The Good Fight

Yascha Mounk and Eric Kaufmann also discuss "asymmetrical multiculturalism" and the global fertility crisis. Eric Kaufmann is a professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham, where he directs the Centre for Heterodox Social Science. Kaufmann is the author of The Third Awokening (entitled Taboo in the UK), Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities, and Shall the R...

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss the first few days of the Trump administration–and what it means for domestic and foreign policy. Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist, author, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Fukuyama’s notable works include The End of History and the Last Man and The Origins of...

Yascha Mounk and Yanis Varoufakis discuss whether the dominance of large cloud-focused tech companies signals the arrival of a new economic order. Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, politician, and the former Greek Minister of Finance. Varoufakis is the author of Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present and Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. In this week's conversation, Yascha Moun...

Yascha Mounk and Anastasia Berg discuss the case for having—or not having—kids. Anastasia Berg is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine and an editor of The Point magazine. Berg is the co-author, with Rachel Wiseman, of What Are Children For? On Ambivalence and Choice.  In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Anastasia Berg discuss why many couples dela...

Yascha Mounk and Fraser Nelson discuss the Labour government’s shrinking popularity and the challenges facing a post-Brexit Britain. Fraser Nelson is a British political journalist who was editor of The Spectator from 2009 to 2024. Nelson is also a columnist for The Times. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Fraser Nelson discuss social dysfunction in the UK; how and why Britain should p...

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,...

Noam Chomsky and Yascha Mounk discuss America and the world, past and present. Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has for many decades been one of the most prominent critics of U.S. foreign policy. In a conversation from 2021, Noam Chomsky and Yascha Mounk discuss the theory of universal grammar, whether identity politics can be left-wing,...

In a tour d'horizon, Yascha and Frank discuss the fall of Assad, the rise of China, the crisis in Europe, and what awaits the United States under Trump. Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist, author, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Among Fukuyama’s notable works are The End of History and the Last Man and...

Yascha Mounk and Noah Smith discuss the neoliberal era and the role of unions in America. Noah Smith is a writer and a former professor of finance at Stony Brook University. Smith is the author of the Substack Noahpinion. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Noah Smith discuss the rise of the YIMBY ("Yes, in my backyard!") movement; why childcare, housing, and health care costs are so hig...

Yascha Mounk and Alice Evans discuss why women have won equality in some countries but remain at the margin in many others. Alice Evans is a senior lecturer in international development at King's College London and the author of the forthcoming book The Great Gender Divergence. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Alice Evans discuss the influence of cultural and religious norms in promot...

Yascha Mounk and Richard Reeves discuss why most young men aren’t becoming reactionary. Richard Reeves is the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He is the author of Dream Hoarders and, most recently, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It (which was recently included by Barack Obama on his summer reading list). In...

Yascha Mounk and Cass Sunstein discuss the meaning of free speech and how it should be applied on campus. Cass Sunstein is an American legal scholar and the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. Sunstein was the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under Barack Obama, and is considered to be the most widely cited legal scholar in the U...

In our second-ever mailbag, Yascha answers questions about the role of journalism in the Trump era, RFK Jr., and a national voter ID law. Yascha also answers listener questions about whether it's good or bad that it is so hard to pass a new law in the United States and the importance of public choice economics. This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. Please do listen an...

Yascha Mounk and Melissa Chen also discuss the rise of China and the future of US-China relations. Melissa Chen is a Singaporean journalist and activist. She is a contributing editor to The Spectator and co-founder of Ideas Beyond Borders. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Melissa Chen discuss the unique cultural and political landscape of Singapore and its "competitive authoritarian"...

Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev discuss what Trump’s reelection will mean for the future of the world. Ivan Krastev is a political scientist, the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria, and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. Krastev is the author of After Europe and, with Stephen Holmes, of The Light that Failed: A Reckoning. In this week’s conv...

Yascha and Freya discuss why so many young people came to prefer the online world to real life. Freya India is the author of the Substack GIRLS. She is also a staff writer for Jonathan Haidt’s Substack After Babel.  In this week’s conversation, Yascha and Freya discuss the great sense of social isolation and anxiety felt by so many young people; why the life lived online is a shoddy substitute for...

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss what a Trump victory means for America, its allies, and the world. Francis Fukuyama is a political scientist, author, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Among Fukuyama’s notable works are The End of History and the Last Man and The Origins of Political Order. His latest...

Yascha Mounk and Shikha Dalmia discuss American conservatism, the rise of authoritarian populism, and whether identitarians of the left are right or wrong on their fundamental goals. Shikha Dalmia, a writer and journalist, is the founder of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism and of The UnPopulist, an editorial partner of Persuasion. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and...

Yascha Mounk and Norbert Röttgen discuss the war in Ukraine and Germany’s political, economic, and security crisis. Norbert Röttgen is a senior leader of the Christian Democratic Union. A former cabinet minister, he was chair of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee from 2014 to 2021. Röttgen is the author ofDemocracy and War: Politics and Identity in a Time of Global Threats. In this week’s c...

Yascha Mounk, Ruy Teixeira, and Yuval Levin discuss why American elections are so close—and how one party could build a stable majority. Ruy Teixeira is the co-founder and politics editor of The Liberal Patriot, and the author, with John Judis, of The Emerging Democratic Majority and, most recently, Where Have All the Democrats Gone?: The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes.  Yuval Levin is t...

Yascha Mounk and Teresa Bejan discuss the secret history of free speech and why the word “problematic” is problematic. Teresa Bejan is a professor of political theory at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Oriel College. She is the author of Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration and the forthcoming First Among Equals, which explores ideas of equality before modern egalitari...

James Robinson, a political scientist and economist, is the Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago. Robinson is the co-author, with Daron Acemoglu, of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor.  Today, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that it would award the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to James Robinso...

Sign up for the Persuasion panel event in London: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trump-vs-harris-what-next-for-america-and-the-world-tickets-1026768591497 Yascha Mounk and Charles Taylor discuss the modern struggle for meaning and belonging. Charles Taylor is a Canadian philosopher and Professor Emeritus at McGill University. Taylor is the recipient of both the Kyoto and Templeton prizes, and is the...

Yascha Mounk and Ruxandra Teslo discuss luxury beliefs and the concept of "elite misinformation." Ruxandra Teslo is a PhD student in Genomics at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. She writes about science and culture at Ruxandra’s Substack. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ruxandra Teslo discuss Rob Henderson’s concept of luxury beliefs, its key insights, and the misleading ways i...

Yascha Mounk and Amanda Ripley discuss what natural catastrophes reveal about human nature. Amanda Ripley is an American author and journalist. Her books include The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes and High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.  In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Amanda Ripley discuss the pitfalls common to many survival scenarios and the psyc...