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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 

Purchase Strongmen: https://wwnorton.com/books/strongmen

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Follow Ruth and Ron on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat

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