Anna Gát: Building an Intellectual Community for the Politically Homeless

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

If you ever wanted to live in a world of endlessly fascinating conversations about the arts, science, and philosophy, you're going to love today's guest—Anna Gát. She's the person behind a platform* called Interintellect, which hosts hundreds of online salons a year. While some of them feature superstars like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, relationship guru Esther Perel, and economist Tyler Cowen, all of the salons are built around civil yet engaging discussions on interesting cultural ideas.

Interintellect's stated ambition is to reinvent French salon culture for the 21st century, and the platform is increasingly hosting in-person events too. Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Gát about why she started Interintellect, how it grew to have tens of thousands of participants all over the world, and how her new podcast, The Hope Axis, fits into her vision of a future marked by optimism (guests on the podcast have included economist Noah Smith, online-culture analyst Katherine Dee, and Quillette founder Claire Lehmann). They also talk about how her early years in post-communist Hungary shaped her worldview and ambitions.

*CORRECTION: The original text implied that Interintellect requires a membership to participate in events. While there is a membership tier, virtually all Interintellect events are open to the public.

0:00—Introduction

1:29— Interintellect : a public marketplace for intellectual salons

3:31— Gát's background & vision

14:05— Interintellect's scope of events

19:05— A perpetual festival with multiple paths for participation

23:38—Ad: Bank On Yourself

25:30— An apolitical self-moderating cultural community

27:52— Interintellect's global reach

31:39— "The Hope Axis" podcast

37:07— Why is 'doomerism' so appealing to millennials?

42:32— Using the hope axis to defeat "no way out" mentality

45:55— Gát's intellectual heroes

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