Trygve Olson
@trygveolson.bsky.social
Democracy Expert trained 1000's worldwide to fight for it. Sr Advisor @projectlincoln & @LDIDemocracy. Weekly on @allbaughshow. WI boy, Girl Dad, Packer Fan.
Reposted by Trygve Olson
I spent several years working on a project: LSTN2U is live.
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A political conversation tool
Have meaningful, structured political conversations powered by AI.
www.lstn2u.us
February 11, 2026 at 10:03 PM
I spent several years working on a project: LSTN2U is live.
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
I spent several years working on a project: LSTN2U is live.
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A political conversation tool
Have meaningful, structured political conversations powered by AI.
www.lstn2u.us
February 11, 2026 at 10:03 PM
I spent several years working on a project: LSTN2U is live.
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
A free tool (pay-it-forward model) built on years of research and patent-pending security.
We don’t Track, Train, or Target your data — we help you have better political conversations.
More at www.lstn2u.us
It started, like too many things do these days, with a Facebook comment.
Someone I’ve known a long time — someone who used to knock doors for the same candidates I did and was at my fifth birthday party — wrote that I must be “a liberal with TDS.”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Someone I’ve known a long time — someone who used to knock doors for the same candidates I did and was at my fifth birthday party — wrote that I must be “a liberal with TDS.”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The Things We Used to Believe
If believing in the Constitution makes me a liberal, then maybe “conservative” doesn’t mean what it used to.
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:55 AM
It started, like too many things do these days, with a Facebook comment.
Someone I’ve known a long time — someone who used to knock doors for the same candidates I did and was at my fifth birthday party — wrote that I must be “a liberal with TDS.”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Someone I’ve known a long time — someone who used to knock doors for the same candidates I did and was at my fifth birthday party — wrote that I must be “a liberal with TDS.”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Reflections from my trip back home to ground zero.
Minneapolis Isn’t Who We Are, But it is What We Can Be Again.
Or, Hope isn’t naïve. It’s the choice to believe that “this isn’t who we are” can still become “this is who we chose to be”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Minneapolis Isn’t Who We Are, But it is What We Can Be Again.
Or, Hope isn’t naïve. It’s the choice to believe that “this isn’t who we are” can still become “this is who we chose to be”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Minneapolis Isn’t Who We Are — But It’s Who We Can Be Again
Hope isn’t naïve.
open.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Reflections from my trip back home to ground zero.
Minneapolis Isn’t Who We Are, But it is What We Can Be Again.
Or, Hope isn’t naïve. It’s the choice to believe that “this isn’t who we are” can still become “this is who we chose to be”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Minneapolis Isn’t Who We Are, But it is What We Can Be Again.
Or, Hope isn’t naïve. It’s the choice to believe that “this isn’t who we are” can still become “this is who we chose to be”
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down
January 24, 2026 at 5:31 PM
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down
Reposted by Trygve Olson
“Shaped by his KGB culture and witness to Soviet demise, any peace deal that can be perceived other than complete ‘victory’ – is no longer a policy option available…It would delegitimise the entire regime. Therefore, escalation becomes not a choice but a necessity.”
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Russia is Losing – Time for Putin's 2026 Hybrid Escalation
2025 offered the most generous potential off-ramp for Vladimir Putin. He rejected it.
www.rusi.org
December 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
“Shaped by his KGB culture and witness to Soviet demise, any peace deal that can be perceived other than complete ‘victory’ – is no longer a policy option available…It would delegitimise the entire regime. Therefore, escalation becomes not a choice but a necessity.”
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
SURVIVING THANKSGIVING
Here’s the truth: Democracy begins at the table. Not the one in DC, but the one in your kitchen. The one with the gravy boat and the quiet resentment
To save democracy, we’ve got to start by saving the relationships that sustain it
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Here’s the truth: Democracy begins at the table. Not the one in DC, but the one in your kitchen. The one with the gravy boat and the quiet resentment
To save democracy, we’ve got to start by saving the relationships that sustain it
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
How to Survive Thanksgiving Without a Political Fistfight (and Maybe Even Build a Bridge)
Thanksgiving is the American holiday.
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
SURVIVING THANKSGIVING
Here’s the truth: Democracy begins at the table. Not the one in DC, but the one in your kitchen. The one with the gravy boat and the quiet resentment
To save democracy, we’ve got to start by saving the relationships that sustain it
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Here’s the truth: Democracy begins at the table. Not the one in DC, but the one in your kitchen. The one with the gravy boat and the quiet resentment
To save democracy, we’ve got to start by saving the relationships that sustain it
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Reposted by Trygve Olson
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.
