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The rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy

Ryan Lash / TED

Part 3 of TED Radio Hour episode What Topples Democracies.

Democracy is being challenged around the world. Political scientist Yascha Mounk says that to fight for democracy, we need to take a hard look at why so many nations are electing populist leaders.

About Yascha Mounk

Yascha Mounk is a political scientist known for his work on the rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy. His books include The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, and The Identity Trap: A Stoy of Ideas and Power in our Time.

Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and Harvard University, Mounk is a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a Senior Advisor at Protect Democracy, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. He is also a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a frequent contributor to international newspapers and magazines including The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs as well as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Manoush Zomorodi
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of NPR's TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, whose work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity. TED Radio Hour won the 2023 Ambie award for Best Knowledge, Science, and Tech podcast.
Harsha Nahata
Harsha Nahata (she/her) is a producer for TED Radio Hour. For TED Radio Hour, she has produced segments on how to manage time in a meaningful way, how gray wolves are surviving in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and how an Iranian artist living in exile connects with her homeland, among others.
Sanaz Meshkinpour

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