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, Persuasion, 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 home for the American Purpose media project, chaired by Francis Fukuyama, with American Purpose content being made available to Persuasion subscribers.

  • An occasional column from Francis Fukuyama, “Frankly Fukuyama.”

  • Access to a weekly column by our editor-in-chief, Yascha Mounk, at his Substack.

  • A weekly podcast, The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk, 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.

  • Additional online and in-person events, like the annual Persuasion Festival and our biweekly conversation club.

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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, including access to Yascha Mounk’s Substack column and the American Purpose archives and new offerings.

  • Bonus podcast content and special editions.

  • Live events.

  • Book clubs.

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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.)

Our model

Persuasion is a project of Persuasion Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States.

As a nonpartisan nonprofit, Persuasion does not take an editorial position on political campaigns or candidates and aims to represent a variety of views in its pages. The positions, policies, or strategies articulated in the magazine and podcast are those of the authors and speakers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Persuasion, nor is their publication an endorsement by Persuasion. While we make every effort to ensure that the information presented by authors and speakers is accurate and to promptly correct any oversights, Persuasion will not be liable for any omissions or errors in the information presented.

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

People

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Persuasion Author, The Identity Trap
Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; contributing writer, The Atlantic
Senior Editor at Persuasion. Contact: luke.hallam@persuasion.community
John McWhorter is the host of Lexicon Valley. In his spare time, he teaches linguistics at Columbia University and writes a regular column for the New York Times.
Professor at Barnard College, Columbia University
David French is a senior editor at The Dispatch a columnist for Time, and a member of Persuasion's Board of Advisers.
Nathaniel Rachman is a recent history graduate from the University of Oxford, where he wrote for and edited The Oxford Student.
Emily Chamlee-Wright is the president of the Institute for Humane Studies. IHS supports and connects scholars who explore and apply ideas within the classical liberal tradition.
Senior editor, The Free Press
I'm a cognitive scientist in the Department of Psychology at Harvard, who teaches, does research, and writes books on language, mind, and human nature.
Persuasion advisory-board member is chairman of Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at IWM Vienna. His latest book is "Is it Tomorrow, Yet?"
Author, speaker, chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative and the Human Rights Foundation. 13th World Chess Champion.
Bard College historian and host of Persuasion’s Bookstack podcast
Quico Toro is a Contributing Editor at Persuasion, and the writer behind OnePercentBrighter.com
Sam Kahn writes the Substack Castalia.
William Deresiewicz is the author of Excellent Sheep, The Death of the Artist, and A Jane Austen Education. His new book is The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society.
Executive Director at Persuasion
Social psychologist and professor at NYU-Stern. Research on moral psychology as it relates to political polarization, democratic dysfunction, capitalism, and Gen Z.
https://www.brendanruberry.com/
Norman Ornstein is an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing editor at The Atlantic.
Martin Eiermann is a sociologist and an Associate Editor at Persuasion. He is currently writing a book on the politics of privacy in the United States.
Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. moisesnaim.com
Managing Editor, Persuasion