November 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.
Yesterday ignited lots of comments: bsky.app/profile/tryg...
They deserve a response: What You Are Actually Saying When You Say You Are Done Talking — Moral Clarity without relationship leaves only judgement. Judgement without connection won’t fix what is broken
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
They deserve a response: What You Are Actually Saying When You Say You Are Done Talking — Moral Clarity without relationship leaves only judgement. Judgement without connection won’t fix what is broken
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
November 8, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Yesterday ignited lots of comments: bsky.app/profile/tryg...
They deserve a response: What You Are Actually Saying When You Say You Are Done Talking — Moral Clarity without relationship leaves only judgement. Judgement without connection won’t fix what is broken
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
They deserve a response: What You Are Actually Saying When You Say You Are Done Talking — Moral Clarity without relationship leaves only judgement. Judgement without connection won’t fix what is broken
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
THE HARDEST CONVERSATIONS ARE THE ONES DEMOCRACY NEEDS MOST
1 in 5 Americans has ended a relationship with a friend or family member due to political differences. 2 in 3 actively avoid political conversations with coworkers, friends, or family.
Let that sink in.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
1 in 5 Americans has ended a relationship with a friend or family member due to political differences. 2 in 3 actively avoid political conversations with coworkers, friends, or family.
Let that sink in.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The hardest conversations are the ones democracy needs most.
When We Stop Listening, Democracy Starts to Die
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:12 PM
THE HARDEST CONVERSATIONS ARE THE ONES DEMOCRACY NEEDS MOST
1 in 5 Americans has ended a relationship with a friend or family member due to political differences. 2 in 3 actively avoid political conversations with coworkers, friends, or family.
Let that sink in.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
1 in 5 Americans has ended a relationship with a friend or family member due to political differences. 2 in 3 actively avoid political conversations with coworkers, friends, or family.
Let that sink in.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Empowerment or Exploitation: The Real Battle Behind AI
We have been here before, many times. The question of progress has always been a questions of more than simply the political, but of who ultimately benefits as time marches forward and technology evolves.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
We have been here before, many times. The question of progress has always been a questions of more than simply the political, but of who ultimately benefits as time marches forward and technology evolves.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Empowerment or Exploitation: The Real Battle Behind AI
At the highest level of humanity, every age faces the same moral test — whether power will serve the many, or exploit them for the few.
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Empowerment or Exploitation: The Real Battle Behind AI
We have been here before, many times. The question of progress has always been a questions of more than simply the political, but of who ultimately benefits as time marches forward and technology evolves.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
We have been here before, many times. The question of progress has always been a questions of more than simply the political, but of who ultimately benefits as time marches forward and technology evolves.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Our job is to build a coalition of the reasonable — liberals, conservatives, independents — anyone who believes in truth, pluralism, and peaceful power
In the end, it’s not about left vs. right
It’s about democracy vs. extremism
Faith vs. fear
Freedom vs. control
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
In the end, it’s not about left vs. right
It’s about democracy vs. extremism
Faith vs. fear
Freedom vs. control
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The Extremes Aren’t Opposites — They’re Twins
The Four Psychological Traits That Fuel Political Extremism — and What They Mean for Our Democracy Now
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Our job is to build a coalition of the reasonable — liberals, conservatives, independents — anyone who believes in truth, pluralism, and peaceful power
In the end, it’s not about left vs. right
It’s about democracy vs. extremism
Faith vs. fear
Freedom vs. control
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
In the end, it’s not about left vs. right
It’s about democracy vs. extremism
Faith vs. fear
Freedom vs. control
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Whether you are on the Left, Right, or Center, Free Speech Isn't a Punchline.
Ask yourself:
Do you want to live in a country where you are afraid to say what you believe?
Where your children or grandchildren never know how to speak their truths, because those with power fear their voice?
Ask yourself:
Do you want to live in a country where you are afraid to say what you believe?
Where your children or grandchildren never know how to speak their truths, because those with power fear their voice?
Free Speech Isn’t a Punchline
And it Does Matter Which Side of the Political Divide You Are On
open.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Whether you are on the Left, Right, or Center, Free Speech Isn't a Punchline.
Ask yourself:
Do you want to live in a country where you are afraid to say what you believe?
Where your children or grandchildren never know how to speak their truths, because those with power fear their voice?
Ask yourself:
Do you want to live in a country where you are afraid to say what you believe?
Where your children or grandchildren never know how to speak their truths, because those with power fear their voice?
