The Good Fight

Yascha Mounk and Frank Furedi delve into the case for populism—and clash over Viktor Orbán's Hungary.

Frank Furedi, author and social commentator, is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent. His latest book is In Defense of Populism.

In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Frank Furedi discuss whether populism is a legitimate force or a threat to democracy, the impact of political polarization on mainstream parties' claim to represent ordinary citizens—and to what extent Viktor Orbán undermined democracy in Hungary.

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Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay.

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Yascha Mounk and Simon Sebag Montefiore discuss how the fall of the Ottoman Empire shaped the region we know today.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian and author. His latest book is The Cauldron: The Origins of the Modern Middle East.

In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Simon Sebag Montefiore discuss how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to modern nationalism and ethnic cleansing in the Middle East, how the region’s history has shaped today’s conflicts, and the long-term impact of October 7.

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Yascha Mounk and Shashank Joshi also discuss Trump's war in the Middle East and the differences between the United States and Europe.

Shashank Joshi is The Economist‘s Washington bureau chief, having previously covered defense and national security for the publication for eight years.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Shashank Joshi discuss why Russia is escalating its hybrid warfare campaign against Europe, whether NATO’s political cohesion can survive the Trump era, and how the United States has changed over the last 20 years.

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Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community

Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay.

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Yascha Mounk and Jerry Kaplan debate whether the existential risk from AI is overstated—and if so, what we should be worrying about instead.

Jerry Kaplan is an artificial intelligence expert, serial entrepreneur, technical innovator, educator, and author. He is currently an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jerry Kaplan discuss why the AI “existential risk” narrative is more science fiction than science, what actually happened during the Hugging Face security incident, and how to think clearly about the real—versus imagined—dangers of AI systems.

(For an alternative take on AI’s existential risk, in Persuasion this week Matt Lutz explores why it’s time to worry about AI.)

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Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay.

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Yascha Mounk and Jacob Weisberg examine why so many powerful people and institutions capitulated to Trump the second time around.

Jacob Weisberg is the co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries. He serves as Chair of The Committee to Protect Journalists and is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. His latest book is Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jacob Weisberg discuss why American institutions proved far less resistant to Trump in his second term than his first, what figures like Jeff Bezos and Brad Karp reveal about the social nature of courage and cowardice, and whether Harvard’s response to the Trump administration could become a turning point for institutional resistance.

If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone.

Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community

Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay.

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