Persuasion | Yascha Mounk | Substack

Why I'm Rooting Against My Own Country

When America bullies its allies, patriotism means supporting those who still defend liberal values.

21 hrs ago • Matt Johnson

Britain Has Forgotten How to Be Free

The country that gave the world liberalism now treats free speech as a dangerous luxury.

Jan 22 • Leonora Barclay

Another Reminder That Biology Matters in Elite Sports

On the pointlessness of non-binary marathon divisions.

Jan 21 • James Smoliga, DVM, PhD

At the end of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. focused in on poverty. So can we.

Jan 19 • John McWhorter

The Morality of a Mafia Boss

Trump wants the freedom to act how he pleases. We’re already seeing the results.

Jan 18 • Francis Fukuyama

Most Popular

Elon Musk and the Decline of Western Civilization

Jan 13, 2025 • Francis Fukuyama

It’s the Internet, Stupid

Oct 2, 2025 • Francis Fukuyama

A Letter From An Iranian

Jun 21, 2025

How Art Lost Its Way

Jan 6, 2025 • William Deresiewicz

A free society is worth fighting for. Subscribe to get all our content directly in your inbox.

Frankly Fukuyama

Don’t Back Down, Europe

Trump’s tariff threats against allies should be the last straw.

Jan 18 • Francis Fukuyama

The Problem With America’s Venezuela Policy

Trump isn’t trying to install democracy. But nor is he succeeding with nation building-lite.

Jan 11 • Francis Fukuyama

47:24

Damon Linker on Leo Strauss, Glory, and Gender

Damon Linker is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania and writes the Substack “Notes from the Middleground.” He…

Jan 9 • 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.

Podcast: The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk

1:16:16

Damon Linker on Why Trump 2.0 Is More Destructive Than Anyone Expected

Yascha Mounk and Damon Linker explore how this administration has surpassed even the pessimists’ predictions.

Jan 20 • Yascha Mounk

1:17:58

Ian Bassin on How to Save American Democracy from Trump

Yascha Mounk and Ian Bassin also report on what they got right—and wrong—over the past decade.

Jan 17 • Yascha Mounk

1:17:12

Rebecca Goldstein on Why Humans Need to Matter

Yascha Mounk and Rebecca Goldstein debate whether our desperate need for significance is a flaw we should overcome—or an essential part of human…

Jan 13 • Yascha Mounk

Podcasts

The Good Fight

Damon Linker on Why Trump 2.0 Is More Destructive Than Anyone Expected

Frankly Fukuyama

Don’t Back Down, Europe

Bookstack

Episode 179: Georgios Varouxakis on the West

American Purpose

Abundance, Hope, Homelessness

17 hrs ago • Brian Levy

The Democratic Socialists of America Are Rejecting Democracy

DSA members are choosing to stand with a dictator instead of the Venezuelan people.

Jan 22 • Carlos Egaña

Why Human Rights Depend on the Nation State

A law professor defends civic nationalism.

Jan 16 • Dustin Sharp

Iran Won't Repeat 1979

The Islamic Republic has built a repressive apparatus far more cohesive than the Shah's fractured security forces.

Jan 14 • Saeid Golkar

The Hard Truth About Peace in Ukraine

Why America's current approach won’t work.

Jan 13 • Valerii Pekar

Bookstack

26:21

Episode 179: Georgios Varouxakis on the West

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

Jan 18 • Richard Aldous

28:17

Episode 178: Geoffrey Ward on the American Revolution

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

Jan 4 • Richard Aldous

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, 2025 • 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, 2025 • Richard Aldous

Recent posts

Don’t Back Down, Europe

Trump’s tariff threats against allies should be the last straw.

Jan 18 • Francis Fukuyama

ICE Is Imposing Autocracy in Minnesota

The state has become Trump's most radical experiment with militarized government.

Jan 17 • Damon Linker

“Heritage Americans” Want to Make Citizenship About Blood

The movement now driving the Trump administration would replace Constitutional citizenship with ancestral purity tests.

Jan 16 • Sam Kahn

Iranians Just Want a Normal Country

A complex—and radical—ideology undergirds the current uprising.

Jan 14 • Roohola Ramezani

AI Will Create Work, Not Decimate It

History shows that technological revolutions draw out human potential.

Jan 13 • Emily Chamlee-Wright

The latest from

Leonora Barclay

This Week At Persuasion

Yascha Mounk

Damon Linker on Why Trump 2.0 Is More Destructive Than Anyone Expected

Francis Fukuyama

The Morality of a Mafia Boss

Richard Aldous

Episode 179: Georgios Varouxakis on the West

Sam Kahn

“Heritage Americans” Want to Make Citizenship About Blood

Luke Hallam

Trump Once Again Failed the Decency Test

Quico Toro

Venezuela’s New President Is No Moderate

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, 2025 • Alexandre Lefebvre

An Open Society Requires Constant Vigilance

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

Sep 10, 2025 • Roger Partridge

Bringing Human Nature Back In

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

Aug 13, 2025 • Francis Fukuyama

The Woke Right Stands At the Door

Whence comes this uncanniest of all guests?

Aug 6, 2025 • Jonathan Rauch

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

On Darwin, abuse, and Costanza politics.

Jul 30, 2025 • 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, 2025 • Matthew Wollin

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

As if we needed any more reminders.

Oct 17, 2025 • 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, 2025 • Don Kettl

From Retribution to Regulatory Regime

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

Sep 15, 2025 • 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, 2025 • 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

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts