A sharp, urgent review of a sharp, urgent book.

A lesson worth remembering—now, and always.

"How to Be a Dissident" is out tomorrow...But you can NOW read @astra.bsky.social's review in the @nytimes.com of a book she calls "one man’s reckoning with the existential questions posed by the rising tide of authoritarianism."

Is There a Right Way to Rebel?

I reviewed @galbeckerman.bsky.social's rousing manual How to Be a Dissident.

It's a timely provocative book that grapples with the existential questions posed by rising authoritarianism, and it challenges us to wrestle with what kind of dissident we'd like to be.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/b...

After writing this piece, I’m wondering where our American islands might be…

The Quiet Way Authoritarianism Begins to Crumble Among the many reasons for Viktor Orbán’s defeat was the rural clubs where citizens relearned democratic habits.

Among the many reasons for Viktor Orbán’s defeat were the rural clubs where citizens relearned democratic habits. @galbeckerman.bsky.social on the role of the "Tisza Islands" in the Hungary election:

Thank you for the kind note, Jason! I'd love to send you a copy of the book...Email me your address and we'll get one headed your way: galbeckerman@gmail.com

If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.

I love this @galbeckerman.bsky.social celebration of Henry David Thoreau as a dissident. The problem with our ideas of Thoreau (as I've said before) is not that we mis-read him, but that we mis-remember him (since most of us read him in high school)
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...

"For Thoreau, the system was held up by individuals, and individuals had the wherewithal to undo it. If everyone who thought slavery was wrong refused to pay their taxes and went to jail, then slavery would end."

The Quiet Way Authoritarianism Begins to Crumble Among the many reasons for Viktor Orbán’s defeat was the rural clubs where citizens relearned democratic habits.

Among the many reasons for Viktor Orbán’s defeat were the rural clubs where citizens relearned democratic habits. @galbeckerman.bsky.social on the role of the "Tisza Islands" in the Hungary election:

If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.

If you want a better world, act like you live in it...

Here's an excerpt from my new book, How to Be a Dissident, out next week, which features Thoreau, but also Joseph Brodsky and Ernst Bloch...masters all of presumptuousness.

Be as Self-Righteous as Thoreau He has been seen as an environmentalist, a libertarian, a life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.

We've had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach—but to understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.

How to Be a Dissident by Gal Beckerman: 9798217089215 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books An invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian drift How do we push back in a world where...

You can preorder the book here!

Be as Self-Righteous as Thoreau He has been seen as an environmentalist, a libertarian, a life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.

We often disparage dissidents as self-righteous, but if you look at Thoreau, and what it took to oppose slavery in his time, maybe acting out of conviction does take a certain presumptuousness.

An excerpt in @theatlantic.com from "How to Be a Dissident."

www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...

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.

"This is why radical universalism is hard: It often demands that you go against your own immediate interests."

For Gal Beckerman, reading Omri Boehm's "cogent, succinct book [Radical Universalism] felt like such a cold plunge, painful but reinvigorating." Universal rights are politics.

What the Astronauts See That Trump Cannot Pictures of the Earth from the Artemis II mission offer a sense that humans are united. If only a bellicose president could feel the same.

Pictures of the Earth from the Artemis II mission offer a sense that humans are united. If only Donald Trump could see what the astronauts do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social writes.

What the Astronauts See That Trump Cannot Pictures of the Earth from the Artemis II mission offer a sense that humans are united. If only a bellicose president could feel the same.

Pictures of the Earth from the Artemis II mission offer a sense that humans are united. If only Donald Trump could see what the astronauts do, @galbeckerman.bsky.social writes.

What the Astronauts See That Trump Cannot Pictures of the Earth from the Artemis II mission offer a sense that humans are united. If only a bellicose president could feel the same.

If Trump went to space, would the Overview Effect have an effect on him...I suspended gravity and disbelief, and tried to think this through.

The Strangeness of a Trumpified Capital The festooning of the president’s name and likeness across Washington, D.C., is consistent with authoritarian tendencies.

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.”

The Meaning of Trump’s Ubiquitous Face The festooning of the president’s name and likeness across Washington, D.C., is consistent with authoritarian tendencies.

@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

Jürgen Habermas Dies at 96; One of Postwar Germany’s Most Influential Thinkers

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:

Why People Shed Tears for Tyrants Both loyalists and dissidents cried over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. This common reaction to a dictator’s demise is a symptom of the damage they do.

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.

Just Don’t Say the W-Word Trump’s administration has both used and avoided the word war in ways that seek glory and evade responsibility.

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

Just Don’t Say the W-Word Trump’s administration has both used and avoided the word war in ways that seek glory and evade responsibility.

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

How to Be a Dissident by Gal Beckerman: 9798217089215 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books An invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian drift How do we push back in a world where...

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

26 Nonfiction Books We’re Excited About This Spring

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