The Good Fight

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.

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Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community

Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay.

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Yascha Mounk and Judith Dada also discuss why the tech sector is so behind in Europe—and how the continent can become dynamic again.

Judith Dada is Co-CEO of Langdock, a leading European AI company, Senior Partner at Visionaries Club, an early-stage European venture capital fund, and is co-author of Europe 2031.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Judith Dada discuss what the decline of German industry and infrastructure reveals about the broader crisis of the German model, why the European tech sector is so far behind China and the United States, and what Europe needs to change to become competitive.

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Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community

Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay.

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Yascha Mounk and Sarah Longwell discuss why the pro-democracy coalition keeps losing the narrative war—and how it can fight back.

Sarah Longwell is publisher of The Bulwark, host of The Focus Group podcast, and author of How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Sarah Longwell discuss why Donald Trump has dominated American politics for a decade, where Kamala Harris went wrong, and how the Democratic Party can win back working-class voters.

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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Yascha Mounk and Jared Diamond discuss the age-old question of structure versus agency—and when individual leaders truly change the course of events.

Jared Diamond is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Third Chimpanzee, and Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Make a Difference?

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jared Diamond discuss how to measure the true impact of individual leaders, why the institutional environment determines how much difference a leader can make, and whether societies are better served by systems that constrain leaders or empower them.

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 Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay.

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We’re on vacation this week, so are rerunning a fun “beach read” episode exploring if your nearest and dearest could be psychopaths.

Miss us already? In an event exclusively for readers of American Purpose and Persuasion, Yascha Mounk will be interviewing Francis Fukuyama about his life and thought at 5pm on Sunday, September 6 at The Abbey Centre, London. Find out more and get tickets here. Paying subscribers of Persuasion and American Purpose can access a code for a free ticket here.

Abigail Marsh is a professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Abigail Marsh explore what to do if a child you know might be psychopathic, whether psychopathy is linked to charisma and success, and how to protect yourself.

Wondering if you or a loved one might be a psychopath? Take the quiz!

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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X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion

YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion

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