The Gist

If You Want Power, Sell It

Author Yuval Harari worries that liberalism offers no compelling vision of the future.

Yuval Noah Harari

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On The Gist, Lincoln, Kennedy, and Lincoln Kennedy could all speak better than President Trump.  

If you’re old enough to remember November 2016, you know that telling a good story—even an untrue one—wins elections. Author Yuval Noah Harari worries that populism has liberalism beat on this front, especially given an uncertain future looming with AI, biotechnology, and the possible obsolescence of the human worker. Harari’s new book is 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

In the Spiel, a lawmaker’s voting record is the only thing we should judge them on.

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Podcast production by Pierre Bienaimé and Daniel Schroeder.