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The Persuaders
At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy
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Narrated by:
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Anand Giridharadas
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An insider account of activists, politicians, educators, and everyday citizens working to change minds, bridge divisions, and fight for democracy—from disinformation fighters to a leader of Black Lives Matter to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more—by the best-selling author of Winners Take All and award-winning former New York Times columnist
“Anand Giridharadas shows the way we get real progressive change in America—by refusing to write others off, building more welcoming movements, and rededicating ourselves to the work of changing minds.”—Robert B. Reich, best-selling author of The System
The lifeblood of any free society is persuasion: changing other people’s minds in order to change things. But America is suffering a crisis of faith in persuasion that is putting its democracy and the planet itself at risk. Americans increasingly write one another off instead of seeking to win one another over. Debates are framed in moralistic terms, with enemies battling the righteous. Movements for justice build barriers to entry, instead of on-ramps. Political parties focus on mobilizing the faithful rather than wooing the skeptical. And leaders who seek to forge coalitions are labeled sellouts.
In The Persuaders, Anand Giridharadas takes us inside these movements and battles, seeking out the dissenters who continue to champion persuasion in an age of polarization. We meet a leader of Black Lives Matter; a trailblazer in the feminist resistance to Trumpism; white parents at a seminar on raising adopted children of color; Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; a team of door knockers with an uncanny formula for changing minds on immigration; an ex-cult member turned QAnon deprogrammer; and, hovering menacingly offstage, Russian operatives clandestinely stoking Americans’ fatalism about one another.
As the book’s subjects grapple with how to call out threats and injustices while calling in those who don’t agree with them but just might one day, they point a way to healing, and changing, a fracturing country.
©2022 Anand Giridharadas (P)2022 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
“While the world seems to counsel despair, The Persuaders is animated by a sense of possibility.”—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
“Illuminating . . . Efforts to persuade opponents instead of writing them off are probed in this searching study. . . . This is an incisive guide to the art of persuasion.”—Publishers Weekly
“Persuasion, Giridharadas effectively points out, is necessary for democracy to thrive. He offers strong stories and evidence that polarization and rigid ideology are not the brick walls they’re made out to be. While Giridharadas wrestles with contemporary issues, his inquiry has timeless qualities that transcend the news of the day in the hope of helping strengthen democracy for all time.”—James Pekoll, Booklist (starred review)
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Black Lives Matter is not about rioting: read this
- By Miracle on 10-21-20
By: Alicia Garza
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The Dictator's Handbook
- Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics
- By: Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith’s canonical book on political science turned conventional wisdom on its head. They started from a single assertion: leaders do whatever keeps them in power. They don’t care about the “national interest”—or even their subjects—unless they must. Newly updated to reflect the global rise of authoritarianism, this clever and accessible book illustrates how leaders amass and retain power. As Bueno de Mesquita and Smith show, democracy is essentially just a convenient fiction.
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Biased inserted compared to the original
- By Bob on 06-07-24
By: Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, and others
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How Minds Change
- The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
- By: David McRaney
- Narrated by: David McRaney
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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What made a prominent conspiracy-theorist YouTuber finally see that 9/11 was not a hoax? Can you finally have a productive conversation about politics with your uncle at the next family gathering? How does an ordinary person find the courage to leave a cult? Can widespread social change only take place when a generation dies out?
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Fascinating, nuanced, well-written, but…
- By Jason J. Gay on 08-13-22
By: David McRaney
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Attack from Within
- How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
- By: Barbara McQuade
- Narrated by: Barbara McQuade
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push us toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others. The false claims that led to the breathtaking attack on our Capitol in 2020 may have been only a dress rehearsal. Attack from Within shows us how to prevent it from happening again, thus preserving our country's hard-won democracy.
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Trump bashing
- By joseph clayson on 03-09-24
By: Barbara McQuade
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Win Every Argument
- The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking
- By: Mehdi Hasan
- Narrated by: Mehdi Hasan
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan isn’t one to avoid arguments. He relishes them as the lifeblood of democracy and the only surefire way to establish the truth. Arguments help us solve problems, uncover new ideas we might not have considered, and nudge our disagreements toward mutual understanding. A good argument, made in good faith, has intrinsic value—and can also simply be fun.
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Would be much better without politics
- By David Fair on 03-17-23
By: Mehdi Hasan
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The Longest Con
- How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism
- By: Joe Conason
- Narrated by: Steve Marvel
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump's path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him.
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America Needs to Know the Truth and Dangers of Trump
- By Tiberius on 12-01-24
By: Joe Conason
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Quantum Body
- The New Science of Living a Longer, Healthier, More Vital Life
- By: Deepak Chopra MD, Jack Tuszynsk PhD, Brian Fertig MD
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra MD
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In an unprecedented collaboration between three of today’s most powerful minds, Deepak Chopra, M.D., teams up with physicist Jack Tuszynski, Ph.D., and endocrinologist Brian Fertig, M.D., to bring listeners a visionary work that delves into the innovative world of quantum science and shows how unlocking its secrets can revolutionize how we live and age—and, ultimately, how we can eradicate disease. The key is the quantum body.
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Life Changing!
- By Lance Shave on 01-18-24
By: Deepak Chopra MD, and others
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Chatter
- The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
- By: Ethan Kross
- Narrated by: Ethan Kross
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you’re likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we’re facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus - you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I’m going to fail. They’ll all laugh at me. What’s the use?
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Chatter is Great
- By Mark on 02-13-21
By: Ethan Kross
What listeners say about The Persuaders
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- K. S.
- 11-12-22
Fantastic!
A great and worthwhile listen that offers hope for bridging a world of extremes. Clear narration and compelling stories.
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- B. Knowles
- 09-08-23
Thought Provoking
I enjoyed this, found it to be thought provoking and insightful. Also always appreciate solution focus versus screaming into the void!
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- Octavia Lockley
- 10-13-23
Solid techniques and examples
I appreciated the techniques and various real-world examples. Very well thought-out and delivered as a whole.
I had to pause several times to absorb ideas and the affect they could haveI would have appreciated a quick recap of those key techniques at the end so this could more easily be used as a guide or training assistant. There were a lot of profound things in this book, but the lessons are delivered in close proximity, making it dense and tougher to recall. I would have appreciated a quick recap of those key techniques at the end so this could more easily be used as a guide or training assistant.
If anyone is looking for impartial examples, it should be noted that the examples used are predominately from left-leaning politics or progressive movements.
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- Betacats
- 11-21-22
Enlightening and timely.
Thanks to the author for his keen eyes and ears in bringing these persuaders to our attention. Much needed understanding and hope in our difficult times.
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- Kele
- 11-09-22
This book is good 👍
loved this book. couldn't stop listening to a very informative concept of changing hearts
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- Cindy C.
- 02-24-23
Thoughtful and hopeful
I found this book thoughtful and hopeful. Now I just need to put it into practice myself.
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- Tom
- 09-12-23
An Important Thought-Provoking Work.
One reviewer said that this book taught that Persuasion was “not just an Art but also a Skill”. This gets to the heart of what Giridharadas is telling us. He not only introduces us to the Persuaders in various scenarios, but he lets us see their joys and frustrations in discovering what Persuasion is.
“People can change.” Really?! Let’s hope so. Maybe some of the techniques his protagonists have developed will change the World but they’ve got a steep hill to climb. This Reader is rooting for them.
Very instructive and enjoyable read. Fine narration. Four Stars. ****
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- Anonymous User
- 07-14-23
life changing
I was hooked after the first chapter. I had no idea that it was going to teach me how to change my way of communicating and also taking in information that is thrown at me. love love love this book
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- Anonymous User
- 10-28-23
Excellent must-read for anyone seeking to save and broaden our democracy.
An inspiring and incredibly informative deep dive into activists and politicians doing the essential, time-consuming groundwork of understanding, and shaping conversations to bring our polarized nation together around being human and having shared experiences so that knowledge, conversation and consensus building for positive change can happen. Most inspiring book I’ve read in a while; going to recommend it to all my networks as an immediate MUST read b4 the 2024 election cycle.
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- Kay Dee
- 12-10-22
Great read for activists, campaigners, persuaders
Loved this book! Anand expertly profiles some of our iconic social justice movement leaders. Engrossing and informative.
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