Gal Beckerman

Oh god, two of my favorite people in one post 🤯

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

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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.

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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.

There Is a Word for What Is Happening in Minneapolis What ICE’s opponents are doing in Minnesota is part of a long and successful historical tradition: dissidence.

"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

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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

I am a humanist. I am a dissident.

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

@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.”

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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.

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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.

The Way to Beat Back Trump Was Just Revealed There is a word for what ICE’s opponents in Minneapolis represent, and it has a long, successful history: dissidence.

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

Josh Shapiro Takes a Gamble on His Faith The presidential contender’s memoir presents his Jewishness as a unifying force—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work.

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 Takes a Gamble on His Faith The presidential contender’s memoir presents his Jewishness as a unifying force—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work.

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.

Josh Shapiro Takes a Gamble on His Faith The presidential contender’s memoir presents his Jewishness as a unifying force—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work.

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

Minnesota Had Its Birmingham Moment In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. outlined a strategy to expose official brutality. Anti-ICE protesters are following it—and it’s working.

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:

Minnesota Had Its Birmingham Moment In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. outlined a strategy to expose official brutality. Anti-ICE protesters are following it—and it’s working.

“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!

Minnesota Had Its Birmingham Moment In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. outlined a strategy to expose official brutality. Anti-ICE protesters are following it—and it’s working.

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:

Minnesota Had Its Birmingham Moment In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. outlined a strategy to expose official brutality. Anti-ICE protesters are following it—and it’s working.

I caught glimpses of MLK's strategy in Minneapolis.

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.

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...

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.

@galbeckerman.bsky.social: ”In my conversations with these Iranian exiles, I heard deep frustration ... The Iranian protesters stepping fearlessly into the sights of government snipers are being seen by the American left with more suspicion than sympathy.”

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.

As the Islamic Republic massacres protesters, exiles are dismayed by the lack of sympathy from the American left, @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports. He spoke with the Iranians who feel “betrayed” by their peers:

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.

I spoke to Iranian exiles who consider themselves progressive and pro-Palestinian, and they describe feeling betrayed by their side. This is a real thing.

What Stephen Miller Gets Wrong About Human Nature The Trump adviser’s assertions about the “real world” reflect a deep misunderstanding of Thomas Hobbes’s dog-eat-dog worldview.

Donald Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s assertions about the “real world” sound like something out of the work of Thomas Hobbes—but they deeply misunderstand his philosophy of government, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

A New Understanding of Human Beings’ Most Basic Desire Rebecca Newberger Goldstein argues that a good life is one that seeks to create order out of a natural state of chaos.

The philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein argues in her new book that the often-painful struggle to justify our existence is the very thing that makes us human, John Kaag writes:

What Stephen Miller Gets Wrong About Human Nature The Trump adviser’s assertions about the “real world” reflect a deep misunderstanding of Thomas Hobbes’s dog-eat-dog worldview.

Donald Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s assertions about the “real world” sound like something out of the work of Thomas Hobbes—but they deeply misunderstand his philosophy of government, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues:

What Stephen Miller Gets Wrong About Human Nature The Trump adviser’s assertions about the “real world” reflect a deep misunderstanding of Thomas Hobbes’s dog-eat-dog worldview.

Is Stephen Miller's worldview the result of a serious misreading of Hobbes? This is what came to mind when I heard him talk about the "iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”

What Stephen Miller Gets Wrong About Human Nature The Trump adviser’s assertions about the “real world” reflect a deep misunderstanding of Thomas Hobbes’s dog-eat-dog worldview.

Donald Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s assertions about the “real world” sound like something out of the work of Thomas Hobbes—but they deeply misunderstand his philosophy of government, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues: