#1730 The Axis of the Dark Personality Triad: Unfit Leaders and the Suffering They Cause

Air Date 8/16/2025

There's the old Douglas Adams quote stating that, "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job" which is a good general rule to live by. But then there are the real baddies, those would-be leaders who possess one or more of the dark triad of traits that spells real doom for the societies that elevate them to power: narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism. Today we compare and contrast Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Xi Jinping also fits nicely on this list as an honorable mention but happens to not be part of the focus today.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: The World War II Lessons Trump, Putin, & Netanyahu Actually Learned - Tad Stoermer - Air Date 8-8-25

KP 2: 'Not About Crime': Maddow CRACKS OPEN Trump's Real Motives in Deploying the National Guard to D.C. - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-11-25

KP 3: Totally Unexpected - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-7-25

KP 4: 'No International Community Is Capable of Stopping Netanyahu' - James O'Brien on LBC - Air Date 7-22-25

KP 5: Kyiv-based Analyst: 'Ukraine Is Being Sidelined From Talks' - LBC - Air Date 8-10-25

KP 6: How Putin's Lies Are Driving the War in Ukraine The Foreign Affairs Interview - The Foreign Affairs Interview - Air Date 1-12-23

KP 7: Donald Trump Wants to Seize Your Reality - Mother Jones - Air Date 8-8-25

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(00:49:39) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On why humanity is better than we seem and how we can save ourselves

‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse

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DEEPER DIVES

(00:57:15) SECTION A: TRUMP THE LIAR

A1: Trump Rejects Reality - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-5-25

A2: Trump Pushes Forward with Revenge Presidency - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 8-8-25

A3: Ed Elson Slams Trump Firing Labor Statistics Boss: 'This Is What Cartoon Dictators Do' - Katy Tur - Air Date 8-1-25

A4: Trump Vs. the Bureau of Labor Statistics - The Journal. - Air Date 8-4-25

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