The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: His Life and Ideas
Francis Fukuyama discusses the experiences and individuals that shaped him.
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Persuasion.
Essays and commentary on liberalism, politics, and public culture.
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30 of 66This Week at Persuasion
London pub meet next Friday! Plus, a new episode of The Good Fight Club.
The Rise and Rise of E-Spirituality
Witches, spells, tarot are taking Gen Z by storm.
What a Teen Social Media Ban Overlooks
Childhood itself has become an incubator for anxiety.
The Misguided Panic About Superintelligence
You can’t ban something that doesn’t exist.
How the War Splits Iranians
U.S. attacks are a gift to regime hardliners.
Claude Steele on the Hidden Stress of Diverse Spaces
Yascha Mounk and Claude Steele discuss why diversity can produce anxiety—and how it differs from prejudice.
Back When Football Was Innocent—And the World, Too
The game of 1970 was nothing like today. That doesn't mean I'll stop watching.
The Good Fight Club: Refounding Liberalism, Gen Z's Political Instincts, and a Watergate Ghost Story
Francis Fukuyama, Linda Chavez, and Rachel Janfaza join Yascha Mounk to discuss what a radical liberal agenda might look like today.
An AI Crash Is a Real Possibility
The industry is badly overleveraged and that's unlikely to change.
ICE Is Trump’s Standing Army Now
The new immigration surge proves the administration has learned nothing—except how to make less noise.
Dorothy Fields Showed Us the Best of America
The songwriter was one of the great architects of U.S. identity.
Liberalism, Heal Thyself
Any path forward for the movement starts with hard questions.
John Harpham on the Intellectual Origins of American Slavery
Yascha Mounk and John Harpham examine how early modern thinkers justified slavery long before modern theories of race took hold.
Trump’s Health Is… Complicated
He isn’t as decrepit as Democrats pretend. But Republicans are slowly imagining a post-Trump world.
Deirdre McCloskey on What Really Caused the Industrial Revolution
Yascha Mounk and Deirdre McCloskey discuss why ideas, not capital accumulation, made the modern world rich.
This Week at Persuasion
Ivan Krastev on The Good Fight! Plus, hang out in Washington, D.C. with the Persuasion team next week!
A Guide to a Muscular Liberalism
Liberals can articulate their values without trampling on rights.
What the Politics of Tears Means for Iran’s Future
Khamenei’s funeral lays bare the regime’s reliance on spectacle over genuine loyalty.
The Next 250 Years (of Persuasion)
America just turned 250… and Persuasion just turned six!
What If the Next French President Had to Wear an Ankle Monitor?
Le Pen’s conviction for embezzlement just took an unexpected turn.
Why Russia Is Running Out of Time In Crimea
Ukraine now has the upper hand.
“Social Media Addiction” Is Way More Complicated Than You Think
Big Tech faces a tsunami of litigation, but it’s time for cooler heads to prevail.
Arvind Narayanan on Why AI Isn’t All That Revolutionary
Yascha Mounk and Arvind Narayanan discuss why the real transformation from AI will take decades rather than months—and what that means for how we should prepare.
Progressive Asceticism Will Never Win Elections
The movement has spiraled into a vortex of guilt and shame.
Ivan Krastev on Why America Has Lost Faith in Itself
Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev examine what the country’s founding ideals mean on its 250th anniversary.
A Pluralist Manifesto
This 4th of July, here’s how to teach America’s diverse origins.
This Week At Persuasion
Francis Fukuyama on AI policy. Plus, The Good Fight Club with Matthew Yglesias and Claire Ainsley.
A New State Capitalism
Why the U.S. government’s increasing involvement in business deals is undermining our democracy.
The Supreme Court Isn’t Trump’s Lackey
Progressives advocating radical measures like court packing need to think again.