suing them out of existence is not.

Jul 29 • Jacob Mchangama

Bookstack

32:08

Episode 190: Antonia Senior on the Cambridge Five

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

Jun 28 • Richard Aldous

30:07

Episode 189: Laurence Jurdem on George H. W. Bush

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

Jun 14 • Richard Aldous

25:53

Episode 188: Liaquat Ahamed on 1873

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

May 31 • Richard Aldous

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The community for those who believe that a free society is worth fighting for.

Recent posts

They Went Hard Against Woke. And Then… Went Even Harder Against Trump

Don’t blame the free speech crowd for Trump’s assaults on free expression.

Published on Persuasion • 1 hr ago

The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: Building Things

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss his lifelong hobbies—from building furniture to robotics—and why they might save us in the age of big tech.

Aug 22 • Yascha Mounk

54:16

The Unexpected Persistence of John Rawls

We walk in the garden of his ideas.

Published on Persuasion • Aug 21

It’s the Internet, Stupid

What caused the global populist wave? Blame the screens.

Published on Persuasion • Aug 19

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The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: Building Things

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss his lifelong hobbies—from building furniture to robotics—and why they might save us in the age of big tech.

Aug 22 • Yascha Mounk

The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: How States Form

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama delve into 9/11, the hubris of humanitarian intervention, and the letter he regretted signing.

Aug 15 • Yascha Mounk

1:18:21

What Locke Knew About Elites

How liberals learned to stop worrying and love the establishment.

Aug 14 • Teresa M. Bejan

The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: Human Nature

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama explore why any theory of politics must begin with an account of what makes us human.

Aug 8 • Yascha Mounk

1:05:42

Daron Acemoglu on Why Liberalism Became a Victim of Its Own Success

Yascha Mounk and Daron Acemoglu examine how the digital age severed the link between economic growth and shared prosperity.

Aug 4 • Yascha Mounk

1:24:19

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

The New Normal of Holding Federal Workers Hostage

The shutdown is over. The fight is not.

May 6 • John Yochelson

Unbalanced Powers

The saga of the Government Accountability Office tells the story of the Trump administration’s campaign for a unitary executive.

Mar 24 • Don Kettl

An Efficient Government Is A Limited Government

If we want an institution to be good at what it does, we must first define its role.

Feb 23 • Emily Chamlee-Wright

Why American Governments Can’t Get Things Done

We used to build things. Today, the state is hampered by red tape and veto points.

Feb 18 • Francis Fukuyama

Practical Pluralism: A Series By Persuasion

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Danielle Allen on Why Technocratic Liberalism Failed

Yascha Mounk and Danielle Allen discuss democratic backsliding.

Feb 28 • Yascha Mounk

1:09:10

Daniel Diermeier on Why Universities Are Their Own Worst Enemies

Yascha Mounk and Daniel Diermeier examine how elite institutions created the backlash that now threatens their future.

Feb 14 • Yascha Mounk

Teach Students Conservative Thought

The great thinkers on the right must be part of any syllabus that truly serves the next generation

Dec 1, 2025 • Benjamin Storey and Jon A. Shields

In Defence of Striving

What we can all learn from Texas high school mariachis.

Nov 7, 2025 • Quico Toro

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