06.10.2026
How to Be a Dissident
With Gal Beckerman
We all know what dissidents do. But I wondered: what qualities do they possess?
Gal Beckerman
Is there a right way to rebel? How do we push back at a time when extreme views are becoming commonplace and democracies are under attack? What can we do when we face a moral dilemma and are uncertain how to act?
On Tuesday October 6, 2026 acclaimed journalist and The Atlantic staff writer Gal Beckerman joined us to discuss his book, How to Be a Dissident. The book is an invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of authoritarian drift.
Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, as well as thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman revealed the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share: a set of attributes and practices for anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny. He shows that dissidence is a human capacity we can all cultivate—a refusal to betray one’s inner voice, no matter the cost.
Participants
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Gal Beckerman
Gal Beckerman is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a former editor at the New York Times Book Review. He is the author of The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, a New York Times notable book, and When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: which won the Sami Rohr Prize and was named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. He has a PhD in media studies from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Nuria Ribas Costa
Nuria Ribas Costa is a Spanish Journalist and Jurist based between Rotterdam and Ibiza, her homeland. Formerly at OMA, she currently works as an independent researcher and policy analyst in the fields of urbanism and culture. She is part of urbanism agency Humankind, research group Vigla, the Center for Music Ecosystems and De Dépendance. She is interested in the relationships rural-urban, the politics of space and land and intersectionality in urbanism.
