Persuasion
Persuasion is an English-language online magazine founded in 2020 by German-American political scientist Yascha Mounk. It is published via Substack and describes itself as a community for people who believe that a free society is worth defending.
What you can find
Persuasion publishes essays, opinion pieces, and podcasts about democracy, populism, freedom of speech, and culture. Its authors come from a range of perspectives, from left-liberal to moderate conservative. Gender is not a central topic, but the magazine occasionally publishes commentary on how the debate about transgender healthcare and identity is conducted.
Why it is included on this list
The magazine does not report news or conduct its own research into gender-affirming care. Its value lies in pieces that examine the debate itself: what can be said, by whom, and with what consequences. See also science and debate and society.
Organisation and people
Persuasion launched in July 2020. According to its own website, it is a nonpartisan publication of an American nonprofit organisation. Yascha Mounk is the editor-in-chief. The advisory board includes Steven Pinker, Jonathan Haidt, Francis Fukuyama, Sheri Berman, Emily Yoffe, and Moisés Naím. Haidt is also featured on this site as the author of The Anxious Generation. Persuasion also publishes the media project American Purpose, with Fukuyama as its chairman, and his column Frankly Fukuyama, as well as the weekly podcast The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk. According to its own website, the Persuasion and American Purpose community welcomed its one hundred thousandth member in April 2025.
Business model and guiding principles
The newsletter's articles are available for free. Paying members get access to paywalled articles, additional podcast material, special editions, live events, and reading groups in which authors discuss their books. Persuasion describes its aim as building a free society in which everyone can lead a meaningful life, regardless of who they are. The magazine describes itself as philosophically liberal, with the defence of free speech and liberal values at its core. The podcast focuses on opposing authoritarian populism.
How to weigh this source
Critics argue that Persuasion gives disproportionate attention to cancel culture and intolerance on the left. This is useful to bear in mind when reading pieces about gender, because they almost always concern how openly the conversation is conducted and rarely healthcare itself. The essays express the views of individual authors and are not editorial positions on treatment. They are useful as a supplement to other external sources, not as a substitute for research or guidelines. Sources on this list that focus on free speech include FIRE and Academics for Academic Freedom.