Wednesday’s events overtook what I had intended to share in remembrance of 9/11. However I have decided to share it today — something I originally wrote in 2018 on 9/11 because it is perhaps more important today than it was back then.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
September 11th: Remembering Win-Win America
Editor’s Note:
open.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Wednesday’s events overtook what I had intended to share in remembrance of 9/11. However I have decided to share it today — something I originally wrote in 2018 on 9/11 because it is perhaps more important today than it was back then.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
When Violence Comes Home — we have to start with asking ourselves who are we and what do we want us to be as a nation.
My latestest on Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
My latestest on Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
When Political Violence Comes Home
We all need to take a moment to reflect on who and what we are and want to be.
open.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:59 PM
When Violence Comes Home — we have to start with asking ourselves who are we and what do we want us to be as a nation.
My latestest on Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
My latestest on Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
When AI Lies, Trust Dies
Let’s start with this: I didn’t expect ClickUp Brain to be a real brain. But I also didn’t expect it to be a pathological liar with a straight face.
clickup.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Let’s start with this: I didn’t expect ClickUp Brain to be a real brain. But I also didn’t expect it to be a pathological liar with a straight face.
clickup.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
When AI Lies, Trust Dies
ClickUp Brain Fabricated Capabilities—and That Should Scare Us All
open.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:39 AM
When AI Lies, Trust Dies
Let’s start with this: I didn’t expect ClickUp Brain to be a real brain. But I also didn’t expect it to be a pathological liar with a straight face.
clickup.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Let’s start with this: I didn’t expect ClickUp Brain to be a real brain. But I also didn’t expect it to be a pathological liar with a straight face.
clickup.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Everywhere I go right now, I hear the same thing: “I’m exhausted.”
People who care about democracy feel like they’re in a permanent crisis loop.
But here’s the truth:
Democracy building isn’t regime change.
It’s a long-term investment in a better world.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
People who care about democracy feel like they’re in a permanent crisis loop.
But here’s the truth:
Democracy building isn’t regime change.
It’s a long-term investment in a better world.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
You don’t win democracy like you win a campaign. You sustain it like you build a forest.
The Long-Term Game: Democracy as a Generational Investment
open.substack.com
August 8, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Everywhere I go right now, I hear the same thing: “I’m exhausted.”
People who care about democracy feel like they’re in a permanent crisis loop.
But here’s the truth:
Democracy building isn’t regime change.
It’s a long-term investment in a better world.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
People who care about democracy feel like they’re in a permanent crisis loop.
But here’s the truth:
Democracy building isn’t regime change.
It’s a long-term investment in a better world.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
One of the most dangerous myths in American politics today is that authoritarianism is something that happens “over there.”
It doesn’t.
Not anymore.
Not in 2025.
Because the fight for democracy — and against it — is now global.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
It doesn’t.
Not anymore.
Not in 2025.
Because the fight for democracy — and against it — is now global.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The Anti-Democracy Alliance: What We’re Actually Up Against
What if the fight we’re in isn’t just domestic? What if the other side is already coordinating?
open.substack.com
August 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
One of the most dangerous myths in American politics today is that authoritarianism is something that happens “over there.”
It doesn’t.
Not anymore.
Not in 2025.
Because the fight for democracy — and against it — is now global.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
It doesn’t.
Not anymore.
Not in 2025.
Because the fight for democracy — and against it — is now global.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
In the early 2000s, I worked in countries where democracy was fragile, new, or still just an idea.
We didn’t talk about “election years” or “get out the vote.”
We talked about survival
Strategy.
Coalition
Courage
We didn’t always win. But we learned what worked
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
We didn’t talk about “election years” or “get out the vote.”
We talked about survival
Strategy.
Coalition
Courage
We didn’t always win. But we learned what worked
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The Democracy-Building Toolbox — And Why We Need It Here Now
Tools we used to export. Now we need to use them to save ourselves.
open.substack.com
August 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
In the early 2000s, I worked in countries where democracy was fragile, new, or still just an idea.
We didn’t talk about “election years” or “get out the vote.”
We talked about survival
Strategy.
Coalition
Courage
We didn’t always win. But we learned what worked
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
We didn’t talk about “election years” or “get out the vote.”
We talked about survival
Strategy.
Coalition
Courage
We didn’t always win. But we learned what worked
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Most people think opposition movements rise or fall based on charisma, ideology, or momentum.
But the movements that survive fear-based regimes, and actually win, rely on something else.
://open.substack.com/pub/trygveolson/p/what-opposition-movements-need-and?r=f0clj&utm_medium=ios
But the movements that survive fear-based regimes, and actually win, rely on something else.
