Podcast appearances and mentions of Yascha Mounk

This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with well-known author and public intellectual Yascha Mounk about his recent fascination with China, his approach to learning about the country and learning Chinese, and his thoughts on how China fits into the current crisis of Western liberal democracy.7:15 – Yascha's experience of living in China and learning Chinese12:18 – Yascha's perspective on China's strengths and weaknesses20:12 – China in a global comparative perspective: Generational aspirations and demographic decline29:45 – China's Soft Power vs. Japan, Korea, and the U.S.45:30 – Media narratives on China: have they shifted?54:20 – Western Liberalism confronts China01:07:07 – Backlash & criticism01:11:35 - Polarization and “China as enemy” narrativesRecommendations: Yascha: The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (book), The Leopard (1963) (movie)Kaiser: A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism by Adam Gopnik (book)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yascha Mounk and Damon Linker discuss the fallout from the assassination of Charlie Kirk—and what happens next. 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. He is the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test. He is currently working on a book for Princeton University Press about Leo Strauss and his influence on the American right. In this conversation, Yascha Mounk and Damon Linker discuss reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk, what it shows about polarization in America, and the likelihood of further political violence. 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

durée : 00:26:45 - L'invité de 8h20 : le grand entretien - par : Nicolas Demorand, Benjamin Duhamel - Les politologues Amy Greene et Yascha Mounk, la journaliste Ivanne Trippenbach, reviennent sur ce qu'incarnait Charlie Kirk et analysent les séquelles que laissera son assassinat. - invités : Yascha Mounk, Ivanne Trippenbach - Yascha Mounk : Politologue allemand naturalisé américain, Ivanne Trippenbach : Grand reporter au Monde Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

(00:00:41) Diplomatie parallèle du Tony Blair Institute: quand les ex-dirigeants vendent leurs réseaux (00:08:48) "Il y a un vrai risque personnel" à se lancer en politique aux Etats-Unis: Yascha Mounk, politologue

David Brooks interviews Yascha Mounk to mark the paperback edition of The Identity Trap. Yascha Mounk is the founder and editor-in-chief of Persuasion. His latest book is The Identity Trap, which is out in paperback with a new afterword on September 23. David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times and a contributor to The Atlantic. He is a commentator on The PBS Newshour. His latest book is How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and David Brooks discuss how Yascha's personal history influences his thought, the intellectual history behind the identity synthesis, and how to create a vision for the Democrats to inspire voters. 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, Ivan Krastev, Amanda Ripley, and Mike Pesca discuss what the Russian drones shot down in Poland mean for NATO, the impact of the Supreme Court's recent decision on immigration, how the Democrats can hold Donald Trump to account, and declining reading rates in U.S. schools. Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and Albert Hirschman Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna. Amanda Ripley is the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict, and the author of High Conflict, The Smartest Kids in the World, and The Unthinkable. Mike is the host of The Gist, the longest-running daily news and analysis podcast in existence.  Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland. 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

Tom Ginsburg is the Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law, Professor of Political Science, and Faculty Director of the Malyi Center for the Study of Institutional and Legal Integrity and the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at the University of Chicago. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Tom Ginsburg explore different approaches to constitutions in the United States, Europe, and beyond, the advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. political system, and how to protect the First Amendment. 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 longform 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. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland. 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

Daron Acemoglu is an Institute Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His books include (with James A. Robinson) Why Nations Fail, and (with Simon Johnson) Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity. In 2024, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Daron Acemoglu discuss the impact of colonialism, the role of culture in civil society, and China's strengths and weaknesses. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and John Taylor Williams. 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, Francis Fukuyama, Mona Charen, and Russell Muirhead explore why the “Trump is dead” conspiracy took hold, the recent summit between Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, and what the latest developments at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us about the fate of public health in America. 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. 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 NH House of Representatives where he focuses on election law. 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

Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. His latest book is On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Cass Sunstein explore critiques from the left and the right, what different strands of liberalism can teach us, and why John Stuart Mill has the answer. We're delighted to feature this conversation as part of our new 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'll 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. 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

