In 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.
(02:01) Why she decided to write her book
(04:18) Understanding Trump in the context of other autocratic leaders
(06:29) The warning signs of strongmen as the rise to power
(10:52) Why we don’t always see authoritarian leaders coming
(28:48) How the pandemic accelerated democratic decline
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