N.S. Lyons

1 month ago | roundingup.substack.com | Fred Bauer |Noah Smith |N.S. Lyons

In a feisty jeremiad, responds to a recent viral essay by . Lyons argues that Donald Trump and populism signal the return of the “strong gods” of faith and solidarity neglected at the end of history. As Lyons puts it,This masculine-inflected spirit of thumotic vitalism was suppressed throughout the Long Twentieth Century, but now it’s back….Instead of producing a utopian world of peace and progress, the open society consensus and its soft, weak gods led to civilizational dissolution and despair.

Jan 20, 2025 | theupheaval.substack.com | N.S. Lyons

It’s still before dawn when hundreds of Chinese missiles begin to rain down on Taiwan, striking airfields, radar arrays, anti-aircraft batteries, and communications centers temporarily silenced by cyber-attacks. Much of the self-governing island’s air and naval forces are obliterated in a matter of minutes. Pre-infiltrated Chinese special forces storm the residence and offices of the Taiwanese president, executing the “decapitation strike” they’ve trained for years to carry out.

Oct 16, 2024 | theupheaval.substack.com | N.S. Lyons

A little while ago I was asked to speak at an event on the use of “public-private partnership” to implement policy goals. I found I had to be a bit disagreeable on the subject. Here are those remarks, transcribed and lightly edited, in case readers here also find them relatable or clarifying in any way.

Oct 1, 2024 | theupheaval.substack.com | Freya India |N.S. Lyons

I’ve been writing about our world’s upheavals for more than three years now. Over that time one of the most personally significant conclusions I’ve come to is that no clean separation can be made between the “big” issues of our era – the ideological revolutions, the political turmoil, even shifting geopolitics – and the “little” struggles facing the individual human soul.

Sep 9, 2024 | theupheaval.substack.com | N.S. Lyons

Even when our nation's dysfunction becomes too obvious to ignore, average Americans tend to comfort themselves with the story that it at least remains a democratic, constitutional republic. For such Americans, it's probably been a confusing summer. One moment the sitting president was, according to the near-universal insistence of mainstream media, sharp as a tack— all evidence to the contrary declared merely dangerous disinformation.