Goodbye Normal - it was nice knowing you!Nick Cohen and author & academic Yascha Mounk explore the enduring presence of populism and the challenges faced by centrists in adapting to changing political realities, discussing how assumptions about the world have evolved over the past 25 years. They examine various economic and political challenges across different countries, including Britain, Poland, and the United States, while analyzing how populists like Modi and Trump have capitalised on claims of representing the people against elites. The conversation concluded with discussions about the challenges facing American progressives and centre-left parties, emphasising the need for strategic adjustments and effective messaging to counteract populist threats and regain political credibility.Challenges of Centrism in Populism EraYascha explains the enduring presence of populism and the challenges faced by centrists in the current political landscape. Yascha highlighted how assumptions about the world, particularly those held by liberal democrats, have been swept away over the past 25 years, similar to the period after World War II. He emphasises that centrists are often out of tune with the present because they cling to outdated worldviews rather than adapting to new realities. Andrew agreed, noting that Peter Mandelson's comment about Trump being the most consequential president in living memory reflects the shift from a neoliberal to a populist order.Defending democracy and academic freedomYascha also emphasises the importance of defending democratic institutions and academic freedom against threats like Donald Trump, arguing that while some may have been willing to compromise on issues like diversity statements in the past, it is now crucial to stand firm. He criticises the tendency of some liberal professors and journalists to impose their values on society, which can backfire and drive people towards Trump-like figures.Read all about it!Yascha is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Persuasion Substack - @JoinPersuasion - and also has his own Yascha Mounk Substack column. A man of many talents, Yascha hosts his own podcast, The Good Fight. Yascha's latest and highly acclaimed book - The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time - is published by Penguin. A political scientist, Yascha is also Professor of Practice at the School of Advanced International Studies of John Hopkins University in the U.S.Nick Cohen's @NichCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 people should ascribe to personal financial advancement in their career choices. ⁠ 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 now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: podcast@persuasion.community  Website: ⁠http://www.persuasion.community⁠ Podcast production by ⁠Jack Shields⁠, and Brendan Ruberry Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ Twitter: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@joinpersuasion⁠ Youtube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 challenges posed by "asymmetric multiculturalism," in which we encourage certain groups to organize along identitarian lines while discouraging others from doing the same; and how we can apply greater consistency to our analysis of social dynamics. ⁠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 now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: podcast@persuasion.community  Website: ⁠http://www.persuasion.community⁠ Podcast production by ⁠Jack Shields⁠, and Brendan Ruberry Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ Twitter: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@joinpersuasion⁠ Youtube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heute: Yascha Mounk, Autor von "Im Zeitalter der Identität: Der Aufstieg einer gefährlichen Idee" Wir sprechen über Identitätspolitik, progressive Sprache und Donald Trump.

What transforms reasonable people into an angry mob? Why are we so eager to dismiss those who disagree with us as inherently evil? These are questions which Jonathan Haidt has spent his career trying to answer. One of the world's most influential social psychologists and a member of Persuasion's Board of Advisors, he argues that a lot of recent cultural shifts are encouraging emotional fragility rather than resilience. A professor of ethical leadership at NYU's Stern School of Business, Haidt seeks to employ moral psychology to promote dialogue rather than division. In this week's episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk sits down with Jonathan Haidt to discuss psychological differences between the left and the right, the human tendency to discriminate in favor of the in-group, and how to build a less tribal culture and country. Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: goodfightpod@gmail.com Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: http://www.persuasion.community Podcast production by John T. Williams and Rebecca Rashid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for Trump in 2024. ⁠ 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 now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: podcast@persuasion.community  Website: ⁠http://www.persuasion.community⁠ Podcast production by Jack Shields, and Leonora Barclay Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ Twitter: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@joinpersuasion⁠ Youtube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's conversation, recorded live in D.C. at the “Liberalism for the 21st Century” conference, Yascha Mounk, Francis Fukuyama, Steven Pinker, and Sabina Ćudić discuss Trump's firings and what this means for the civil service, how to build a positive case for liberalism, and the impact of the rise of AI. Steven Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, and one of Time's “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” His latest book is When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. 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. Sabina Ćudić is a member of the National Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she is the president of the Naša stranka political party club. Ćudić also serves as vice president of the Foreign Relations Committee, and is a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, where she is a vice president of the European liberals. 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 John Taylor Williams. 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

We're delighted to feature this conversation as part of our new 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'll 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. David Enoch is professor of the philosophy of law at Oxford, and a professor of law and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of Taking Morality Seriously: A Defense of Robust Realism. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and David Enoch explore why liberalism is being defended in the wrong way, why we should be moral objectivists, and how to fight for liberal values. Note: This episode was recorded on July 14, 2025. This conversation was made possible through the support of Grant 63690 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. 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 Christine Rosen discuss the societal consequences of always being online. 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.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Christine Rosen discuss the perils of online dating, the impact of public shaming, and why the internet makes it harder to develop a sense of self. 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

