German-American political scientist
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Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. He is also the author of the “Frankly Fukuyama” column, carried forward from American Purpose, at Persuasion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss whether the unprecedented strikes on Iran will lead to the downfall of the mullahs, whether America can avoid getting drawn into a Middle Eastern quagmire, and whether the midterms will turn Donald Trump into a lame duck. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Danielle Allen discuss democratic backsliding. Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is also Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Democratic Knowledge Project, a research lab focused on civic education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Danielle Allen discuss why the liberal worldview of the 1990s and 2000s has collapsed, how "power-sharing liberalism" can address the failures of technocratic governance, and whether participatory democracy risks empowering the professional managerial class at the expense of ordinary citizens. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Janice Gross Stein is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Janice Stein discuss whether rational choice theory has led us astray in understanding political behavior, why voters have lost interest in nuclear deterrence, and why cooperation, not rationality, is important in global politics. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk, Bethany Allen, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Chang Che examine how Asia is preparing for a more dangerous world. In this week's episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk, Bethany Allen, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Chang Che examine the stunning electoral victory of Japan's new prime minister Sanae Takaichi, China's coercion tactics and how they're backfiring across Asia, and what the rise of “authentic outsiders” tells us about the current moment in global democracy. Bethany Allen is a journalist based in Taiwan and the author of Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World. Pratap Bhanu Mehta is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and a Visiting Professor at Princeton University. Chang Che is a nonfiction writer and journalist covering China, and a contributor to The New Yorker and The Guardian. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jacob Savage is a writer and ticket scalper. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jacob Savage discuss whether the “Great Awokening” had lasting material effects beyond culture, how diversity initiatives changed hiring patterns in academia and Hollywood, and why these changes primarily affected one generation of white men rather than older cohorts already established in their careers. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Daniel Diermeier examine how elite institutions created the backlash that now threatens their future. Daniel Diermeier is Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, where he has served since 2020. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Daniel Diermeier discuss why American universities are simultaneously world-leading and losing public trust, whether elite higher education creates dangerous separation between the professional class and ordinary Americans, and how the shift from regional to national universities has reshaped American society. Polarization is at an all-time high. It can feel daunting—perhaps even misguided—to engage in meaningful dialogue with those holding starkly different views. What does it mean to champion pluralism in such a moment? Persuasion's new series on the future of pluralism, generously supported by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, features essays and podcast interviews that make the case for civic dialogue and highlight inspiring examples of it in practice. You can find past installments here. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Political theorist Yascha Mounk returns to assess whether the United States is sliding toward autocracy or demonstrating institutional resilience under pressure. He argues that while the Trump administration's actions have been more extreme than expected, courts, elections, and a decentralized system have so far acted as real constraints rather than hollow rituals, a case he first laid out in The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It. Mounk also warns against exaggeration that fuels anticipatory obedience, even as he concedes the next three years remain an open test of democratic durability. Plus, Britain's Epstein reckoning, where Keir Starmer loses top aides over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, while close associations in Epstein's own country (the USA) don't matter. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
C. Thi Nguyen is a philosophy professor at the University of Utah. His latest book is The Score: How to Stop Playing Someone Else's Game. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Thi Nguyen discuss why metrics both help and harm institutional decision-making, how game design principles can improve classroom learning, and whether some aspects of human life are inherently unmeasurable. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Jung Chang explore what individual narratives can tell us about China's past and present. Jung Chang is the author of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Empress Dowager Cixi, and Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, as well as Mao: The Unknown Story, with her husband, Jon Halliday. Her latest book is Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jung Chang discuss how personal stories illuminate broader historical truths, the culture of mistrust that has characterized Chinese society across centuries, and why young Chinese people today are increasingly rejecting marriage and romantic relationships. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ruud Koopmans is Research Director at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Professor of Sociology and Migration Research at Humboldt University Berlin. He is also a member of the German Federal government's Advisory Committee on Islamism. