The Good Fight2 Sep 2025

Cass Sunstein on Defending Liberalism

Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. His latest book is On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom. In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Cass Sunstein explore critiques from the left and the right, what different strands of liberalism can teach us, and why John Stuart Mill has the answer. We’re delighted to feature this conversation as part of our new series on Liberal Virtues and Values. That liberalism is under threat is now a cliché—yet this has done nothing to stem the global resurgence of illiberalism. Part of the problem is that liberalism is often considered too “thin” to win over the allegiance of citizens, and that liberals are too afraid of speaking in moral terms. Liberalism’s opponents, by contrast, speak to people’s passions and deepest moral sentiments. This series, made possible with the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, aims to change that narrative. In podcast conversations and long-form pieces, we’ll feature content making the case that liberalism has its own distinctive set of virtues and values that are capable not only of responding to the dissatisfaction that drives authoritarianism, but also of restoring faith in liberalism as an ideology worth believing in—and defending—on its own terms. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episoder(504)

Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk on Whether Democracy Needs Religion

Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, where he co-directs the Faith and Future of Democracy Initia...

10 Nov 56min

Martin Wolf on Democratic Capitalism After Trump

Yascha Mounk and Martin Wolf discuss whether democracy can recover from the damage of populism, the risk of an AI bubble, and why France could spark the next euro crisis. Martin Wolf is chief economi...

7 Nov 1h

The Good Fight Club: Trump Rebuked

Yascha Mounk, Larry Diamond, and Arlie Hochschild debate whether the blue wave marks the end of the MAGA era or merely a pause. In this week’s episode of The Good Fight Club, Yascha Mounk, Larry Diam...

4 Nov 1h 4min

Dan Williams on Why AI (Probably) Won’t Kill Us

Yascha Mounk and Dan Williams discuss the impact of AI on society, education, and politics. Dan Williams is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex. He writes the Conspicuous...

31 Okt 47min

Malcolm Gaskill on Why Our Ancestors Weren't as Superstitious as We Think

Yascha Mounk and Malcolm Gaskill debate what the Enlightenment got wrong about the so-called age of credulity. Malcolm Gaskill, Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History at the University of East An...

24 Okt 59min

James Marriott on the End of Reading

Yascha Mounk and James Marriott explore what happens when a civilization turns its back on books. James Marriott is a London Times columnist and the author of the Substack Cultural Capital, covering ...

20 Okt 53min

Eliot Cohen on Why America Keeps Losing Wars It Should Win

Yascha Mounk and Eliot Cohen delve into the lost meaning of “strategy” and why Trump's Iran gambit went off the rails. Eliot A. Cohen is the Arleigh Burke chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategi...

17 Okt 52min

David Deming on the Future of Universities in the Age of AI

Yascha Mounk and David Deming discuss how artificial intelligence will transform research, teaching, and the economic foundations of higher education. David Deming is the Danoff Dean of Harvard Colle...

13 Okt 1h 2min