Miles Taylor is a national security expert. Based in Washington, D.C., he is editor of the recently launched newsletter Treason on Substack. Taylor previously served as chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he published an “Anonymous” essay in The New York Times, blowing the whistle on presidential misconduct. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Miles Taylor discuss to what extent the “adults in the room” made a difference in Donald Trump's first administration, the president's disregard for rule of law, and why Taylor wrote the anonymous New York Times op-ed about internal resistance to the first Trump administration. 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 Thomas Chatterton Williams explore what the summer of 2020 showed about America. Thomas Chatterton Williams is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Losing My Cool, Self-Portrait in Black and White, and Summer of Our Discontent. He is a visiting professor of humanities and senior fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, a 2022 Guggenheim fellow, and a visiting fellow at AEI.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Thomas Chatterton Williams discuss why the summer of 2020 played out as it did, the subsequent backlash, and why ideas core to the 2020 protests have now been quietly abandoned. 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

Today, I'm pleased to welcome Yascha Mounk to the TLP Podcast. Yascha is an Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and is the author of the excellent 2023 book, The Identity Trap, featured on TLP when it was first published. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the always interesting Persuasion newsletter and writes regularly on his own personal self-titled Substack as well.Join us for a nuanced discussion about unresolved populism in Western societies, the contradictions of modern free speech politics, and why liberal democracy risks erosion without the emergence of bolder, more heterodox leaders.A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our website. Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at www.liberalpatriot.com/subscribe

Jesse Singal is cohost of the podcast Blocked and Reported, author of the newsletter Singal-Minded, and a contributing writer at The Dispatch. His first book is The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills, and he is working on his second, which is about the American debate over youth gender medicine. In this week's episode, Yascha Mounk and Jesse Singal explore whether wokeness is over, the future of the Democratic Party, and why social science is in crisis. 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

At the end of May, Elon Musk quit his role as Special Government Employee and his leadership of the the infamous DOGE. The official departure was relatively amicable, if a little awkward, in the Oval Office with Musk sporting a black eye, in which Trump thanked him for his service. But things quickly turned ugly, with personal attacks from both men. But aside from the egos clash, what does this divorce between Musk and Trump signify for the MAGA coalition? Does it point to a deep ideological tension between the Silicon Valley vision of politics and that of the likes of Steve Bannon? What is the level of influence of the people of Peter Tiel, who see democracy as disposable, on Trump's Government? And does Trump's Big Beautiful Bill reveal that the dominant ideology in Trump's government is still an old-fashioned version of "cut taxes and welfare"? Yascha Mounk is an Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and the founder of Persuasion, an online magazine devoted to the defence of liberalism. He is the author of many books, most recently The Identity Trap - A story of ideas and power in our time. And the host of the excellent podcast The Good Fight. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts.This podcast is created in partnership with The Philosopher, the UK's longest running public philosophy journalm founded in 1923. Check out the latest issue of The Philosopher and its online events series: https://www.thephilosopher1923.org Artwork by Nick HallidayMusic by Rowan Mcilvride

This week, Yascha Mounk is joined by Mona Charen, Francis Fukuyama, and Ivan Krastev to discuss how the latest revelations about Epstein will affect Donald Trump, the Trump administration's war on universities, Volodymyr Zelensky's bill on anti-corruption agencies, and the recent attacks on the independence of the Fed. 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. Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and Albert Hirschman Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna. Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University. His latest book is Liberalism and Its Discontents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isaac Saul is a politics reporter and the founder of Tangle, an independent, nonpartisan news outlet. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Isaac Saul discuss the importance of exploring both sides of an argument, whether Donald Trump's executive overreach amounts to authoritarianism, and how to handle immigration. 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 Dan Williams discuss fake news. Daniel Williams is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex. He writes the Conspicuous Cognition newsletter, which brings together philosophical insights and scientific research to examine the forces shaping contemporary society and politics. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Dan Williams explore whether the term misinformation is defined too broadly, how to judge if something is fake news, and what is meant by the “everyone is biased” bias. 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

Steven Teles is a professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. He is the co-author of a number of books, including The Captured Economy, Never Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites, and Prison Break: Why Conservatives Turned Against Mass Incarceration. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Steven Teles discuss what abundance means in practice, how it fits into a broader policy agenda, and the future of U.S. universities. 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 Alex Thompson discuss who knew what—and when. Alex Thompson is a national political correspondent for Axios and the co-author, with Jake Tapper, of Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Alex Thompson discuss when Biden's mental state first became concerning, the cover up, and the motivations of Biden's team and of other members of the Democratic Party during that period. 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

