Skip to content

Writing

Tactics, strategy, and field notes for confronting power. Get Subvrt by email.

The myth of large numbers

The myth of large numbers

Break the religious devotion to mass participation.

The mania over Musk

The mania over Musk

Myth-busting around the battle for control over the information ecosystem.

Wargames

Wargames

Making peace talks happen on Ukraine is the key activism project of our time.

The meta post

The meta post

A look back on 18 months of exploring smarter activism.

How far is too far?

How far is too far?

An enlightening debate on disruptive protest, with an activist who spends time in police custody for doing it.

e06: Disruptive protest

e06: Disruptive protest

Miriam Meyer is a young activist who gets arrested regularly, for blocking roads with the climate action group Last Generation. In this candid interview, I speak to her about the fine line between pushing your proposals, and turning the public against you.

Grief and dissent

Grief and dissent

The reaction to the Queen’s death is a test case for our discourse.

e05: Taking the power back

e05: Taking the power back

An interview with Chris Smalls, the leader of the first successful union drive in Amazon's history. From May 2020, and very relevant today.

The coffee game

The coffee game

What you don’t know, can feel threatening.

How to get your first 1000 supporters

How to get your first 1000 supporters

Build your campaign base.

The five-minute lobbyist

The five-minute lobbyist

How to influence decision makers and get what you want.

Taming Twitter (part 2)

Taming Twitter (part 2)

What I learned from quitting Twitter. And how to get the platform to work for you.

Taming Twitter (part 1)

Taming Twitter (part 1)

On becoming a full-blown addict.

Know what you want

Know what you want

Don’t Pay UK, and why your campaign demands need to be concrete and measurable.

Tiny protest, big results

Tiny protest, big results

Last week, two activists glued themselves to a painting to protest climate change. It was smarter than you think.


I’m Mehran Khalili, a political consultant and photographer based in Athens. Get Subvrt — strategy and tactics for movements.