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Thinking about...

Timothy Snyder

The words we need for the politics of today.

snyder.substack.com

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50 episodes
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English

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April 30 · 48 min
Thinking Live with Lawrence Lessig on the End of Dark Money
I talked with Professor Lawrence Lessig about his case that would effectively end Super PACs and dark money in politics. I think you’ll learn a lot from our conversation and hope you’ll check out EqualCitizens.US to learn more about their case and why it matters. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
April 21 · 6 min
Superpower Suicide
“Superpower Suicide” is a concept to help understand the approach of the Trump regime to the rest of the world. We are fighting a war for no reason we can name, losing it, and covering our defeat with genocidal and apocalyptic propaganda. This is bad enough on its own; but I think this performance is symptomatic of something deeper — a systematic undoing of American power by Americans. In this video I stay close to very traditional accounts of the accumulation and maintenance of of state power, all of which indicate rapid and catastrophic decline as the result of specific choices in the last year. I don’t even mention one source of US power which is specifically modern: the international structures we built over decades to ensure our centrality, which the Trump people are undoing. Many of the American fundamentals are still very sound, but a better future, or any kind of future at all, will depend on a sober reckoning with the present moment. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
April 13 · 58 min
Thinking Live with Journalist Terry Moran
I talked with journalist Terry Moran, who most recently was a reporter at ABC News and many other newsrooms. Our conversation spanned current events, from how we got here to what we all have to do on the other side of all of this. Watch our full conversation here. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
April 12 · 54 min
Thinking Live with Phillips O'Brien on War in Iran and Ukraine
I talked with Phillips O’Brien today about the Iran War, the Ukraine War, and other foreign affairs news. This is the second conversation Phillips and I have had recently, and I know you’ll learn as much from him as I do. Here is the link to donate to Come Back Alive: https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 27 · 1 min
No Kings in Cincinnati
A quick video to remind you why we protest! I’ll be in Cincinnati tomorrow; there are thousands of protests to join across the country. Click here to see all of the locations and make your plans! Please share this post. My books that might be helpful. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. Please subscribe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 26 · 41 min
Thinking Live with Heather Cox Richardson
Here is a recording of my conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson from yesterday. As two historians, we discussed the importance of history to make sense of our current moment, understanding freedom to build a better future, how people can meaningfully respond and resist, and more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 18 · 2 min
The Crackup of the Trump Elite (video)
Joe Kent never should have been director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Given his complete lack of qualifications and his sympathies for those who wish harm to Americans, the scandal is his appointment, not his resignation. His resignation reveals a fault line in the Trump elite, but not one that does credit to anyone. In basic political terms, it might be suggestive that fighting a doomed war will make it harder rather than easier for Trump to steal the coming election. In the video I sketch this out. If you find it helpful, please share. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 9 · 49 min
Thinking Live with David Pepper on Ohio, Elections, and the Future
We have an unusually interesting Democratic ticket in Ohio in he gubernatorial elections — and they could very well win. I spoke back in November to the amazing Dr. Amy Acton, who is running for governor. Joining her on the ticket is David Pepper, whom I know mainly as the author of fine books of political analysis and strategy. If you want a break from war news, and want to consider something very good that good happen this fall, please tune in to this conversation, which was live a couple of weeks ago, but which is still very much on my mind today. Thank you Jason Stanley, Brian Page CFT™ AFC® Fair Play, Carol Johnston, Michael Scarmack, Kathleen Moss, and many others for tuning into my live video with David Pepper! Please subscribe and please share. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 7 · 52 min
Thinking Live on Iran with Janice Stein
Professor Janice Stein is a leading authority on negotiation and war as well as a regional specialist on the Middle East. Our conversation covers the origins of the Iran war, its meaning for the region and the world, and its possible trajectories. Throughout Professor Stein offers her characteristic wit and sharpness. I recommend that you have a listen. Thank you Michael Barclay, Mona Mona, Another Essay, Mangrove Valley, Shulamit Elson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Janice Stein! Join me for my next live video in the app. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe
March 5 · 49 min
Thinking Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Iran, Strongmen, and more
Earlier this week, I sat down with historian and author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” Ruth Ben-Ghiat for a conversation about the war in Iran, how history can inform us about our moment, and what we can all do. We also discussed how ritual humiliation functions as a political tool, why this war is unlikely to produce the rally-around-the-flag effect Trump may have hoped for, and what it will actually take — from elites, from citizens, from all of us — to turn this moment into a political turning point. As Ruth and I agreed on, disasters don’t become turning points on their own. They need people willing to name what’s happening, hold the line on institutions, and act — nonviolently, persistently — in the name of something better. The conversation is available in full above. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

Showing 41–50 of 50 episodes