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 Donald Trump's “big, beautiful bill,” the impact it will have on Trump's supporters, and whether the United States is facing a looming economic crisis. 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 special episode, Robinson and Karl Zheng Wang co-host at the Yale US-China Forum. Return guests from the show include Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, and Yascha Mounk. Slavoj Žižek is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New York University, and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana's Department of Philosophy. Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yannis Varoufakis is a Greek economist and politician, and current Secretary-General of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025. Robin Visser is Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she researches modern Chinese and Sinophone literatures, urban cultural studies, and environmental studies. Pei Wang is Professor in the Chinese History and Culture Program at the University of Hong Kong, where she specializes in comparative philosophy, psychoanalysis, and more. Daniel Mattingly is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University, where he studies the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China.  OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:46 The Future of Europe and China00:10:40 There Is No Such Thing as Trade Wars, They Are All Class Wars00:15:50 How Wall Street's Failures Fueled the Rise of Tech00:20:02 Why Is There a New Cold War Between the US and China?00:27:18 Why the United States Is Abandoning Democracy and Why China is Yannis Varoufakis's Only Hope00:29:26 Richard Wolff to Yannis Varoufakis: Are We Heading Toward Nuclear War with China?00:35:58 How Class WARFARE Shaped the World Superpowers CLIP00:41:01 Is China Capitalism's Final Form?00:52:03 Is There Any Way that China and the United Stated Could Avert Conflict?00:59:16 Varoufakis to Wolff: Is a Tariff Hail Mary Trump's Only Remaining Option?01:03:39 Daniel Mattingly on China's Sociopolitical Organization01:08:39 How Does Xi Jinping Talk About Socialism?01:13:47 Yascha Mounk on US-China Competition01:22:36 Philosophy, Socialism, and Capitalism01:48:40 Pei Wang on the Hero and Father in US-China Competition01:54:31 Hero and Father Archetypes in PoliticsRobinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

Dean Spears and Michael Geruso are economists, demographers, and associate professors at the University of Texas at Austin. Their book After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People is out on July 8, 2025. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Dean Spears and Michael Geruso explore whether a higher population really impacts climate change, why more people on the planet means more geniuses, and how we can avoid depopulation. 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

Luke Tryl is the Executive Director of More in Common UK, where he leads the organization's work on public opinion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Luke Tryl discuss where Keir Starmer has gone wrong, the reasons behind the rise of Reform UK, and whether time's up for the Conservative Party. Note: This conversation was recorded on June 6, 2025. 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 Irshad Manji also discuss how to have dialogue with ideological opponents. Irshad Manji is the founder of Moral Courage College, which equips people worldwide to turn heated issues into healthy conversations and sustained teamwork. Her latest book is Don't Label Me: How to Do Diversity Without Inflaming the Culture Wars. In this week's episode, Yascha Mounk and Irshad Manji discuss how it feels to become a U.S. citizen during turbulent times, how to have conversations about controversial topics without being canceled, and how to resist the temptation of being right about everything. 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 series on the future of pluralism, generously supported by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, features longform essays and podcast interviews that make the case for civic dialogue and highlight inspiring examples of it in practice. You can find the full series here. 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

Die US-Regierung benutzt die politische Macht, um Universitäten anzugreifen. Wie zeigt sich das im Alltag? Was sind die Gründe? Der Politikwissenschaftler Yascha Mounk ist Professor an der Johns-Hopkins-Universität in Baltimore. An den Universitäten gab es in den letzten Jahren echte Missstände, erklärt Mounk. Die Cancel Culture habe Studentinnen und Professoren in der Meinungsäusserung eingeschränkt. Doch was die Regierung Trump nun im Namen der Meinungsfreiheit mache, sei ein rabiater Angriff auf genau diese. Der rechte Populismus sei eine Gefahr für die Demokratie. Es sei aber wichtig, dass sich auch die Linken fragen, wie es dazu kommen konnte. Mounk ist überzeugt, dass die linke Identitätspolitik zum Aufstieg von Donald Trump beigetragen hat. Yascha Mounk ist zu Gast bei Simone Hulliger im Tagesgespräch.

