The Persuaders

Winning Hearts and Minds in a Divided Age

De: Anand Giridharadas

Narrado por: Anand Giridharadas

Brought to you by Penguin.

A riveting insider account of how activists, politicians, educators and citizens are working to change minds, bridge divisions and save democracy.

The lifeblood of any free society is persuasion: changing other people's minds to enable real change. But America is suffering a crisis of faith in persuasion that is putting its democracy and the planet itself at risk. People increasingly write each other off instead of seeking to win each other 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 mobilising the faithful rather than wooing the sceptical. And leaders who seek to forge coalition are labelled sell-outs.

In The Persuaders best-selling author Anand Giridharadas takes us inside these movements and battles, seeking out the dissenters who continue to champion persuasion in an age of polarisation. We meet a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, a leader of the feminist resistance to Trumpism, white parents at a seminar on raising adopted children of colour, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a team of door knockers with an uncanny formula for changing minds on immigration and an ex-cult member turned QAnon deprogrammer.

As they 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 broken society.

©2022 Anand Giridharadas (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Mind blowing in parts. But overly American focused

The author tells a mind blowing story on how global politics influence far more of normal life than I had realized. The Russian Troll Factories designed to spread disharmony and expand division is a war weapon I'd not been fully aware of and has changed how I see social media.

Really enjoyed learning about the persuaders and their methods and how politics has evolved over the years.

Some of the topics are American in nature and need to be told that way, but things that are not only American are America focused in this book and I find that annoying. The same information and story could be told in a more inclusive way.

A must read for Anti racism activists

I came across this book while struggling with the question of what is to be done to create effective dialogue between Black women and white people and Black men. As a coach who centres Black women in her work and realised that it is not enough to just focus on the development of Black women, we also have to advocate for change in a more effective way that doesn’t shy away from difficult issues but can still fosters dialogue