Épisodes

  • Randi Weingarten on the State of America’s Public Schools

    Randi Weingarten on the State of America’s Public Schools
    Sep 23 2025
    Yascha Mounk and Randi Weingarten also discuss whether teachers unions are to blame for prolonged school closures during the pandemic. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, has been attacked by the far right as “the most dangerous person in the world,” and is the author of Why Fascists Fear Teachers. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Randi Weingarten discuss why education is needed for a free society, the impact of social media on learning, and the school closures during covid. 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
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    1 h et 2 min
  • The Good Fight Club: Populism in the UK, Threats to Free Speech, and the Future of the Middle East

    The Good Fight Club: Populism in the UK, Threats to Free Speech, and the Future of the Middle East
    Sep 20 2025
    A live recording of The Good Fight Club in London! In this week’s episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk is joined by Fraser Nelson, Helen Joyce, and Shashank Joshi to discuss the global fallout from the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the different ways free speech is under attack in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the future of Israel’s war in Gaza. Fraser Nelson is a British political journalist who was editor of The Spectator from 2009 to 2024. Nelson is also a columnist for The Times. Helen Joyce is an Irish journalist and the Director of Advocacy at Sex Matters. She is the author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. Shashank Joshi is Defence Editor at The Economist, where he writes on a wide range of national security, defence and intelligence issues. 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
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    54 min
  • Steven Pinker on How Common Knowledge Builds and Weakens Societies

    Steven Pinker on How Common Knowledge Builds and Weakens Societies
    Sep 18 2025
    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, one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today,” and sits on Persuasion’s advisory board. His latest book is When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Steven Pinker discuss why common knowledge is the most important psychological concept you’ve never heard of, why authoritarian states are hostile to it, and where to find someone you’ve lost in New York. 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
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    45 min
  • Damon Linker on The Spiral of Violence in America

    Damon Linker on The Spiral of Violence in America
    Sep 16 2025
    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
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    47 min
  • David Brooks on… Yascha Mounk

    David Brooks on… Yascha Mounk
    Sep 13 2025
    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
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    1 h et 19 min
  • The Good Fight Club: Russian Drones in Poland, Low Literacy in Schools, and Can Anyone Rein in Trump?

    The Good Fight Club: Russian Drones in Poland, Low Literacy in Schools, and Can Anyone Rein in Trump?
    Sep 11 2025
    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
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    1 h et 12 min
  • Tom Ginsburg on Whether America Should Adopt a New Constitution

    Tom Ginsburg on Whether America Should Adopt a New Constitution
    Sep 9 2025
    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
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    1 h et 6 min
  • Daron Acemoglu on How States Succeed—And Why Many Don’t

    Daron Acemoglu on How States Succeed—And Why Many Don’t
    Sep 6 2025
    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
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    1 h et 10 min