Season 2 · Episode 72

Strongmen — Part 2

Ruth Ben-Ghiat on her book Strongmen and what we can learn from the rise of autocratic leaders

October 27, 202146m 37s

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Show Notes

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In the second part of this two-episode conversation, NYU Professor of History and Italian Studies Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins Ron Steslow to discuss her book Strongmen and what we can learn from the history of autocrats and those who stood up to them.

(01:13) The American rights obsession with Orban

(05:02) How authoritarians have used elections to come to power

(08:11) January 6th and how it will serve as a touchstone for the American authoritarian movement

(18:31) Trump’s recent rallies and how they fit into the patterns of authoritarians

(26:53) The ways people have pushed back against authoritarians and what we can do now

Purchase Strongmen:

https://wwnorton.com/books/strongmen

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