The UnPopulist
Shikha Dalmia, Aaron Ross Powell, Andy Craig, Thomas Shull, Debasish Roy Chowdhury, Steve Chapman, Ilya Somin, Francis Fukuyama, Berny Belvedere, Erica Newland, Tim Ganser, Justin Florence, Grant Tudor, Joshua Reed Eakle, Nathan Law, Tibita Kaneene, Executive WatchDefending liberal democracy against authoritarianism in the U.S. and around the world.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 918 | Founded | 5 years ago | Last Issue | 3 days ago |
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theunpopulist.netLatest Issues
Dolly Parton Was a Class Act Who Deserves a National Statue
Dolly Parton (1946-2026)
Dolly Parton spent her life showing up. She showed up for her fans, giving over 1,000 public concerts and recording over 45 studio albums. She showed up for her home state, spearheading the Dollywood theme park tha...
The Resistance Is a Noble Crusade
Bill Kristol delivered the closing remarks at LibCon2026 (Credit: Kristoffer Tripplaar)
To close out a wildly successful LibCon2026, ISMA board member Bill Kristol reflected on the last 18 months of authoritarian consolidation. He lauded t...
From Spectral Evidence to Self-Evident Truths
Pixabay
In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, was in the throes of its infamous witch trials. In courtroom scenes which seem so inexplicably absurd to us, human beings were sent to the gallows on the basis of “spectral evidence”—invisible proof of...
What Will Come of Trump's Radical Remaking of the Presidency?
Shutterstock / The UnPopulist
As we move toward the end of the Trump era, we need to reckon with the changes his administration has wrought in the American system of government. The most significant is the enormous concentration of power,...
Liberal Democracy Is Not Self-Sustaining
Nathan Law, Hong Kong Umbrella Movement leader exiled in the U.K., delivered the dinner keynote at LibCon2026 (Credit: Kristoffer Tripplaar)
Today, we’re pleased to share exiled Hong Kong democracy advocate Nathan Law's thoughtful dinner k...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
I'm the editor of The UnPopulist
Host of ReImagining Liberty, a podcast about the emancipatory, cosmopolitan, and forward-looking case for radical liberty, and Zooming In, a show from The UnPopulist. Radical liberal cosmopolitan and ex-think tank scholar.
Senior editor at The UnPopulist.
Thomas Shull is editor-at-large of The UnPopulist and survey research director for the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism.
Debasish Roy Chowdhury is co-author of "To Kill A Democracy: India's Passage to Despotism" (OUP/Pan Macmillan)
Freelance journalist and contributing columnist for the Chicago Tribune. I always heed my doubts.
Ilya Somin is Professor of Law at George Mason University. He is the author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom, and Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter.
Senior Fellow at Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, furniture maker, drone pilot, fan of classic social theory.
Senior Editor of The UnPopulist. Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism (ISMA). Views my own.
Current Counsel at Protect Democracy and former federal civil servant
Dr. Tim Ganser trained as a political economist, then left academia for the business world and retains a strong interest in politics and economics.
Justin Florence co-founded Protect Democracy and helps lead the organization’s work to advance its mission, including legal, policy, advocacy and communications strategies.
Grant Tudor is a policy advocate with Protect Democracy, where he develops and advocates for a range of reforms to shore up our democratic institutions.
Building a liberal movement. Comms at Liberalism.org. Board at Project Liberal. Husband and father. Views my own.
Notes on AI, Democracy and China. Documentary: "Who's afraid of Nathan Law?" Book: "Freedom: how we lose it and how we fight back"
Tibita Kaneene is the President of the NYC New New Liberals, part of https://cnliberalism.org/.
A project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism and The UnPopulist
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