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ruud Koopmans discuss the role of cultural difference in integration, how selective versus non-discretionary migration systems shape integration outcomes, and whether generous welfare states help or hinder immigrant integration. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Martin Wolf also discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy—and humanity. Martin Wolf is Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, London. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Martin Wolf discuss what Trump's pick of Kevin Warsh could mean for the Fed, whether “TACO” (Trump Always Chickens Out) is a sustainable pattern, and how Trump's economic ambitions compare to those of truly revolutionary leaders. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Atul Gawande discuss how a simple system can improve patient outcomes. Atul Gawande is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Atul Gawande discuss how simple checklists can boost survival rates in the operating theater, what it means to have quality of life, and our complicated relationship with mortality.If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Gašper Beguš also talk about what whale communication and the recent progress on AI tell us about the human brain. Gašper Beguš is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley, where he focuses on interpretable AI and combines linguistics, cognitive science, machine learning, neuroscience, and marine biology. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Gašper Beguš discuss what makes human language exceptional compared to animal communication, whether whales and other animals have true language capabilities, and how properties like cultural transmission and recursion distinguish human speech. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Damon Linker writes the Substack newsletter “Notes from the Middleground.” He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and a senior fellow in the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Damon Linker discuss how Trump's second term has exceeded even pessimistic expectations, why the “adults in the room” from Trump's first administration were more effective than critics acknowledged, and whether Trump's economic promises can survive contact with reality. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In part two of Dan's conversation with political scientist Yascha Mounk, the two discuss identity politics, its growing influence on the American left, and the danger this trend poses to pluralistic societies.They examine why identity politics is so seductive, how it reshapes government, schools, and civic institutions, and why Mounk believes it ultimately undermines both individuality and democratic cohesion. The conversation also turns inward, exploring Jewish identity: where it strengthens pluralism, where it becomes politicized, and why Jews, in particular, should be cautious about abandoning universal principles for group-based power.In this episode...- Why liberalism today feels unrecognizable- What identity politics is and why it's so appealing- How universalism gave way to group-based politics- When inclusion turns into segregation- Jewish identity and the limits of identity-based politics- Why free speech remains essential for a pluralistic democracyFrom the episode:- Listen to Yascha's podcast The Good Fight- Subscribe to Persuasion- Purchase Yascha's book, The Identity TrapMore Ark Media:Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.Subscribe to Inside Call me BackListen to For Heaven's SakeListen to What's Your Number?Watch Call me Back on YouTubeNewsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav EyalInstagram | Ark Media | DanX | DanDan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of IsraelGet in touchCredits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo
In part two of Dan's conversation with political scientist Yascha Mounk, the two discuss identity politics, its growing influence on the American left, and the danger this trend poses to pluralistic societies. They examine why identity politics is so seductive, how it reshapes government, schools, and civic institutions, and why Mounk believes it ultimately undermines […]
Is Antizionism the new common denominator of the left? Political scientist Yascha Mounk, founder of Persuasion and author of The Identity Trap, joins Dan to discuss whether the rise of Zohran Mamdani is indicative of a growing connection between socialist causes and hostility towards Jews. Drawing on his personal history, Mounk explains the different iterations of Antisemitism on the left and discusses with Dan whether it is categorically different from what we're increasingly seeing on the American right.The conversation went longer than normal, so stay tuned for part 2 in which Dan and Yascha discuss how identity politics consumed America and Jews should be wary of falling into the same trap.In this episode...- Yascha's political upbringing- The history of Antizionism on the left - What would Mamdani compromise on?- Is the IHRA's definition of Antisemitism dangerous to free speech? - The Western left's silence on repression in IranThis episode was sponsored by Maimonides Fund: Sign up for the SAPIR journal at sapirjournal.org/CallMeBackFrom the episode:- Listen to Yascha's podcast The Good Fight- Subscribe to Persuasion- Purchase Yascha's book, The Identity TrapMore Ark Media:Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.Subscribe to Inside Call me BackListen to For Heaven's SakeListen to What's Your Number?Watch Call me Back on YouTubeNewsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav EyalInstagram | Ark Media | DanX | DanDan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of IsraelGet in touchCredits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo
Is Anti-Zionism the new common denominator of the left? Political scientist Yascha Mounk, founder of Persuasion and author of The Identity Trap, joins Dan to discuss whether the rise of Zohran Mamdani is indicative of a growing connection between socialist causes and hostility towards Jews. Drawing on his personal history, Mounk explains the different iterations […]
