WATCH: The Identity Trap (with Yascha Mounk) | The Bulwark Podcast

Our democratic order is facing a two-front war. While the immediate crisis may be from the right, the left is presenting its own threats—which only help make far-right populism stronger. Political scientist and democracy hipster Yashca Mounk discusses his new book with Charlie Sykes on the weekend pod.

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The Bulwark Podcast: Charlie Sykes and guests discuss the latest news from inside Washington and around the world. No shouting, grandstanding, or sloganeering. Conservative, conscientious, and civil.

[carolbulmer]

Charlie, the discussion with Yascha was thought provoking. Thank you👏👏👏👏👏

[jessieadair]

This was a *thought provoking* conversation of the kind that can generate more light and less heat in our national conversation about who we are and who we want to be and how we bridge the difference. Thank you Charlie & Yascha!

[phasis]

Leftist democrat here —this was a wonderful podcast, and I am so pleased you are beginning to address this in a nuanced thoughtful way. It is not bigotry to have concerns or to ask questions.

[lisabluecurls]

I am also a lefty Dem. I gained so much from this discussion. I've been troubled by the rigidity, the two-sides only, with us or against us thinking, and the caustic, judgmental opinionating of my lefty friends. It's actually disrupted a few friendships because I couldn't tolerate the hostility and anger when I "begged to differ." I used to think WE were the ones who listened receptively, who reflected thoughtfully on others' opinions and experiences. I'm so disappointed. I feel inspired by Yascha Mounk's perspective to look for the nuance, to look for the third, fourth, etc. sides of ideas, and to continue to pursue civil dialogue.

[StonedInz]

Was a great chat and delved into many issues i have been raising for years within my groups.
Thanks charlie for bringing yascha in for a chat.

[johnwickey]

Amen. When did we stop being a “melting pot”? Our differences constitute all that is good about this country. How has this become so difficult?

[thfpnw]

Yascha makes such good arguments about the excess of self-policing and cultural appropriation. The whole thing about you can only cook (commercially) or write based on your lived experience is extremely limiting, and I am speaking as an immigrant and person of color.

[bastianberger]

Great talk. Ordered the book instantly.

[deborahfreedman]

RE: the Bon Apetit gentile writer, the problem was not that the writer wasn't Jewish, but that they had never heard of the laws of Kashrut, and changed the hamantaschen recipe to use butter. This meant it couldn't be eaten after a meal with meat. If the writer knew about Jewish culture, they would have left the recipe as it was, parve. It was not cultural appropriation, but cultural ignorance, that was the problem. Dr. Mounk has to know about kashrut. He should have known this.

[kattz]

Cultural appropriation can really hurt the people of the culture being "approoriated". When I was in grade school, two ladies from our local native cutural center used to come to our school. They taught us native beadwork, art and told us the stories that native children were told. Many decades later, i noticed that the jewelry was falling apart. I restrung it on nylon thread and wore it out. This was a problem for a young man who was very uninterested in the story about where it came from. Many native people spent the winter creating arts, crafts and jewelry to sell to tourists in the summer. You have to wonder how much it has hurt them. People are now afraid to buy the art or wear the clothing and jewelry. I always thought that I was honouring their culture when I wore their creations.

[kimschefer]

So glad you are doing video on YouTube :)

[susanmiller]

Wow. Might have to listen to this twice! Thank you!

[hereigoagain]

Great podcast. Great leaders engender trust. To earn trust, leaders must have integrity. People who speak differently in public and private lack integrity, will not earn trust, and will not be great leaders. Great leaders ask their followers to make great sacrifices, and they will not if they believe they are being scammed.

[jeff-onedayatatime.]

About Cults: Though my father had a Ph.D. in Physics and I have a Master's degree, in the 80s I was a Fundamentalist. I believed in the literal Garden of Eden and the 6000 Year Earth. And what a thrill it was!...to be in a tiny minority but know you were right and everyone else wrong.

[rickknight]

Something clicked with me about the free-speech issue. I worked on a novel that included a Black character. At one point in the story, he was held captive by mobsters, one of whom addressed him using the N word. I was describing the story to someone, who said I should remove that word because seeing it could "cause harm" to a Black reader. This seemed absurd to me because it fits the inclination of the thug, who is mainly using it as a form of intimidation. Omitting the N word or substituting it for some other epithet would dilute the point of the encounter. It reminds me of the old 19th-century novels where publishers would substitute the word "d--n" to denote a character saying "damn."

[tommarney]

I think it's a fundamental problem that too many people don't understand how to think logically. Charlie ought not have to remind people that advocates for, in this case, limits on free speech need to think about how such limits would be abused by bad actors.

[BryanHalo]

Charlie has become a full-on progressive with this video. It's a true progressive that heavily criticizes progressivism - more than any right winger could know how to.

[jbf]

I would love to hear a discussion between Yascha and Yuval Noah Harari

[cablenewsfanatic]

The onslaught of these ideas into the left at the beginning of the 2010s certainly pushed me from being a John Edwards/Bernie Sanders style leftist to embracing the populist, nationalist ideology of MAGA. I can point to countless others who are in the same boat as I am. His assertion that the left is repelling support due to this ideology that it has recently adopted is spot on in my experience.

[wilesdukedubose]

Thanks for the earworm intro music! I'll put it with MSNBC's and my first I phone's ringtone.

Maybe my alarm clock's warning We got 5 more minutes?

God bless Jimmy Carter