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Chelsea Follett

Research Fellow, HumanProgress.org, Cato Institute

Chelsea Follett is a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty & Prosperity, working with Human​Progress​.org. She is the author of the books The Grim Old Days: An Introduction to the Preindustrial Past (2026) and Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World (2023).

Her writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Forbes, The Hill, Business Insider, National Review, the Washington Examiner, and Global Policy Journal. She was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for 2018 in the category of Law and Policy.

Follett earned a BA in government and English from the College of William & Mary, as well as an MA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia, where she focused on international relations and political theory. She is also a visiting fellow at Independent Women.

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Featured Book

Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World

In Centers of Progress: 40 Cities that Changed the World, Chelsea Follett examines a diverse group of cities, ranging from ancient Athens to Song-era Hangzhou. But some common themes stand out: most cities reach their creative peak during periods of peace; most centers of progress also thrive during times of social, intellectual, and economic freedom, as well as openness to intercultural exchange and trade; and centers of progress tend to be highly populated. Because, in every city, it is ultimately the people who live there who drive progress forward―if given the freedom to do so.