What is Persuasion?

Persuasion is a publication and community for everyone who shares three basic convictions:

• We seek to build a free society in which all individuals get to pursue a meaningful life irrespective of who they are.

• We believe in the importance of the social practice of persuasion, and are determined to defend free speech and free inquiry against all its enemies.

• We seek to persuade, rather than to mock or troll, those who disagree with us.

In the past years, the political and intellectual energy has been with illiberal movements. Too often, the advocates of free speech and free institutions have been passive, even fatalistic. It is high time for those of us who believe in these enduring ideals to stand up for our convictions.

Read Our Founding Manifesto

What will Persuasion Do?

Persuasion is a platform for publishing interesting ideas. It is a convener of pressing debates. Most importantly, it is the nucleus for a community that seeks to shake the defenders of the free society out of their complacency.

Persuasion features:

• An online magazine on the threats to the free society—and reflections on how to fight back—with contributions from authors you already love and others you are yet to discover.

• A weekly podcast in which leading thinkers discuss the most urgent questions of the day without chasing yesterday’s headlines.

• Live events in which speakers who share a commitment to the values of a free society passionately debate what policies and practices can best realize them.

• Book clubs in which well-known authors lead discussions of their favorite works.

• A weekly Happy Hour at which community members can speak openly, debate freely, and draw inspiration from one another.
  

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Why subscribe?

By subscribing to Persuasion, you will never have to worry about missing a thing: every new article will go directly to your inbox.

If you join us as a paid subscribing member, you also get access to:

• Paywalled articles.

• Live events.

• Book clubs. (For subscribers at the Founding Member level only.)

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Who’s involved?

We have assembled some of the most insightful, principled, and stylish thinkers from across the ideological spectrum and from around the world: Our community includes Thomas Chatterton-Williams and Garry Kasparov, David French and Emily Yoffe, Elif Shafak and Francis Fukuyama, among others, in addition to our founder, Yascha Mounk.

Here’s a full list of our Board of Advisors and the editorial team.

Pitch us!

We’re always on the lookout for new perspectives and interesting pieces, whether from established authors or first-time writers. If you have an idea for a thought-provoking article that contributes to our goal of promoting a philosophically liberal approach to the big debates of the moment, do send us your idea at:

pitches@persuasion.community

The best way to see whether your idea would fit well in Persuasion’s pages is to read other pieces we’ve published. We pay authors a fee for articles we publish.

Please send a short pitch, not a full draft. Good pitches should:

• Add to the conversation. Be original and clearly written.

• Be short. About three concise paragraphs is usually right. 

• Give a feel of the piece you want to write. The pitch should model the style of the proposed article, not promise what you’ll do (“I will argue that…”).

• Please include a short bio of yourself, citing pertinent qualifications and/or why you’re the person to write such a piece. (A sentence or two is sufficient. Feel free to include links to other published material.)