://open.substack.com/pub/trygveolson/p/what-opposition-movements-need-and?r=f0clj&utm_medium=ios
What opposition movements need — and what fear-based regimes fear most.
The Four Es: A Framework for Building Movements That Survive and Win
open.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Most people think opposition movements rise or fall based on charisma, ideology, or momentum.
But the movements that survive fear-based regimes, and actually win, rely on something else.
://open.substack.com/pub/trygveolson/p/what-opposition-movements-need-and?r=f0clj&utm_medium=ios
But the movements that survive fear-based regimes, and actually win, rely on something else.
://open.substack.com/pub/trygveolson/p/what-opposition-movements-need-and?r=f0clj&utm_medium=ios
We’re in a global contest between two systems — one rooted in democratic values, the other in strategic manipulation, fear, and zero-sum control.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
The Battle of Worldviews Is Now Global — And Personal
What I wrote 15 years ago is happening again. This time, everywhere.
open.substack.com
August 4, 2025 at 11:23 AM
We’re in a global contest between two systems — one rooted in democratic values, the other in strategic manipulation, fear, and zero-sum control.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
One Thing That Made America Great
For all our flaws, one of the things that truly made America exceptional — and made us trusted — was this:
We didn’t cook the books.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
For all our flaws, one of the things that truly made America exceptional — and made us trusted — was this:
We didn’t cook the books.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
One thing that made America great: we didn’t cook the books.
The Day They Fired the Economist for Telling the Truth
open.substack.com
August 3, 2025 at 8:17 AM
One Thing That Made America Great
For all our flaws, one of the things that truly made America exceptional — and made us trusted — was this:
We didn’t cook the books.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
For all our flaws, one of the things that truly made America exceptional — and made us trusted — was this:
We didn’t cook the books.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Stillbirth doesn’t leave you with many instructions.
Especially if you’re a dad.
You’re expected to hold it together.
Be present. Be useful. Be strong.
And maybe you try to do that.
But inside, it’s something else entirely.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Especially if you’re a dad.
You’re expected to hold it together.
Be present. Be useful. Be strong.
And maybe you try to do that.
But inside, it’s something else entirely.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Lessons for Fathers Who’ve Lost a Child
What I Learned From a Life Never Lived — Entry 2
open.substack.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Stillbirth doesn’t leave you with many instructions.
Especially if you’re a dad.
You’re expected to hold it together.
Be present. Be useful. Be strong.
And maybe you try to do that.
But inside, it’s something else entirely.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Especially if you’re a dad.
You’re expected to hold it together.
Be present. Be useful. Be strong.
And maybe you try to do that.
But inside, it’s something else entirely.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Stillbirth is a different kind of loss.
You’re not just grieving a child — you’re grieving the future you imagined.
The milestones never come.
There’s no timeline to anchor the pain.
It’s a life unlived, and a version of yourself that disappears with it.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
You’re not just grieving a child — you’re grieving the future you imagined.
The milestones never come.
There’s no timeline to anchor the pain.
It’s a life unlived, and a version of yourself that disappears with it.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
My daughter's Life was Never Lived, and Today she would have Turned Nineteen.
For Vilte — And For Anyone Who’s Lost a Child Before They Were Born
open.substack.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Stillbirth is a different kind of loss.
You’re not just grieving a child — you’re grieving the future you imagined.
The milestones never come.
There’s no timeline to anchor the pain.
It’s a life unlived, and a version of yourself that disappears with it.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
You’re not just grieving a child — you’re grieving the future you imagined.
The milestones never come.
There’s no timeline to anchor the pain.
It’s a life unlived, and a version of yourself that disappears with it.
open.substack.com/pub/trygveol...
Reposted by Trygve Olson
NEW #ThatTrippiShow: @joetrippi.bsky.social & @trygveolson.bsky.social discuss Trygve’s s seven rules for winning back control of the public square from AI and the threat to democracy posed by the technology.
www.lincolnsquare.media/p/that-tripp...
www.lincolnsquare.media/p/that-tripp...
That Trippi Show | How to Fight Back Against the AI Autocratic Takeover with Trygve Olson
Don't miss Trygve's seven rules for winning back control of the public square.
www.lincolnsquare.media
July 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM
NEW #ThatTrippiShow: @joetrippi.bsky.social & @trygveolson.bsky.social discuss Trygve’s s seven rules for winning back control of the public square from AI and the threat to democracy posed by the technology.
www.lincolnsquare.media/p/that-tripp...
www.lincolnsquare.media/p/that-tripp...