The Good Fight

The first installment of a new monthly feature. In this inaugural mailbag, Yascha answers listener questions on the upcoming US election; how concerned we should be about a second Trump term; whether it’s possible for a politician to change their views without giving up on their principles; his tips for how to travel well; and more. This is a preview. To access the full episode, become a paying su...

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...

Yascha Mounk and Alexandre Lefebvre discuss taking liberalism seriously as the main moral paradigm of our world. Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney. His books include Human Rights as a Way of Life and, most recently, Liberalism as a Way of Life. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Alexandre Lefebvre discuss the difference between poli...

Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss how to build a healthy campus community (and keep it). Raj Vinnakota is President of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, co-founder of the SEED Foundation, and co-chair of the Civics and Civic Engagement Taskforce for the United States Congress Semiquincentennial Commission. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss the best strat...

In one of his final extended interviews, which was recorded three years before his recent death, the late anthropologist James C. Scott and Yascha Mounk discuss the need to be vigilant about the ways in which states do violence to individuals and societies. James C. Scott was the Sterling professor of political science and anthropology at Yale University. Scott is the author of major works includi...

Yascha Mounk and Timur Kuran discuss the perceived social and political pressures that lead individuals to conceal their true beliefs—and what that means for our politics. Timur Kuran is Professor of Economics and Political Science and the Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He is the author of Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsificat...

Yascha Mounk and Douglas Vakoch discuss whether it is morally justified to alert aliens to humanity's existence. Douglas Vakoch is an American astrobiologist, extraterrestrial intelligence researcher, and the president of METI International, an organization devoted to transmitting messages to outer space. His books include The Drake Equation: Estimating the Prevalence of Extraterrestrial Life thro...

Yascha Mounk and Freddie deBoer discuss whether the sweeping set of progressive ideas that came into force in 2020 has really begun to recede. Freddie deBoer is a writer, academic, and critic. He writes the Freddie deBoer Substack, and is the author of books including the Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice and, most recently, How Elites Ate the Social Justi...

Yascha Mounk and Anne Applebaum discuss the new tools autocrats use to stay in power. Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Senior Fellow of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Her books include Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine and Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe. Her latest book is Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. In this...

Yascha Mounk and Shalom Auslander discuss the origins of the stories that make us feel bad about ourselves.  Shalom Auslander is an American novelist, memoirist, and essayist. He is the author of Foreskin's Lament and, most recently, FEH: A Memoir. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shalom Auslander discuss how religious narratives inherited from the Judeo-Christian tradition affect our...

Yascha Mounk and Matthew Yglesias discuss Kamala Harris' strengths and vulnerabilities, and what she needs to do to win. Matthew Yglesias is a writer and journalist, co-founder of Vox, and founder of the Substack newsletter Slow Boring. His latest book is One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Matthew Yglesias discuss how Kamala Harris ca...

Yascha Mounk and Eitan Hersh discuss the importance of strategic political action that focuses on goals and outcomes. Eitan Hersh is Professor of Political Science at Tufts University, focusing on U.S. elections and civic participation. His latest book is Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and E...

In this emergency podcast, Yascha Mounk and Rachel Kleinfeld discuss how to prevent a spiral of violence. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kleinfeld’s latest book is A Savage Order: How the World's Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ra...

Yascha Mounk and Elizabeth Anderson discuss why intersectionality and talk about privilege don’t help to build a more equal society. Elizabeth Anderson, one of the most interesting contemporary political philosophers, is the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan. Her latest book is Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Worke...

Yascha Mounk and Francis Fukuyama discuss the state of democracy around 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. Fukuyama’s notable works include The End of History and the Last Man and The Origins of Political Order. His latest book is Liberalism and Its D...

Yascha Mounk and Yuval Levin discuss why neither Democrats nor Republicans have built a durable post-Cold War coalition—and how American politics could be transformed in 2028. Yuval Levin is an academic and the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Levin is the author of A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus,...

Yascha Mounk and Simon Fanshawe also discuss how gay and lesbian rights were won—and what that should teach today’s activists. Simon Fanshawe is an activist, writer, and consultant who is a co-founder of Stonewall UK and the rector of the University of Edinburgh. His book is The Power of Difference: Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions. In this week’s conversa...

Yascha Mounk and Olivier Roy discuss the rise of the French right. Olivier Roy is a French political scientist and professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His latest book is The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics and the Empire of Norms. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Olivier Roy discuss how the new European far-right differs from the old; the French con...

Yascha Mounk and Brad Wilcox discuss how marriage contributes to better outcomes for both children and adults. Brad Wilcox is Professor of Sociology and Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Wilcox is the author of Get Married. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Brad Wilcox discuss wh...

Yascha Mounk and William Galston discuss why neither the Democrats or Republicans have been able to build a durable governing majority. William Galston is an author and academic who holds the Ezra K. Zilker Chair in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Galston was also deputy assistant for domestic policy to President Bill Clinton. His latest book is Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat...

Yascha Mounk and Daryl Davis discuss his lifetime of convincing Ku Klux Klan members to renounce racism. Daryl Davis is an American R&B and blues musician, author and social activist. Davis estimates he has been the direct or indirect cause for over 200 conversions from the Klan. He is also co-founder of the Prohuman Foundation. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Daryl Davis discuss how...

Yascha Mounk and Nellie Bowles discuss her career at The New York Times and reporting on the ground from urban “autonomous zones” in 2020. Nellie Bowles is a writer and reporter and the head of strategy at The Free Press, where she writes the TGIF column. Her book is Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Nellie Bowles...

Yascha Mounk and Helen Joyce discuss the evidence base for the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in young people. Helen Joyce is an Irish journalist and the Director of Advocacy at Sex Matters. She is the author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Helen Joyce discuss the findings of an independent review by Hilary Cass of gender identit...

Yascha Mounk and Eboo Patel discuss how interfaith work can serve as a model for engaging productively across differences. Eboo Patel is the founder of Interfaith America and the author of We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy. Patel also served as an advisor on faith to President Barack Obama. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Eboo Patel discuss how the dominant diversit...

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 Mike Pesca discuss what real balance ought to look like in reporting hotly contested issues. Mike Pesca is a journalist and the host of "The Gist", the longest running daily news podcast in history. He spent a decade as a correspo...