The festooning of the president’s name and likeness across Washington, D.C., is consistent with authoritarian tendencies, @galbeckerman.bsky.social writes: “Authoritarian leaders want their face in your face.”

@galbeckerman.bsky.social: “Authoritarian leaders want their face in your face. Their ubiquitous images personalize the state, making it synonymous with one man’s power. And they turn the citizen’s relationship with that leader into an emotional one.”

“He could be scowling, or maybe slyly smiling. His glowering eyes are less enigmatic; they seem to follow the pedestrians scurrying around the city from above… “Authoritarian leaders want their face in your face” @galbeckerman.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

Came home from a long time away to find some amazing-looking books waiting in the mail for me, converging on themes of evolution and revolution. @galbeckerman.bsky.social @jasondovemark.bsky.social @dghaskell.bsky.social

It's maybe ironic to post about the death of Jürgen Habermas here in one of our many twisted parodies of a public square, but he's the philosopher we very much need right now, a believer in the power of communication and reason. Here's my Times obituary:

Both loyalists and dissidents cried over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei—and this shared reaction to a dictator’s demise is a symptom of the damage those dictators do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

The Trump administration has both invoked and avoided the word “war” in ways that seek glory and evade responsibility, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

The Trump administration has both invoked and avoided the word “war” in ways that seek glory and evade responsibility, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

A book I very much need (and want) to read: HOW TO BE A DISSIDENT, by @galbeckerman.bsky.social, coming April 21

When spring finally does decide to arrive...check out "How to Be a Dissident."

When spring finally does decide to arrive...check out "How to Be a Dissident."

Both loyalists and dissidents cried over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei—and this shared reaction to a dictator’s demise is a symptom of the damage those dictators do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

Both loyalists and dissidents cried over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei—and this shared reaction to a dictator’s demise is a symptom of the damage those dictators do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

I wrote about all the tears that followed the death of Khamenei...they seemed drawn from a deeper well than just happiness or sadness.

Both loyalists and dissidents cried over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei—and this shared reaction to a dictator’s demise is a symptom of the damage those dictators do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

I wrote about all the tears that followed the death of Khamenei...they seemed drawn from a deeper well than just happiness or sadness.

A needed and brilliant defense of the subscription model from @johnwilliams.bsky.social "I expect publications I support to attempt growth without radically changing the focus or quality of the work or pivoting to some get-traffic-quick scheme every time readership dips over a holiday weekend."

I’ve spent the past year on a search. How do we push back against the forces that are crushing us right now? How do we resist the dehumanization of our politics, our technology? The answers came from people who pushed back before us: the dissidents...🧵

I’ve spent the past year on a search. How do we push back against the forces that are crushing us right now? How do we resist the dehumanization of our politics, our technology? The answers came from people who pushed back before us: the dissidents...🧵

Is anything morally obvious anymore? The public reaction to the violence in Minneapolis suggests that we have held on to our sense of universal truths. www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0... By @galbeckerman.bsky.social #RadicalUniversalism

The public reaction to the violence in Minneapolis suggests that Americans have held on to our sense of universal morality, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues. He considers a timely new book about “radical universalism”:

I tried to think through whether there were any "self-evident truths" for Americans today...it wasn't so hard. Which makes our busted political life all that more distressing.

The public reaction to the violence in Minneapolis suggests that Americans have held on to our sense of universal morality, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues. He considers a timely new book about “radical universalism”:

I struggle still to understand what happened in Minneapolis, the actions and risks ordinary citizens took, and are continuing to to take. Reading Omri Boehm's recent book, "Radical Universalism," gave me some helpful American language for it.

I struggle still to understand what happened in Minneapolis, the actions and risks ordinary citizens took, and are continuing to to take. Reading Omri Boehm's recent book, "Radical Universalism," gave me some helpful American language for it.

You can call Bad Bunny's halftime show many things—fun, meaningful, staggeringly detailed, wholesomely hot, surprisingly Gagatastic—but not divisive. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

Let President Trump keep building monuments to himself, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues: It may be “the most effective way to highlight the unprecedentedly self-serving nature of Trump’s presidency.”

A 15-foot golden statue of Trump is about to be erected. I look at the bright side...

Shutting down (the stellar) books coverage at WaPo is a real telling move when your owner is literally Jeff Bezos

Those who oppose ICE in Minnesota are battling not for a political agenda but for the goal of dissidents throughout history: a normal life, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

Those who oppose ICE in Minnesota are battling not for a political agenda but for the goal of dissidents throughout history: a normal life, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

"Dissidence is not revolution; it is not even political opposition. It’s something much more elemental. It emerges in environments where power—usually government power—tramples on the basic conditions of life as people know &value them."- @galbeckerman.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...

Those who oppose ICE in Minnesota are battling not for a political agenda but for the goal of dissidents throughout history: a normal life, Gal Beckerman argues. theatln.tc/XkX62TXA

www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0... I am a humanist. I am a dissident.

@galbeckerman.bsky.social: “To be a dissident in this moment means moving beyond scoring points and underscoring differences, and on to recognizing what we are all losing—and blowing a whistle in order to prevent that loss.”

Those who oppose ICE in Minnesota are battling not for a political agenda but for the goal of dissidents throughout history: a normal life, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

When I look at what is happening in Minneapolis, I see people practicing dissidence, acting out of a human instinct to defend what feels most normal. The practice comes out of a tradition, it has a history, one that also points the way forward.

Hat tip to you, @galbeckerman.bsky.social, on a great, must-read reminder of this truth in @theatlantic.com today. Gift link:

Josh Shapiro’s memoir presents his Jewishness, which is widely considered a barrier to his presidential prospects, as a unifying brand of faith—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

@galbeckerman.bsky.social on Josh Shapiro’s new memoir: theatln.tc/greBidiy

Josh Shapiro’s memoir presents his Jewishness, which is widely considered a barrier to his presidential prospects, as a unifying brand of faith—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

I read Josh Shapiro's memoir and started counting the mentions of "faith" ... there were a lot. Not only is he not hiding his Jewishness. He's placing it at the center of his narrative.

The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas. By @galbeckerman.bsky.social #glykoreads

In “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. outlined a strategy to expose the brutality of his opponents. Anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota are following his script—and it’s working, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

“In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. outlined a strategy to expose official brutality. Anti-ICE protesters are following it…” @galbeckerman’s latest: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

Agree!

In “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. outlined a strategy to expose the brutality of his opponents. Anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota are following his script—and it’s working, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

I caught glimpses of MLK's strategy in Minneapolis.

So resonate.. so very awful, too. The Silence of the Left on Iran As the Islamic Republic massacres protesters, exiles are dismayed by the lack of sympathy from the American left. By @galbeckerman.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...