Our live events are core to the community we’re building.

They serve two purposes:

• A core reason why so many people have turned towards illiberal ideas in the past years is that advocates of a free society have, often, failed to provide real answers to the pressing problems of the present. In our events, we hope to have soul-searching debates about what the values of a free society demand of us—and how they can help us build more fair and vibrant democracies.

• Another reason why advocates of a free society have been on the back foot in the past years is that we lack the institutions and gathering spaces in which we can build up an esprit de corps. Our events are meant to change that by incorporating a strong social element—connecting members of the community both to our guest speakers and to each other.

The first live events are:

• A community meet-and-greet. Hear about our vision for Persuasion and meet the new members of the community as we launch this project. (Sunday, July 12th at 5pm EST.)

• The Future of Liberalism: Drawing on their knowledge of India and Central Europe, Ivan Krastev and Pratap Bhanu Mehta discuss the prospects for the values of a free society around the world. (Sunday, July 19th, at 12pm EST.)

Live events are reserved for paying subscribers. Please join Persuasion now to gain access to our events.

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We will also have a series of book clubs in which famous authors discuss their own work or their favorite books by other writers. These include:

• Anne Applebaum, David French, and David Frum on their new books

• Thomas Chatterton-Williams on Albert Murray.

• Coleman Hughes on Bayard Rustin

• Garry Kasparov on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pritchett

• George Packer on George Orwell

• Omar Wasow on recent political science research about racial inequality and how to remedy it.

Book clubs are reserved for subscribers who are Founding Members, the highest tier of subscription.