Yascha Mounk and Richard Reeves discuss why most young men aren’t becoming reactionary. Richard Reeves is the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He is the author of Dream Hoarders and, most recently, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It (which was recently included by Barack Obama on his summer reading list). In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Richard Reeves discuss whether young men propelled Donald...
Dec 07, 2024•1 hr 22 min
Yascha Mounk and Cass Sunstein discuss the meaning of free speech and how it should be applied on campus. Cass Sunstein is an American legal scholar and the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. Sunstein was the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under Barack Obama, and is considered to be the most widely cited legal scholar in the United States. Sunstein is the author, with Richard Thaler, of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Healt...
Nov 30, 2024•47 min
In our second-ever mailbag, Yascha answers questions about the role of journalism in the Trump era, RFK Jr., and a national voter ID law. Yascha also answers listener questions about whether it's good or bad that it is so hard to pass a new law in the United States and the importance of public choice economics. This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so n...
Nov 26, 2024•12 min
Yascha Mounk and Melissa Chen also discuss the rise of China and the future of US-China relations. Melissa Chen is a Singaporean journalist and activist. She is a contributing editor to The Spectator and co-founder of Ideas Beyond Borders. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Melissa Chen discuss the unique cultural and political landscape of Singapore and its "competitive authoritarian" system of government; how the US went wrong in its policy of engagement with China; and what the Tru...
Nov 23, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev discuss what Trump’s reelection will mean for the future of the world. Ivan Krastev is a political scientist, the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria, and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. Krastev is the author of After Europe and, with Stephen Holmes, of The Light that Failed: A Reckoning. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev discuss the advent of the Trump era in American politics; wh...
Nov 16, 2024•57 min
Yascha and Freya discuss why so many young people came to prefer the online world to real life. Freya India is the author of the Substack GIRLS. She is also a staff writer for Jonathan Haidt’s Substack After Babel. In this week’s conversation, Yascha and Freya discuss the great sense of social isolation and anxiety felt by so many young people; why the life lived online is a shoddy substitute for the real thing; and how the difficulties ascribed to social media addiction among young people often...
Nov 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss what a Trump victory means for America, its allies, and the world. Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist, author, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Among Fukuyama’s notable works are The End of History and the Last Man and The Origins of Political Order. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. He is also the author of the “Frankly Fukuyama” column, carr...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Yascha Mounk and Shikha Dalmia discuss American conservatism, the rise of authoritarian populism, and whether identitarians of the left are right or wrong on their fundamental goals. Shikha Dalmia, a writer and journalist, is the founder of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism and of The UnPopulist, an editorial partner of Persuasion. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shikha Dalmia discuss her journey from socialist India to the American libertarian movement; how ma...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Yascha Mounk and Norbert Röttgen discuss the war in Ukraine and Germany’s political, economic, and security crisis. Norbert Röttgen is a senior leader of the Christian Democratic Union. A former cabinet minister, he was chair of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee from 2014 to 2021. Röttgen is the author ofDemocracy and War: Politics and Identity in a Time of Global Threats. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Norbert Röttgen discuss the insufficiency of Germany’s support of Ukra...
Oct 26, 2024•56 min
Yascha Mounk, Ruy Teixeira, and Yuval Levin discuss why American elections are so close—and how one party could build a stable majority. Ruy Teixeira is the co-founder and politics editor of The Liberal Patriot, and the author, with John Judis, of The Emerging Democratic Majority and, most recently, Where Have All the Democrats Gone?: The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes. Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Lev...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Yascha Mounk and Teresa Bejan discuss the secret history of free speech and why the word “problematic” is problematic. Teresa Bejan is a professor of political theory at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Oriel College. She is the author of Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration and the forthcoming First Among Equals, which explores ideas of equality before modern egalitarianism. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Teresa Bejan discuss how liberals should think ...
Oct 19, 2024•1 hr 11 min
James Robinson, a political scientist and economist, is the Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago. Robinson is the co-author, with Daron Acemoglu, of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor. Today, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that it would award the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to James Robinson, Daron Acemoglu, and Simon Johnson “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperit...
Oct 14, 2024•54 min
Sign up for the Persuasion panel event in London: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trump-vs-harris-what-next-for-america-and-the-world-tickets-1026768591497 Yascha Mounk and Charles Taylor discuss the modern struggle for meaning and belonging. Charles Taylor is a Canadian philosopher and Professor Emeritus at McGill University. Taylor is the recipient of both the Kyoto and Templeton prizes, and is the author of major works including A Secular Age and Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Ide...
Oct 12, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Yascha Mounk and Ruxandra Teslo discuss luxury beliefs and the concept of "elite misinformation." Ruxandra Teslo is a PhD student in Genomics at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. She writes about science and culture at Ruxandra’s Substack. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ruxandra Teslo discuss Rob Henderson’s concept of luxury beliefs, its key insights, and the misleading ways in which it’s often used; the academic study of “misinformation” and why we should be skeptical of (m...
Oct 05, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Yascha Mounk and Amanda Ripley discuss what natural catastrophes reveal about human nature. Amanda Ripley is an American author and journalist. Her books include The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes and High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Amanda Ripley discuss the pitfalls common to many survival scenarios and the psychological tools most helpful in avoiding them; whether the strength of one’s community ties or improv...
Sep 28, 2024•55 min
The first installment of a new monthly feature. In this inaugural mailbag, Yascha answers listener questions on the upcoming US election; how concerned we should be about a second Trump term; whether it’s possible for a politician to change their views without giving up on their principles; his tips for how to travel well; and more. This is a preview. To access the full episode, become a paying subscriber today by visiting http://www.yaschamounk.substack.com/subscribe! And please send us questio...
Sep 25, 2024•10 min
Yascha Mounk and Musa Al-Gharbi discuss why so many members of elite groups like to pretend they’re oppressed. Musa al-Gharbi is an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University. His most recent book is We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Musa Al-Gharbi discuss the tendency of certain elite groups to lay claim to marginalized identities as a form of symbolic capital; the c...
Sep 21, 2024•1 hr
Yascha Mounk and Alexandre Lefebvre discuss taking liberalism seriously as the main moral paradigm of our world. Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney. His books include Human Rights as a Way of Life and, most recently, Liberalism as a Way of Life. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Alexandre Lefebvre discuss the difference between political liberalism and liberalism as a comprehensive doctrine—or “way of life”; how we can uphold the ...
Sep 14, 2024•55 min
Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss how to build a healthy campus community (and keep it). Raj Vinnakota is President of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, co-founder of the SEED Foundation, and co-chair of the Civics and Civic Engagement Taskforce for the United States Congress Semiquincentennial Commission. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss the best strategies for building a campus environment conducive to genuine conversations and the free exchange of ...
Sep 07, 2024•47 min
In one of his final extended interviews, which was recorded three years before his recent death, the late anthropologist James C. Scott and Yascha Mounk discuss the need to be vigilant about the ways in which states do violence to individuals and societies. James C. Scott was the Sterling professor of political science and anthropology at Yale University. Scott is the author of major works including Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed and Against t...
Aug 31, 2024•58 min
Yascha Mounk and Timur Kuran discuss the perceived social and political pressures that lead individuals to conceal their true beliefs—and what that means for our politics. Timur Kuran is Professor of Economics and Political Science and the Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He is the author of Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification and Islam and Mammon: The Economic Predicaments of Islamism. In this week’s conversation, Yascha...
Aug 24, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Yascha Mounk and Douglas Vakoch discuss whether it is morally justified to alert aliens to humanity's existence. Douglas Vakoch is an American astrobiologist, extraterrestrial intelligence researcher, and the president of METI International, an organization devoted to transmitting messages to outer space. His books include The Drake Equation: Estimating the Prevalence of Extraterrestrial Life through the Ages and Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication. In this week’s conversat...
Aug 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Yascha Mounk and Freddie deBoer discuss whether the sweeping set of progressive ideas that came into force in 2020 has really begun to recede. Freddie deBoer is a writer, academic, and critic. He writes the Freddie deBoer Substack, and is the author of books including the Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice and, most recently, How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Freddie deBoer discuss whether "woke" ide...
Aug 10, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Yascha Mounk and Anne Applebaum discuss the new tools autocrats use to stay in power. Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Senior Fellow of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Her books include Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine and Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe. Her latest book is Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Anne Applebaum discuss how dictators use the system of intern...
Aug 03, 2024•49 min
Yascha Mounk and Shalom Auslander discuss the origins of the stories that make us feel bad about ourselves. Shalom Auslander is an American novelist, memoirist, and essayist. He is the author of Foreskin's Lament and, most recently, FEH: A Memoir. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shalom Auslander discuss how religious narratives inherited from the Judeo-Christian tradition affect our sense of self-worth; how to actually help oneself while steering clear of "self-help"; and how to be...
Jul 27, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Yascha Mounk and Matthew Yglesias discuss Kamala Harris' strengths and vulnerabilities, and what she needs to do to win. Matthew Yglesias is a writer and journalist, co-founder of Vox, and founder of the Substack newsletter Slow Boring. His latest book is One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Matthew Yglesias discuss how Kamala Harris can broaden her appeal before November; what explains the lack of substantial coverage of Biden’s cogn...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 19 min
Yascha Mounk and Eitan Hersh discuss the importance of strategic political action that focuses on goals and outcomes. Eitan Hersh is Professor of Political Science at Tufts University, focusing on U.S. elections and civic participation. His latest book is Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Eitan Hersh discuss how to engage with politics in ways likely to bring about meaningful change; how ...
Jul 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
In this emergency podcast, Yascha Mounk and Rachel Kleinfeld discuss how to prevent a spiral of violence. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kleinfeld’s latest book is A Savage Order: How the World's Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Rachel Kleinfeld discuss why political violence has been on the rise in recent years; which important ...
Jul 16, 2024•52 min
Yascha Mounk and Elizabeth Anderson discuss why intersectionality and talk about privilege don’t help to build a more equal society. Elizabeth Anderson, one of the most interesting contemporary political philosophers, is the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan. Her latest book is Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Elizabeth Anderson discuss the im...
Jul 13, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss the state of democracy around the world. Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist, author, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Fukuyama’s notable works include The End of History and the Last Man and The Origins of Political Order. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss the triumph of th...
Jul 06, 2024•55 min
