Persuasion | Yascha Mounk | Substack

What a Teen Social Media Ban Overlooks

Childhood itself has become an incubator for anxiety.

22 hrs ago • Tim Requarth

The Misguided Panic About Superintelligence

You can’t ban something that doesn’t exist.

Jul 22 • Jerry Kaplan

How the War Splits Iranians

U.S. attacks are a gift to regime hardliners.

Jul 21 • Mitra Vand

Back When Football Was Innocent—And the World, Too

The game of 1970 was nothing like today. That doesn't mean I'll stop watching.

Jul 19 • Quico Toro

1:00:02

The Good Fight Club: Refounding Liberalism, Gen Z's Political Instincts, and a Watergate Ghost Story

Francis Fukuyama, Linda Chavez, and Rachel Janfaza join Yascha Mounk to discuss what a radical liberal agenda might look like today.

Jul 18 • Yascha Mounk

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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

A Letter From An Iranian

Jun 21, 2025 • Mitra Vand

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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

A Liberal Vision For Europe

Yes, its identity is based in Christianity. But to meet today's challenges, the continent must look to the Enlightenment.

Jun 9 • 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

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

A Response to "The Bourgeoisie Has Switched Sides"

Michael Lind on the two types of bourgeoisie.

Mar 19 • Michael Lind and Yascha Mounk

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Claude Steele on the Hidden Stress of Diverse Spaces

Yascha Mounk and Claude Steele discuss why diversity can produce anxiety—and how it differs from prejudice.

Jul 21 • Yascha Mounk

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The Good Fight Club: Refounding Liberalism, Gen Z's Political Instincts, and a Watergate Ghost Story

Francis Fukuyama, Linda Chavez, and Rachel Janfaza join Yascha Mounk to discuss what a radical liberal agenda might look like today.

Jul 18 • Yascha Mounk

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John Harpham on the Intellectual Origins of American Slavery

Yascha Mounk and John Harpham examine how early modern thinkers justified slavery long before modern theories of race took hold.

Jul 14 • Yascha Mounk

Podcasts

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Dorothy Fields Showed Us the Best of America

The songwriter was one of the great architects of U.S. identity.

Jul 15 • Francis Fukuyama

What the Politics of Tears Means for Iran’s Future

Khamenei’s funeral lays bare the regime’s reliance on spectacle over genuine loyalty.

Jul 9 • Saeid Golkar

Why Russia Is Running Out of Time In Crimea

Ukraine now has the upper hand.

Jul 7 • Ines Burrell

A New State Capitalism

Why the U.S. government’s increasing involvement in business deals is undermining our democracy.

Jul 2 • Dalibor Rohac

Trump’s Threat to Scientific Research

Why the administration’s plan will shift accountability from scientific standards to political review.

Jun 30 • Don Kettl

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Episode 190: Antonia Senior on the Cambridge Five

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Jun 28 • Richard Aldous

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

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Episode 188: Liaquat Ahamed on 1873

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

Recent posts

Claude Steele on the Hidden Stress of Diverse Spaces

Yascha Mounk and Claude Steele discuss why diversity can produce anxiety—and how it differs from prejudice.

Jul 21 • Yascha Mounk

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An AI Crash Is a Real Possibility

The industry is badly overleveraged and that's unlikely to change.

Jul 17 • Damon Silvers and Matt Scherer

ICE Is Trump’s Standing Army Now

The new immigration surge proves the administration has learned nothing—except how to make less noise.

Jul 16 • Luke Hallam

Dorothy Fields Showed Us the Best of America

The songwriter was one of the great architects of U.S. identity.

Jul 15 • Francis Fukuyama

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Claude Steele on the Hidden Stress of Diverse Spaces

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Back When Football Was Innocent—And the World, Too

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ICE Is Trump’s Standing Army Now

Francis Fukuyama

Dorothy Fields Showed Us the Best of America

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Trump’s Health Is… Complicated

Leonora Barclay

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Episode 190: Antonia Senior on the Cambridge Five

Liberal Virtues and Values: A Series By Persuasion

Liberalism, Heal Thyself

Any path forward for the movement starts with hard questions.

Jul 14 • Marlene Laruelle

Deirdre McCloskey on What Really Caused the Industrial Revolution

Yascha Mounk and Deirdre McCloskey discuss why ideas, not capital accumulation, made the modern world rich.

Jul 11 • Yascha Mounk

1:27:12

A Guide to a Muscular Liberalism

Liberals can articulate their values without trampling on rights.

Jul 10 • Roger Partridge

Ivan Krastev on Why America Has Lost Faith in Itself

Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev examine what the country’s founding ideals mean on its 250th anniversary.

Jul 4 • Yascha Mounk

1:07:13

Welcome to the Postmodern Presidency

Before there was Trump, there was French theory.

Jun 3 • Damon Linker

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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