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 what the U.S. strikes in Iran mean for global and domestic politics, to what extent Israel is risking its relationship with the United States, and why we should be concerned about AI. 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

America's Ivy League universities have long been hotbeds of censorship and intolerance. Unpopular views are deplatformed, unorthodox professors are cancelled and research prioritises PC fads over facts. Donald Trump has vowed to force universities to clean up their act – but is he helping on hurting? Here, Yascha Mounk – editor of Persuasion and author of The Identity Trap – argues that Trump's campus diktats are only stoking a woke backlash. Free speech and reason are just as imperilled as ever, he says. The university could now be in its death throes.   Read spiked: ⁠https://www.spiked-online.com/⁠     Support spiked:⁠https://www.spiked-online.com/support/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk and Peter Hessler describe how China has changed over the last 30 years–and where it might go next. For more than a quarter of a century, Peter Hessler has been a staff writer for the New Yorker. In 1996, he joined the Peace Corps and taught English language and literature to college students in Fuling, a small city on the Yangtze River. In 2019, Hessler returned to China, teaching at Sichuan University during the pandemic. His most recent book, Other Rivers (2024), is about his time in Sichuan.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Peter Hessler discuss Peter's experiences as a teacher in China in the 1990s and in recent years, how his students have changed, and what he thinks the United States could learn from China. 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

Helen Lewis is a staff writer at The Atlantic who writes about politics and culture. Her latest book, The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea, is out now. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Helen Lewis explore what our ideas of genius mean, whether you need to die young to be considered one—and why no one cares about geniuses with boring lives. 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 Lenore Skenazy discuss why kids should take risks.  After letting her 9-year-old ride the New York City subway alone—and creating a media firestorm—Lenore Skenazy wrote the book, “Free-Range Kids.” Lenore is also a co-founder of Let Grow. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Lenore Skenazy explore why parents are reluctant to let their children take risks, how unsupervised activities help children learn, and how to embrace giving your kids independence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shashank Joshi is Defence Editor at The Economist, where he writes on a wide range of national security, defence and intelligence issues. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shashank Joshi discuss how technology is changing warfare, the latest developments in Ukraine, and the future of Gaza. 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 Mark Lynas on how to avoid armageddon. Mark Lynas is an author, campaigner and speaker. He is science advisor with the Climate Vulnerable Forum and policy lead with WePlanet, a pro-science environmental advocacy network active in over 20 countries. His latest book is Six Minutes to Winter: Nuclear War and How to Avoid It.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Mark Lynas discuss how likely a nuclear war is, what a nuclear winter would look like, and how to avoid it. 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

David Leonhardt is an editorial director for New York Times Opinion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and David Leonhardt discuss why the left is losing its appeal to the working classes in the United States and in Europe, the flaws in the Democratic Party's approach to voters, and what U.S. Democrats can learn from the Social Democrats in Denmark. Note: This interview was recorded on March 18, 2025. 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 what's holding environmentalists back. Quico Toro is Director of Climate Repair at the Anthropocene Institute, a contributing editor at Persuasion, and writes the Substack One Percent Brighter. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Quico Toro discuss outdated ideas within environmentalism, why we need to decarbonize—and how technology can save us. 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

Steve Stewart-Williams is a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, and author of The Ape That Understood the Universe (2018), Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life (2010), and The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter on Substack.  In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Steve Stewart-Williams explore the nature vs nurture debate within psychology, how much impact IQ has on an individual's success in life, and whether evolutionary psychology can explain politics. 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 Paul Krugman also explore whether the Euro was a mistake. Paul Krugman is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He was a columnist for The New York Times from 2000 to 2024. In 2008, Krugman was the sole winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to new trade theory and new economic geography. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Paul Krugman discuss the value of economic models, the Euro crisis, and how to make a fruitful intellectual contribution in economics. 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

Katja Hoyer is a visiting Research Fellow at King's College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and is the author of Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871–1918 and Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Katja Hoyer discuss life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), how it is remembered today—and whether the Wall still has an impact on German politics today. 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

Frances E. Lee is professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University. In addition to In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, she is author or coauthor most recently of The Limits of Party: Congress and Lawmaking in a Polarized Era and Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign. Stephen Macedo is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. His books, in addition to In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, include Just Married: Same-Sex Couples, Monogamy, and the Future of Marriage, and Diversity and Distrust: Civic Education in a Multicultural Democracy. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Frances Lee, and Stephen Macedo discuss school closures during COVID, why Republicans and Democrats reacted differently to the pandemic, why institutions failed, and why as a consequence institutions lost the public's trust. 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

Pratap Bhanu Mehta is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and Laurence Rockefeller Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Pratap Mehta discuss nationalism, radical forms of self-identity, and the likelihood of war between India and Pakistan. Note: The first part of this conversation was recorded on April 30, 2025 with a follow up on May 12, 2025. 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

Elaine C. Kamarck is a senior fellow in Governance Studies and the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at Brookings. William A. Galston is a senior fellow and the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in the Governance Studies program at Brookings. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk, Elaine Kamarck, and William Galston explore why the Democrats aren't building long-term coalitions, how the Democrats lost the working class, and how centrists in the party can create a compelling offer for voters. Email: goodfightpod@gmail.com 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