Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast Episodes
The Dictator Expert Who's Not Worried
Season 1 Episode 28
This week we sit down with Alastair Smith, author of The Dictator's Handbook, who thinks we might all need to take a deep breath about American democracy.
We discuss:
* How it's actually better to lose in a real democracy than win under a wannabe dictator (and the math that proves it)
* Why keeping 22 million voters happy is fundamentally different from bribing 100 cronies, and what that means for whether you get roads or just graft
* How Trump might be accidentally sabotaging himself with tariffs and Fed-bashing (markets hate uncertainty, who knew?)
* The bizarre difference between old-school Pravda propaganda and our current hellscape of lizard-people theories and testicle tanning
* Real-time institutional resistance: from the FBI actually protecting threatened journalists to Jerome Powell's magnificent "I'm not stepping down" moment
* Why this political scientist—who studies how dictatorships actually work—still thinks our messy, frustrating democracy has more fight left than we realize
Fair warning: this conversation might leave you feeling weirdly hopeful about America. We know, we're surprised too.
This episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism.
Magic + Loss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago