Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Rauch also discuss patrimonialism in the United States. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution and a member of the Persuasion Board of Advisors. His latest book is Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Rauch discuss the decline of religion and its impact on society, the long-term future of religion in America, and why patrimonialism is...
Mar 12, 2025•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mónica Guzmán is author of I Never Thought of it That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity; Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels; and host of A Braver Way podcast. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Mónica Guzmán discuss how to build trust across political divides and the joy of heated debates. Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight. If you have not yet signed up for our po...
Mar 08, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m really proud of the community that has grown up around The Good Fight, Persuasion and my own Substack. That’s why I was excited to welcome paying subscribers to join me for a live session—so I could answer your questions personally. We had a great discussion: About the idea of a foreign policy for the middle class. About the state of free speech in Europe. About how to tell when the rule of law has broken down in the United States. About the prospects for a third party. And about so much mor...
Mar 04, 2025•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Editor’s Note: This podcast was produced as part of Persuasion’s partnership with the Civil Discourse @ MIT program, at which Spencer Case spoke late last year on the topic “Does Citizenship Require Patriotism?” To learn more about Civil Discourse @ MIT, visit the program’s website here, and to see prior episodes in the series click here. Spencer Case hosts Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast. He's the author of many academic philosophy articles and coauthor of Is Morality Real? A Debate. He...
Mar 01, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jake Sullivan served as national security advisor under President Biden. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jake Sullivan discuss the record of President Biden’s administration, the future of Ukraine, and how it feels to be making decisions under pressure in the Situation Room. Note: This episode was recorded on February 12, 2025. 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 ...
Feb 22, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wolfgang Münchau is the Director of Eurointelligence and a journalist focusing on the European Union and European economy. His most recent book is Kaput: The End of the German Miracle. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Wolfgang Münchau discuss why the German car industry–and broader economy–is in decline, and explore the potential political future of Germany as the country heads to the polls. This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. To get ad-free access to ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Marc Dunkelman on Why Nothing Works Marc Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. His most recent book is Why Nothing Works. In this conversation, Yascha Mounk and Marc Dunkelman explore the challenges facing big projects in the U.S., the origins of progressivism, and how Donald Trump fits into this story. This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. To get ad-free access to all of The Good Fight, including full week...
Feb 15, 2025•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arlie Hochschild is an author and professor emerita of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her books include Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right and Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Arlie Hochschild discuss the fear of empathy among the American left, the impact of the loss of pride among white working class communities, and how to understand the deep story of Latinos who voted f...
Feb 12, 2025•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Oren Cass discuss the reasoning behind Trump’s economic policy. Oren Cass is the founder and executive director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Oren Cass discuss the decline of manufacturing in the U.S., whether there is any coherence to Trump's economic policy, and if the Democrats or Republicans are the more natural home for working class voters. This transc...
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Eric Kaufmann also discuss "asymmetrical multiculturalism" and the global fertility crisis. Eric Kaufmann is a professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham, where he directs the Centre for Heterodox Social Science. Kaufmann is the author of The Third Awokening (entitled Taboo in the UK), Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities, and Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Eric Kaufmann discuss why ...
Feb 01, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss the first few days of the Trump administration–and what it means for domestic and foreign policy. 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. You can find his blog, Frankly ...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Yanis Varoufakis discuss whether the dominance of large cloud-focused tech companies signals the arrival of a new economic order. Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, politician, and the former Greek Minister of Finance. Varoufakis is the author of Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present and Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Yanis Varoufakis discuss whether the extraction of "cloud rent" by Big Tech heralds a return t...
Jan 25, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Anastasia Berg discuss the case for having—or not having—kids. Anastasia Berg is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine and an editor of The Point magazine. Berg is the co-author, with Rachel Wiseman, of What Are Children For? On Ambivalence and Choice. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Anastasia Berg discuss why many couples delay having children and the affirmative case for valuing human life; the moral and ethical implications...
Jan 18, 2025•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Fraser Nelson discuss the Labour government’s shrinking popularity and the challenges facing a post-Brexit Britain. Fraser Nelson is a British political journalist who was editor of The Spectator from 2009 to 2024. Nelson is also a columnist for The Times. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Fraser Nelson discuss social dysfunction in the UK; how and why Britain should pursue welfare reform; and Fraser's fight to keep the United Arab Emirates from purchasing British ne...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Tyler Cowen also discuss AI and the state of the world economy. Tyler Cowen is an American economist, columnist, and blogger. Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris chair in economics at George Mason University, and is the co-author, with Alex Tabarrok, of the blog Marginal Revolution. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Tyler Cowen discuss the likely economic futures of Europe, Asia, and Africa; how the United States should approach competition with China; and what role young...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Noam Chomsky and Yascha Mounk discuss America and the world, past and present. Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has for many decades been one of the most prominent critics of U.S. foreign policy. In a conversation from 2021, Noam Chomsky and Yascha Mounk discuss the theory of universal grammar, whether identity politics can be left-wing, and how the world should treat an ascendant China. This transcript has been condensed and lightly e...
Dec 28, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a tour d'horizon, Yascha and Frank discuss the fall of Assad, the rise of China, the crisis in Europe, and what awaits the United States under Trump. 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 a...
Dec 21, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Noah Smith discuss the neoliberal era and the role of unions in America. Noah Smith is a writer and a former professor of finance at Stony Brook University. Smith is the author of the Substack Noahpinion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Noah Smith discuss the rise of the YIMBY ("Yes, in my backyard!") movement; why childcare, housing, and health care costs are so high in the United States; and what it would look like to embrace a genuine "abundance agenda." This tr...
Dec 19, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yascha Mounk and Alice Evans discuss why women have won equality in some countries but remain at the margin in many others. Alice Evans is a senior lecturer in international development at King's College London and the author of the forthcoming book The Great Gender Divergence. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Alice Evans discuss the influence of cultural and religious norms in promoting or stifling gender equality; how we can advocate for improvements in gender equality while minim...
Dec 14, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