Yascha Mounk and Ian Bassin also report on what they got right—and wrong—over the past decade. Ian Bassin is co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ian Bassin discuss what democracy defenders got right about Trump's authoritarian tactics, why institutional actors have failed to resist democratic backsliding, and the underlying drivers behind the global rise of illiberalism. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Rebecca Goldstein debate whether our desperate need for significance is a flaw we should overcome—or an essential part of human dignity. Rebecca Goldstein is a philosopher and novelist. Her latest book is The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Rebecca Goldstein discuss why humans have an instinct to matter beyond mere survival, the different approaches people use to feel significant, and whether the desire to matter is a psychological flaw we should overcome or an essential part of human dignity. We're delighted to feature this conversation as part of our series on Liberal Virtues and Values. That liberalism is under threat is now a cliché—yet this has done nothing to stem the global resurgence of illiberalism. Part of the problem is that liberalism is often considered too “thin” to win over the allegiance of citizens, and that liberals are too afraid of speaking in moral terms. Liberalism's opponents, by contrast, speak to people's passions and deepest moral sentiments. This series, made possible with the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, aims to change that narrative. In podcast conversations and long-form pieces, we feature content making the case that liberalism has its own distinctive set of virtues and values that are capable not only of responding to the dissatisfaction that drives authoritarianism, but also of restoring faith in liberalism as an ideology worth believing in—and defending—on its own terms. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Scott Anderson discuss how economic collapse has created the conditions for regime change—and what this could mean for the country. Scott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent and a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine. His latest book is King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution—A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Scott Anderson discuss whether the current protests could finally topple Iran's theocratic regime, what role the Revolutionary Guard might play in determining the country's future, and whether a democratic Iran could emerge from the ashes of the Islamic Republic. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this week's episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk, Amanda Ripley, and George Packer examine the Trump administration's capture of Nicolás Maduro and the chaotic aftermath in Venezuela, whether Trump's foreign policy represents a coherent “shock and awe” strategy or a dangerous overreach, and the political outlook for 2026. Amanda Ripley is the co-founder of Good Conflict and author of High Conflict. George Packer is a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Unwinding. Note: This episode was recorded on January 7, 2026. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and Albert Hirschman Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev discuss international reactions to the Trump administration, Europe's weaknesses, and the impact of changing demographics worldwide. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama look back at this year—and make predictions for 2026. Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. He is also the author of the “Frankly Fukuyama” column, carried forward from American Purpose, at Persuasion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss why Donald Trump is flagging, whether American institutions are resilient enough to survive, and the future of Ukraine. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kelly Born is the founding director of the Packard Foundation's Democracy, Rights, and Governance initiative. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Kelly Born explore how AI could impact democracy and society—and how to respond. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Timothy Garton Ash, Sabina Ćudić, and Nathalie Tocci explore the relationship between the United States and Europe, the Ukraine peace talks, and whether Europe has any hope of reinvigorating itself. Timothy Garton Ash is the author of Homelands: A Personal History of Europe and writes the newsletter History of the Present. Sabina Ćudić is elected member of the National Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, vice president of the Foreign Relations Committee, vice president of the European liberals in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and the president of Naša stranka, a progressive, social-liberal political party. Nathalie Tocci is Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Professor of Practice at the John Hopkins University SAIS, and independent non-executive director of the multi utility company Acea. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her latest book is We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jill Lepore discuss why historians have neglected the story of America, how to fix the toxicity in higher education, and whether we need more constitutional amendments. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Richard Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is the co-author, with Cass Sunstein, of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, and is the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Richard Thaler explore to what extent humans behave rationally, how nudge theory works, and whether we should outsource questions about life to ChatGPT. