The Good Fight

Lawrence Wright has been friends with Jamal Khashoggi for nearly two decades. In a new documentary, The Kingdom of Silence, he tells the complicated story of America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia through the lens of Khashoggi’s life—from his youthful enthusiasm for jihadis to his years serving the Saudi royal family and his eventual embrace of the Arab Spring. On the latest episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk and Lawrence Wright, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and staff writer at the New Yorker, talk about why the United States and Saudi Arabia have maintained an uneasy partnership for so many years, and how a new U.S. administration should deal with the Saudi royal family. The podcast also discusses Wright’s prescient thriller about a global pandemic and his groundbreaking reporting on scientology. 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: [email protected] 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

For much of the past four years, Matt Yglesias dismissed worries about growing illiberalism on the left as a campus fad that is sure to fade. This year, he changed his mind, becoming increasingly vocal about his concerns, and co-signing the Harper’s letter. On the latest episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk and Matthew Yglesias talk about how and why he changed his mind. The podcast also discusses Matt’s latest book, One Billion Americans. The best way to ensure that liberal values continue to exercise real influence in the world, he argues, is to make sure that the United States remain the world’s most powerful nation. That’s why politicians need to put the policies in place that allow Americans to have more kids, and open the country’s borders to many more immigrants. Listen to Yascha and Matt discuss whether that really is the right goal—and, if so, how it can be achieved. 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: [email protected] 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

Irshad Manji has a lot of experience in trying to persuade those who really don’t want to be persuaded. Early in her career, Irshad wrote two influential books that advocated for a reformed Islam. In conversations with religious conservatives around the world, she found that a combative style did not help her win adherents for her cause; instead, she started to acknowledge their views—before proudly arguing for her own. Now, Irshad runs the Moral Courage project, a pedagogical approach that hopes to make progress on contested issues like racism without shaming its participants. On the latest episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Irshad about why we should not judge those who disagree with us; how we can hope to persuade them of our own positions; and why we should be more optimistic about America’s future than is now fashionable. 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: [email protected] 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

If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. A few weeks ago, I got an email from somebody I admire tremendously: Elizabeth Anderson, one of the most interesting contemporary political philosophers. Anderson, she wrote, has long been an avid listener to The Good Fight. But she strongly disagrees with the episode I did with Edward Irizarry, in part because she thought that my characterization of Robin diAngelo’s work was overly dismissive. So we decided to have an on-air conversation about the question. In this conversation, we discuss the merits of contemporary anti-racism. But we also talk about whether we should aim for the ideal of colorblindness, how to build a more integrated society, and what philosophical liberals can do to stand up to the threat of right-wing populism. Please do listen, and spread the word about The Good Fight. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: http://www.persuasion.community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Sandel, one of the most influential political philosophers of our time, makes a provocative argument: Meritocracy allows successful people to feel good about themselves, and doesn’t do anything to address the plight of those who are less fortunate. It is time to abandon the ideal. In this conversation about Sandel’s new book, The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?, I debate these themes with him. Should we really throw the pursuit of meritocracy on the trash heap of history? Or would it be better to ensure that our society actually lives up to the meritocratic ideal (while ensuring that everyone can have a decent life)? Please do take the time to listen to our conversation. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: http://www.persuasion.community Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. For the past years, Frank Dobbin, a Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, has been researching diversity initiatives at big corporations and academic institutions. He has consistently come to the same, sobering conclusion: They don’t tend to work. And in many cases, they actually backfire. In this nuts-and-bolts conversation with Yascha Mounk, Dobbin explains why diversity programs so often fail: Especially if they are mandatory, they tend to portray decision-makers as part of the problem, and to threaten them with adverse consequences if they do something wrong. Instead, he suggests, diversity programs should invite decision-makers to become active advocates for change by making initiatives voluntary and empowering managers to make their own decisions about how to recruit more members of underrepresented groups. Please do take the time to listen to our conversation. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: http://www.persuasion.community Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please sign up to become a member of Persuasion, the new community Yascha has founded for those who believe that a free society is worth fighting for. Just go to www.persuasion.community A few days ago, a rather strange exchange caught my attention on Twitter. At a public meeting of a local New York City school board, one member accused another of perpetrating racism by holding his girlfriend’s nephew. “It hurts people when they see a white man bouncing a brown baby on their lap,” she said. Asked for an explanation as to how this might be racist, she suggested that the man “read a book. Read White Fragility.” When I delved deeper into this strange story, I discovered that another member of the board had spoken up against this twisted view of the world with lucid rage; to be honest, it was one of the most compelling speeches I have heard in months. Edward Irizzary is, himself, a product of the New York City public school system. He grew up under difficult circumstances, and joined the local board of education to fight for students just like him. In conversation with me, he explains why the ideas of people like Robin diAngelo, or reforms that are focused on what he calls “cosmetic diversity,” make it harder to improve a deeply flawed educational system. Please do take the time to listen to our conversation. