(Meine Artikel git es auch auf deutsch. Mes articles existent aussi en français.)
Welcome to my—to our—little cabin in the webs.
Too much of what’s published in the media chases the news cycle or serves a narrow partisan agenda. The incentive for journalists trying to maximize clicks is always to stake out some provocative position in yesterday’s social media beef or to dunk on the other side.
This is a space for breaking away from that impulse, and thinking deeper. A place for essays about the things that really matter. And a home for conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers.
Everything I write here flows from my most fundamental convictions: I believe in the value of democracy and the virtue of free speech. Both are now threatened by the extremists consuming our politics. To renew our institutions, we need to oppose them steadfastly—and at the same time to grapple with the deep failures that have made them so popular.
Here’s what I have in store for you.
Writing that orients you in disorienting times
Weekly Column: These ambitious essays go beyond the headlines to explore the structural forces shaping our world—from the rise of AI to the challenge posed by China, and from the MAGA Movement to the state of the Democratic Party. Some of the recent writing I’m especially proud of includes:
Conversations with the world’s leading thinkers
The Good Fight: Every week, I will interview one of the world’s most interesting thinkers. Past guests include everyone from Francis Fukuyama to Thomas Piketty, from Anne Applebaum to Jonathan Haidt, from Geoffrey Hinton to Daron Acemoglu, from Noam Chomsky to Tony Blair, from Anthony Appiah to Martha Nussbaum, and from Coleman Hughes to Sam Harris.
The Good Fight Club: For these topical conversations, I gather some of my favorite thinkers—such as Francis Fukuyama, Ivan Krastev, Timothy Garton Ash and Mona Charen—for us to discuss the biggest news stories of the week! While I (mostly) limit myself to asking questions in my weekly conversations with major thinkers, this new format features a lot more banter.
To set up a private feed which gives you access to all full episodes on your favorite podcasting app, become a paying subscriber and follow this link!
Why subscribe?
To recognize that quality content takes a ton of work. To become part of this community. To support my mission.
Now, if you need more concrete inducements, a paying subscription will get you:
Access to all of my written content, not just the essays I share with free subscribers.
Access to full episodes of The Good Fight podcast, including the paywalled parts of each week’s conversation.
Access to full written transcripts of every podcast episode, for those who prefer to read rather than to listen.
The ability to comment on articles and podcast episodes
Special invitations to meetups, debates and other community events.
Persuasion
Persuasion is the nonprofit publication and community for those who believe that a free society is worth fighting for. It champions philosophically liberal values against populists on the right and identitarians on the left. Founded by me in 2020, it has built a wonderful roster of writers over the years, and publishes an incisive essay every day.
When you sign up to my Substack, you will also have an opportunity to sign up to receive Persuasion’s content. Please do—my team and I work very hard to bring you the most interesting arguments by the best writers who are committed to defending free speech and free inquiry in perilous times.
About Yascha
I’m a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, the Founder of Persuasion, and a Herausgeber (Publisher) at Die Zeit. My work focuses on a single, urgent question: How can our institutions and our values survive this age of populism and polarization?
After growing up in Germany, I moved to the United Kingdom for college at Cambridge, and finally to the United States for my PhD at Harvard. I am the author of five books that have been translated into twenty languages, including The People versus Democracy, The Great Experiment, and The Identity Trap.
I write and think about politics and culture in the United States, Western Europe, and beyond. A steadfast critic of right-wing populism, I am equally opposed to left-wing identitarianism—and believe that our only hope for getting out of this bleak political moment is to take a principled stance against both.
While my writing is rooted in the values of liberal democracy, I abhor any form of dogmatism. My self-conception is, first and foremost, that of a writer. And this means that the primary obligation I feel to my readers is to say things that I believe to be true and important, whether or not you are likely to agree with me.
Fulfillment policy: For refunds, see Substack’s policies here.
