The Core-Core Issue Holding Back the Right

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On the left, there's a lot of- I want to hear your thoughts on this. There's this sense of- I don't want to get involved in those dark arts. And if I employ these emotional appeals or I walk backwards through their pre-political feelings, that is a form of manipulation we don't do over here because when they go low, we go high. It seems wrong to use persuasion. As if the word persuasion itself suggests you are tricking people into coming over to your side. You can do it, but it's wrong.

This is the third episode in a three-part series about how to have difficult conversations with people who see the world differently, how to have better debates about contentious issues, and how to ethically and scientifically persuade one another about things that matter – in short, this is a three-part series about How Minds Change (which is also the title of my new book).

There seems to be a movement afoot, a new wave of nonfiction about how to reduce all this argumentative madness and epistemic chaos. I want to boost everyone’s signal on this issue, so I thought it would be nice to collaborate instead of compete, since that’s part of what we are all proselytizing with these books.

So this episode’s guest is Anand Giridharadas, the author of The Persuaders – a book about activists, politicians, educators, and everyday citizens who are on the ground working to change minds, bridge divisions, and fight for democracy.

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