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: http://www.persuasion.community Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha is starting a new platform for citizens who are committed to the defense of a free society. Please go to http://www.persuasion.community to sign up. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk speaks with Thomas Rid, Professor of Strategic Studies at John Hopkins University SAIS about the operations of secret services around the world and the misinformation campaigns that shape international competition. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Omar Wasow, a professor of political science at Princeton University, about the case for non-violent protest, and how best to bring about greater racial equality in the United States. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Francis Fukuyama about the changes that COVID-19 will (and will not) bring about. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Ron Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins University, about the impact the coronavirus will have on higher eduction and the role universities can play in defending liberal democracy against the rise of populism. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Sarah Longwell, the Publisher of The Bulwark, about how to persuade those who have voted for populists in the past to change their minds. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to David Miliband, the CEO of the International Rescue Committee, about the world after corona and what we need to do right now to help the poorest countries in the world manage the pandemic. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk speaks to Daniel Ziblatt, the Eaton Professor at Harvard University, about the impact of the coronavirus on populism and democracy. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Constanze Stelzenmüller, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, about the rise of populism in Germany and how it will transform the country in the next years. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Ruy Teixeira, a Senior Fellow at CAP, about his much misunderstood theory according to which demographic change will favor the Democratic Party. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to E. J. Dionne, author of Code Red, about what it would take to unify the Democratic Party (and beat Donald Trump). Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Ezra Klein about the nature and causes of polarization in the United States - and whether we can fix it. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com/ Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, one of India's foremost writers and intellectuals, about the rise of Narendra Modi, and the reasons for the crisis of liberal democracy in the country. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk speaks to Peter Hall, Krupp Foundation Professor of European Studies at Harvard University, about the close connection between declining social status and the rise of populism. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Sam Koppelman, co-author of Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump, about the nature of impeachment, the arguments for and against removing Donald Trump from office, and what Democrats need to do to win in 2020. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Rachel Brown, Executive Director of Over Zero, about the roots of political violence; whether the United States stand at the brink of civil war; and what interventions can stop violence from breaking out in deeply polarized societies. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Martin Gurri, author of The Revolt of the Public, about the way digital technology empowers the insurgent public, and how it will transform the politics of both democracies and autocracies. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to political scientist Dan Kelemen about the trilemma facing Boris Johnson on Brexit, the drift towards autocracy in Poland and Hungary, and why membership in the European Union may make it easier for aspiring dictators to undermine democracy. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Peter Pomerantsev the author of This is Not Propaganda, about the way in which the rise of digital technology is transforming our politics; how trolls and state agents are trying to spread propaganda; and how to build a more democratic internet. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to James Robinson, co-author of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor, about the importance of political institutions; the roots of freedom and prosperity; and how citizens can beat the historical odds to improve their countries. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Helen Lewis, a staff writer at The Atlantic, about Boris Johnson, the future of Brexit, and why feminists should defend liberal democracy. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to David Frum about the evolution of conservatism, health care. immigration, and how to beat Donald Trump. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Dan Baer, former U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, about America's role in the world, his vision for a better America, and what it is like to run for Senate in 2020. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do revolutions start? Can a few opposition activists overthrow an authoritarian government? And is it possible for a loud minority to impose its view on a quiet majority -- even in a democracy? Yascha Mounk discusses these questions with the eminent political scientist Timur Kuran. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to George Packer about Richard Holbrooke, American foreign policy, and how superpowers can (and can't) use their might to advance liberal democracy. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yascha Mounk talks to Elif Shafak, the prolific novelist and political thinker, about the rise of populism; the future of Turkey and the United Kingdom; the case against strictures on what writers should be allowed to write about; what makes for good political fictions; and how to fight for liberal values. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Alex Hertel-Fernandez, an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, about the ways in which special interests dominate American politics, and whether this gives an inherent advantage to the right. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Sciences at Yale University, and the author of Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, about whether human nature predisposes humans to conflict or cooperation--and what all of that has to do with populism. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Heidi Tworek, an historian of news and media, about the historic transformation brought about by social media, the long history of disinformation, and how to protect democracy from both. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Tony Blair, the former Prime British Prime Minister, about the roots of populism, how to deal with automation, and a progressive economic program for the 21st century. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Karen Stenner about voters with an authoritarian personality, and whether they can explain the rise of populists like Donald Trump. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Chayenne Polimédio, the Deputy Director of New America's Political Reform program, about the rise of Jair Bolsonaro. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams. The Great Courses is giving Good Fight listeners a special, limited time offer: Order “History of the Supreme Court” digital video course and get 85% off the regular price! That’s almost $300 in savings and you can start learning today! Don’t wait: go to thegreatcourses.com/goodfight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Cory Doctorow, science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing, about measures we can take to preserve the freedom of the Net - while preserving our own. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams. This episode brought to you by The Great Courses. The Great Courses is giving Good Fight listeners a special, limited time offer: Order “History of the Supreme Court” digital video course and get 85% off the regular price! That’s almost $300 in savings and you can start learning today! Don’t wait: go to thegreatcourses.com/goodfight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to James Bloodworth, author of Hired, about how the impact that Amazon warehouses have had on small British towns, a viable political program for the far left, and the shortcomings of Jeremy Corbyn. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk Podcast production by John T. Williams This episode brought to you by The Great Courses. The Great Courses is giving Good Fight listeners a special, limited time offer: Order Investigating American Presidents video course taught by Professor Paul Rosenzweig, JD and get 85% off the regular price!That’s a $150 savings! And you can start watching it instantly! Just go to www.thegreatcourses.com/GoodFight for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Coleman Hughes, a young black writer quickly making a big name for himself, about how to fight discrimination against minorities without making group membership more salient than it already is. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses. To get 85% off the regular price of the course Investigating American Presidents, go to thegreatcourses.com/goodfight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Sagarika Ghose, author of Why I Am A Liberal, about the populist threat to liberal democracy in India, the prospects of defeating Narendra Modi, and why liberalism has relevance beyond the West. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to John Judis about the case for nationalism, how to deal with immigration, and the right model of integration. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Helen Pluckrose, editor of Areo Magazine and one of the perpetrators of the “Sokal Squared” hoax, about her opposition to the postmodern turn of parts of the left, whether a form of liberal universalism is feasible, and how to call out the shortcomings of the left without becoming a tool of the right.. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. This episode is brought to you by the following advertisers: Express VPN, take back your Internet privacy today. Find out how you can get 3 months free at expressvpn.com/goodfight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of The Corrosion of Conservatism, about his personal journey from leading conservative to principled critic of the Republican Party, the deep roots of Trumpism, and how to forge a new political coalition. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Tim Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale, about the roots of populism, the role of social media, the nature of propaganda, and whether fascism is the right analogy for understanding contemporary America. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Tim Dixon, a co-founder of More in Common, about why the usual story on America’s deepening polarization is wrong; the views of America’s “exhausted majority”; how progressive activists differ from the rest of the country; and how Democrats can build a winning coalition by mobilizing “passive liberals” and persuading moderates. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Thomas Chatterton-Williams, one of the leading black writers of his generation, about why essentializing race plays into the hands of the racists and how to talk about identity in a more productive way. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Justin E. H. Smith, Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at the Sorbonne, and one of our time’s most thoughtful and wide-ranging essayists, about the assault on rationality in our politics and how (not to) respond. Email: [email protected] Twitter:@Yascha_Mounk This podcast was made in collaboration with New America. Podcast production by John T. Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices