About Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Lucid: Big-Picture Thinking about Threats to Democracy around the World
Democracy is in decline. Over half of the world's population now lives under some form of illiberal rule. Wherever democracy deteriorates, so does support for transparency and accountability. Disinformation about current events thrives, as do versions of history that cover up authoritarian crimes.
I started Lucid in 2021 to separate the signal from the noise in politics and provide big-picture thinking about authoritarianism and threats to democracy in the US and around the world. I use my skills as a historian to identify the patterns and dynamics at work in the news that comes at us every day.