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Abigail Marsh is a professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Abigail Marsh explore what to do if a child you know might be psychopathic, whether psychopathy is linked to charisma and success, and how to protect yourself. Wondering if you or a loved one might be a psychopath? Take the quiz! If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sven Beckert is Laird Bell Professor of History at Harvard University. His most recent book is Capitalism: A Global History. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Sven Beckert explore the origins of capitalism, how this triggered the Industrial Revolution, and whether today we're in late stage capitalism. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution and author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Dan Wang explore the conflict between the United States as a society of lawyers and China as a society of engineers, what this means for their relationship, and why the two countries are more similar than they may first appear. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nate Soares is president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and co-author, with Eliezer Yudkowsky, of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. He has been working in the field for over a decade, after previous experience at Microsoft and Google. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Nate Soares explore why AI is harder to control than traditional software, what happens when machines develop motivations, and at what point humans can no longer contain the potential catastrophe. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Edward Luce, Russell Muirhead, Lauren Harper Pope, and Yascha Mounk on this week's news. In this week's conversation, Ed Luce, Russ Muirhead, Lauren Harper Pope, and Yascha Mounk discuss the recent Saudi visit and what it says about Donald Trump's broader foreign policy, the direction of the MAGA movement, and the fallout in the Democratic Party from Marie Gluesenkamp Perez challenging Chuy Garcia's succession scheme. Edward Luce is the U.S. national editor and a columnist at the Financial Times, and the author of Zbig: The life of Zbig Brzezinski: America's Great Power Prophet. Russell Muirhead teaches Government at Dartmouth College. He is the author, with Nancy Rosenblum, of Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos. He serves in the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he focuses on election law. Lauren Harper Pope is a Welcome Co-Founder working to depolarize American politics and strengthen a centrist faction of the Democratic Party that wins and governs responsibly through work with The Welcome Party (c4), WelcomePAC, and The Welcome Democracy Institute (c3). Lauren leads the coordinated (hard side) program for WelcomePAC, and she writes at WelcomeStack.org. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
James Loxton is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Sydney. He is the author of Authoritarianism: A Very Short Introduction. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and James Loxton explore different types of authoritarian regimes, why they fail, and whether the United States passes the fear test. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and William MacAskill also discuss artificial intelligence. William MacAskill is a moral philosopher and cofounder of the effective altruism movement. He's the author of Doing Good Better and What We Owe the Future. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Forethought Research and works on preparing society for rapid AI-driven technological change. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and William MacAskill discuss the arguments for effective altruism, the motivations of Sam Bankman-Fried, and whether AI is a risk to humanity. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Hamid's new book is The Case for American Power. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shadi Hamid explore why the world still needs America, how to improve U.S. foreign policy, and to what extent their views on the Iraq War have changed. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mike joins Yascha Mounk's Good Fight Club to debate the mid-midterm results: Democrats' surprisingly strong showings in Virginia and New Jersey, Zoran Mamdani's charisma-vs-governance problem in New York, and whether moderates like Abigail Spanberger can still carry a national coalition. Also: the Seattle mayoral race tightens, and the "Dems in disarray" narrative hits a wall. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Yascha Mounk and George Packer discuss autocracy in literature and real life. George Packer is an award-winning author and staff writer at The Atlantic. His latest book is The Emergency. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and George Packer discuss authoritarianism in fiction, living humanist virtues in morally complex times, and how the Democrats can defeat Donald Trump. Note: This conversation was recorded on October 21, 2025. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this conversation, Sam Kahn, Mike Pesca, Christine Rosen, and Yascha Mounk discuss what the election results mean for the direction of the Democrats, what the Heritage Foundation scandal shows about anti-Semitism on the right, and Dick Cheney's mixed legacy. Sam Kahn is associate editor at Persuasion and writes the Substack Castalia. Mike is the host of The Gist, the longest-running daily news and analysis podcast in existence. Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She is also a monthly columnist for Commentary magazine, one of the cohosts of The Commentary Magazine Daily Podcast, a fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, and senior editor at The New Atlantis. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joseph Heath is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Trudeau Foundation, Heath is the author of several books, including Enlightenment 2.0 and The Machinery of Government. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Joseph Heath discuss the death of Western Marxism, approaches to equality, and how to create an equal society. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Richard Aldous, Sabina Ćudić, and Damon Linker join Yascha Mounk to dissect this week's news. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Richard Aldous, Sabina Ćudić, and Damon Linker explore the future of the Democratic Party, from midterm predictions to the unstoppable rise of Zohran Mamdani, the impact of the ongoing government shutdown, and the recent meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Richard Aldous is Eugene Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at Bard. His latest books are The Dillon Era and Schlesinger. He hosts Persuasion's books and ideas podcast, Bookstack. Sabina Ćudić is elected member of the National Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, vice president of the Foreign Relations Committee, vice president of the European liberals in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and the president of Naša stranka, a progressive, social-liberal political party. Damon Linker is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania and writes the subscription newsletter “Notes from the Middleground” at Substack. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Geoffrey Hinton discuss how AI works—and why it's a risk. Geoffrey Hinton is a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist known as the “godfather of AI.” He was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with John Hopfield. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Geoffrey Hinton discuss what neuroscience teaches us about AI, how humans and machines learn, and the existential risks of AI. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Francis Fukuyama, Mona Charen, and Yascha Mounk dissect this week's news. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Francis Fukuyama and Mona Charen discuss Trump's latest actions, from demolishing the East Wing of the White House to demanding compensation from the Justice Department; whether the Trump administration's bombing boats in Venezuela might lead to further military action; and the link between social media and populism. Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. He is also the author of the “Frankly Fukuyama” column, carried forward from American Purpose, at Persuasion. Mona Charen, syndicated columnist and author, is Policy Editor of The Bulwark and host of two weekly podcasts: The Mona Charen Show and Just Between Us. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lulu Cheng Meservey is the founder of Rostra, advocate of going direct, and writer of Flack. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Lulu Meservey explore why the traditional communications playbook is no longer effective, why so many politicians come across badly on TV, and how to be a great leader. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Randall Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on contracts, criminal law, and the regulation of race relations. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Randall Kennedy discuss the history of racism in the United States, the shortcomings of critical race theory, and whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic about the trajectory of racism in America. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and Quico Toro explore why we fall for them—and how to protect ourselves. Quico Toro is a contributing editor at Persuasion, the Director of Climate Repair at the Anthropocene Institute, and writes the Substack One Percent Brighter. He is the author, with Moisés Naím, of Charlatans: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Hucksters Bamboozle the Media, the Markets, and the Masses. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Quico Toro explore whether fraudsters are motivated by self-deception or the desire to scam, how the internet and our society enable charlatans, and how to resist them. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this week's episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk, Garry Kasparov, Russ Muirhead, and Quico Toro discuss the ceasefire in Gaza, the impact of the U.S. government shutdown, and the extent to which America under Trump mirrors Russia and Venezuela. Garry Kasparov is the chairman and founder of the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI), which publishes The Next Move. Russell Muirhead teaches Government at Dartmouth College. He is the author, with Nancy Rosenblum, of Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos. He serves in the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he focuses on election law. Quico Toro is a contributing editor at Persuasion, Director of Climate Repair at the Anthropocene Institute, and writes the Substack One Percent Brighter. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
To listen to the full episode and support the podcast, please subscribe today! Oren Harman is a Senior Fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and teaches at the Graduate Program in Science Technology and Society at Bar Ilan University. His latest book is Metamorphosis: A Natural and Human History. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Oren Harman explore the evolutionary benefits of altruism, metamorphosis in the world around us, and how it impacts our perception of human growth. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yascha Mounk and David French have a therapy session about politics. David French is a columnist for The New York Times. His most recent book is Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and David French discuss how politics has changed since 2017, where the Democrats have gone wrong, and how Donald Trump's second term is different to his first. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk, Renée DiResta, Jacob Mchangama, and Jonathan Rauch discuss threats to free speech under Joe Biden vs Donald Trump, how to protect free speech, and the administration's new compact for universities. Renée DiResta is an Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Jacob Mchangama is the Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech and a research professor at Vanderbilt University. He is also a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the author of Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, and a member of the Persuasion Board of Advisors. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices