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Thinking about...

Timothy Snyder

The words we need for the politics of today. snyder.substack.com

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1:16

No Kings in Cincinnati

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/27

A quick video to remind you why we protest! I’ll be in Cincinnati tomorrow; there are thousands of protests to join across the country. Click here to see all of the locations and make your plans!Please share this post.My books that might be helpful.Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. Please subscribe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

41:03

Thinking Live with Heather Cox Richardson

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/26

Here is a recording of my conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson from yesterday. As two historians, we discussed the importance of history to make sense of our current moment, understanding freedom to build a better future, how people can meaningfully respond and resist, and more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

2:11

The Crackup of the Trump Elite (video)

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/18

Joe Kent never should have been director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Given his complete lack of qualifications and his sympathies for those who wish harm to Americans, the scandal is his appointment, not his resignation. His resignation reveals a fault line in the Trump elite, but not one that does credit to anyone. In basic political terms, it might be suggestive that fighting a doomed war will make it harder rather than easier for Trump to steal the coming election. In the video I

49:34

Thinking Live with David Pepper on Ohio, Elections,...

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/09

We have an unusually interesting Democratic ticket in Ohio in he gubernatorial elections — and they could very well win. I spoke back in November to the amazing Dr. Amy Acton, who is running for governor. Joining her on the ticket is David Pepper, whom I know mainly as the author of fine books of political analysis and strategy. If you want a break from war news, and want to consider something very good that good happen this fall, please tune in to this conversation, which was live a couple of

52:57

Thinking Live on Iran with Janice Stein

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/07

Professor Janice Stein is a leading authority on negotiation and war as well as a regional specialist on the Middle East. Our conversation covers the origins of the Iran war, its meaning for the region and the world, and its possible trajectories. Throughout Professor Stein offers her characteristic wit and sharpness. I recommend that you have a listen.Thank you Michael Barclay, Mona Mona, Another Essay, Mangrove Valley, Shulamit Elson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Janice

49:33

Thinking Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Iran, Strongmen,...

Thinking about... ·

2026/03/05

Earlier this week, I sat down with historian and author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” Ruth Ben-Ghiat for a conversation about the war in Iran, how history can inform us about our moment, and what we can all do. We also discussed how ritual humiliation functions as a political tool, why this war is unlikely to produce the rally-around-the-flag effect Trump may have hoped for, and what it will actually take — from elites, from citizens, from all of us — to turn this moment into a political

46:37

Making Sense of Iran War

Thinking about... ·

2026/02/28

This post contains my conversation with military historian Phillips O’Brien about the U.S. strikes on Iran. Phillips walked us through what air power can and can’t do — it can devastate a regime, but it can’t replace one, and what we’ve likely unleashed is a chaotic internal struggle with no clear plan for what comes next.The deeper question is why this is really happening. The answer, we agreed, has less to do with Iran than with Trump’s domestic troubles, his financial entanglements with the Gulf

57:08

Thinking Live with Paul Krugman: Ukraine, Economics,...

Thinking about... ·

2026/02/24

I spoke with Paul Krugman about Ukraine, economics, and the political moment we are living through in the United States. We discussed the dangers to democracy that come from within, especially in an age of oligarchy and extreme inequality, and we talked about what the war in Ukraine reveals about civil society and reconstruction.We ended with a simple point: democracy depends on citizens who participate, not spectators who wait. I hope you’ll watch and enjoy our discussion.Thinking about... is a

37:58

My Conversation with Ava DuVernay about Don Lemon &...

Thinking about... ·

2026/01/30

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of a long and wide-ranging conversation with Ava DuVernay—a producer and director whose work has consistently helped Americans see themselves and their history more clearly.We spoke about many things: where we are as a country, what history can still teach us, and what democratic coalitions have looked like when they have succeeded—and when they have failed. But we also spoke about the present moment, which has a way of intruding on even the most reflective

35:49

Conversation with Misha Collins and Emily Farallon

Thinking about... ·

2026/01/28

We talked about a wide range of topics today — from the happenings in Minnesota to what people can do to push back to Ukraine. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

31:11

My Conversation with Stacey Abrams

Thinking about... ·

2026/01/13

Watch my conversation with Stacey Abrams. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

33:17

Can the Russo-Ukrainian war end?

Thinking about... ·

2025/12/21

In this second part of the conversation, we turn to the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and discuss American diplomatic antics as well as European shortcomings. We also juxtapose the current narratives around diplomacy, which are often very misleading, with the state of the battlefield.Please watch and share! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

17:54

How wars are won

Thinking about... ·

2025/12/20

I had a wide-ranging conversation with the distinguished historian of war Philipps O’Brien, who has been an important voice on the Russo-Ukrainian war. In part one, we discuss the structural reasons for victory and defeat in war, and assess the first critical year (2022) of Russia’s current full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Please watch and share! Part two coming tomorrow. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

52:29

Oligarchs and Diplomats (video with Michael Weiss)

Thinking about... ·

2025/11/25

Greetings all! These past few days were some of the weirdest in American diplomatic history, and I was lucky to have a special guest to help explain what happened and why it matters.This was a wonderful and timely conversation with the reporter Michael Weiss on the diplomatic imbroglio that followed when the United States allowed its position on Ukrainian to be dictated by a Russian leaker who happens to be a rather singular figure in Russian politics. There are facts, contexts and analysis here

3:57

The Putin-Witkoff Plan Worsens the War

Thinking about... ·

2025/11/20

Among all the other things that are happening, we have a US administration trying to bully Ukrainians into accepting Russia’s proposal that their sovereignty be undone. Aside from the naked injustice of this, there are five basic practical reasons why it would make the world far more dangerous. I summarize them here; you will find more writing on this subject elsewhere on my Substack, “Thinking about…” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to

37:59

Conversation with Dr Amy Acton

Thinking about... ·

2025/11/20

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

7:44

When we say No Kings, we mean Freedom (video)

Thinking about... ·

2025/10/25

Cincinnati was where I wanted to be for No Kings, and I was so glad to be there. We have dozens of civic groups signing people up to work together, and tens of thousands of people down by the river for hours. I was proud to be there and proud to open the rally with this speech. Thanks to everyone who answered and went to work. And thanks above all to the local organizers from 50501 and the good people at Indivisible who made it possible for us to come together. Please listen and please find

0:51

Why We Protest

Thinking about... ·

2025/10/18

Five reasons to rally! Another one I didn’t mention — it’s fun and it makes you feel better. Thanks to everyone who is already out there. I’ll be at No Kings in Cincinnati. Thinking about... is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

3:00

The Truth about Panics

Thinking about... ·

2025/10/14

The Trump administration is trying to seed a panic about «antifa,» one which, if it succeeds, brings the media and the result of us along as collaborators in authoritarian regime change. So let’s be thoughtful. It is not good practice to just repeat the words of those who are trying to manufacture a panic. Nor is it it good practice to juxtapose malicious fantasy with known reality and imagine or pretend that somehow the truth is in between. That just helps those who are seeding panic by providing

5:08

Gaza and Protest

Thinking about... ·

2025/10/13

Today the president is taking credit for a cease-fire in Gaza. But who, in America, was first in calling for that exact thing? Students on campuses. And what happened to them? They were banned from their own public spaces, all over the country. So the president should be thanking them for their foresight. And he and all of his supporters should naturally be calling for campus bans on public assembly to be lifted. I would be very happy to hear such voices! But I fear we won’t. If we don’t, we will

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