Are Diverse Democracies an Endangered Species?

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Yascha Mounk about the challenges and optimism surrounding diverse democracies.

We were delighted to have the chance to speak with political scientist Yascha Mounk earlier this month at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the threats facing diverse democracies today—and, why, in spite of the many challenges, Yascha remains optimistic. Show Notes * Yascha is the founder of the publication Persuasion and has his own substack . We recommend his podcast, The Good Fight , as well. We made a joint appearance on the pod back in 2023 to discuss fighting illiberalism from the right and the left. * For a list of Yascha’s books , click here . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Hosts: Amna Khalid, Jeff Snyder

Guest: Yascha Mounk

Topics covered

• diverse democracies
• political science
• optimism in politics
• threats to democracy
• illiberalism

Keywords

• diverse democracies
• political scientist
• Yascha Mounk
• optimism
• threats to democracy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Persuasion, The Good Fight

Places: University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire

More episodes of Banished

• "Virtually No Institution of Higher Learning is Safe" · May 12, 2026 · 42 min
• Are Too Many Professors Excellent Sheep? · October 29, 2025 · 30 min
• That Book Is Dangerous! · October 3, 2025 · 21 min
• Authoritarians in the Academy · September 23, 2025 · 28 min
• Supercharged since October 7 · February 17, 2025 · 23 min
• Who Speaks the Language of Social Justice? · February 8, 2025 · 18 min