Autocracy in America
There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.
Episodes
August 16, 2024 • 2 mins
There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.
Autocracy in America is produced by The Atlantic and made possible with support from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, an academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy through powerful civic engagement and informed, inclusive dialogue.
Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Mark as Played
September 6, 2024 • 37 mins
The corruption of democracy begins with the corruption of thought—and with the deliberate undermining of reality. Stephen Richer, an election official in Arizona, and Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman, learned firsthand how easily false stories and conspiracy theories could disorient their colleagues. They talk with hosts Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev about how conformism and fear made it impossible to do their...
Mark as Played
September 13, 2024 • 28 mins
In authoritarian states, the public has no agency and no real access to justice. Renée DiResta, a scholar who researches online information campaigns, struggled to counter false accusations leveled against her after a series of courts accepted them without investigation. As courts become more political, people could begin to assume justice is impossible.
This is the second episode of Autocracy in America, a new five-part series ab...
Mark as Played
September 20, 2024 • 33 mins
Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate hundreds of workers across federal agencies if he becomes president again. Consolidating power and placing friends in key roles are textbook autocratic maneuvers, but they also are not new in the United States. This episode revisits the story of Louisiana Governor Huey Long, who sought to take over the apparatus of government in his state, just as illiberal leaders have done in other countries.
...
Mark as Played
September 27, 2024 • 31 mins
Since the earliest days of the republic, America’s international friendships have shaped domestic politics. And some of those friendships helped America strengthen its democratic principles. So what happens if America’s new friends are autocrats? John Bolton, former national security adviser for President Donald Trump, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island argue that if America no longer leads the democratic world and inst...
Mark as Played
October 4, 2024 • 25 mins
Freedom in the United States is a word that has had more than one meaning. It has meant freedom for some people and the repression of others. In a democracy, freedom also means the right to take part in politics. So how can that freedom best be secured?
This is the fifth episode of Autocracy in America, a five-part series about authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States and where to look for them.
Autocracy in Am...
Mark as Played
October 25, 2024 • 43 mins
Hosts Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev talk with Hanna Rosin about the new series We Live Here Now. Rosin, along with her co-host, Lauren Ober, recently found out that their new neighbors moved to Washington, D.C., to support January 6 insurrectionists. They knocked on their door. We Live Here Now is a podcast series about what happened next. Subscribe to We Live Here Now here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | iHeart
Autoc...
Mark as Played
April 11, 2025 • 29 mins
Anne Applebaum speaks with The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg about the consequences of the Signal breach. This conversation was recorded live from The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University.
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world....
Mark as Played
June 27, 2025 • 2 mins
The former world chess champion and lifelong democracy activist Garry Kasparov guides a new series of conversations about society’s complacency with liberal values and how this carelessness has fueled a democratic retreat—and a new belligerence among dictators.
New episodes launch every Friday, starting July 11.
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning jou...
Mark as Played
July 11, 2025 • 30 mins
Since The Atlantic first released the podcast Autocracy in America last fall, Donald Trump was elected president again. Staff writer Anne Applebaum describes how Trump’s return to the White House fits into the changing geopolitical landscape as she hands the show over to its new host: Garry Kasparov. The former world chess champion and lifelong democracy activist will guide a series of conversations about society’s complacency with...
Mark as Played
July 18, 2025 • 39 mins
Have Americans grown complacent, thinking nothing can shake the United States’ democracy? Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Frank Luntz, someone well versed in taking the temperature of the American public.
Luntz is perhaps best known as a behind-the-scenes operative in Republican politics. He is the pioneer of an “Instant Response” focus-group technique that lets him understand not just what people think but why. That’s how he be...
Mark as Played
July 25, 2025 • 39 mins
What is a dissident? In an autocracy, standing against the rulers could mean harassment, prison, torture, even death. Dissidents stand up anyway.
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Masih Alinejad, whose work for women’s rights against the Islamic Republic of Iran has led to her exile in the United States. It has not ended her fight, nor has distance made her safe—she was targeted for assassination at her Brooklyn home. Masih and Ga...
Mark as Played
August 1, 2025 • 42 mins
How should American power be deployed in the world? Since the Cold War, America’s role as a global leader has been up for debate.
Host Garry Kasparov and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton dissect the state of the neoconservative geopolitical worldview. They consider what the latest iteration of the “America First” foreign-policy rationale signals for democracy worldwide and analyze what it means that the ne...
Mark as Played
August 8, 2025 • 38 mins
Soviet dissidents have long admired the United States and its Founding Fathers for their attachment to a moral core, the basis for individual human liberty. So what happens when American power is used not for moral interests but for solely pragmatic ones?
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by George Friedman, the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures, a firm that analyzes foreign policy and forecasts global events. George’s vie...
Mark as Played
August 15, 2025 • 39 mins
With the United States stepping back from its global leadership role, many around Europe and the world are waiting for Germany to step forward. Will it?
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the German multinational media and technology company Axel Springer, who argues that Europe is a “Sleeping Beauty” that must awaken to protect democracy and the open-society model. But can Germany overcome its historical gui...
Mark as Played
August 22, 2025 • 34 mins
What does the future of Europe look like with the rise of newly aggressive authoritarian states?
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, a member of parliament in Lithuania. Like Garry, she’s a chess grand master who pivoted to politics. Lithuania is one of the most ardent defenders of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Lithuanians worry that if Ukraine falls, their nation could be one of Russia’s next targets...
Mark as Played
August 29, 2025 • 33 mins
When democracy and civil society are all you’ve known, they are easy to take for granted. However, for some autocracy is not just a word but a way of life.
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Oleksandra Matviichuk. She leads the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and has become a leading figure in documenting the occupation of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Having both been born in unfree state...
Mark as Played
September 5, 2025 • 33 mins
With all the hype and hysteria around AI, it’s important to remember that AI is still just a tool. As powerful as it is, it is not a promise of dystopia or utopia.
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by cognitive scientist Gary Marcus. They agree that on its own, AI is no more good or evil than any other piece of technology and that humans, not machines, hold the monopoly on evil. They discuss what we all need to do to make sure that t...
Mark as Played
September 12, 2025 • 40 mins
In the fight to save democracies from the grips of autocrats, defenders of democratic values must partner with people who would otherwise be their political opponents.
In this episode, host Garry Kasparov seeks to demonstrate this lesson by welcoming former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan as his guest. Their long-held and many disagreements aside, Garry and Jake find common ground in standing up to the forces that are work...
Mark as Played
September 19, 2025 • 35 mins
When host Garry Kasparov created the Renew Democracy Initiative in 2017, the founding manifesto warned that “the liberal-democratic order is under attack from within and without.” Eight years later, things have not changed for the better.
Garry is joined by Bret Stephens, a columnist for The New York Times and the principal author of that 2017 manifesto. Both Garry and Bret agree that democracy is under attack, and they envision a...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.