Ep. 1: Public Enemy No. 1

By: Misha Glenny

This story starts in Hungary, 1989, the year Misha Glenny first set eyes on Viktor Orban - then a young student activist calling for an end to communist rule. Three decades later, Glenny asks: how did this once passionate liberal turn into the original strongman?

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Misha Glenny is brilliant

I absolutely loved McMafia, by Misha Glenny, I'm a grad student that studies authoritarian regimes and political science. As soon as I saw he'd done a podcast on strongmen rulers of the 21st century I began binging this series. Glenny does a brilliant job specifically detailing the rise of Orban, Erdogan, etc. I adamantly and urgently recommend this podcast to everyone, especially for Americans. Understanding how authoritarian rulers in this century around the globe who, by contrast to their 20th century predecessors, gain power through democratic elections only to burn down all checks and balances is vital knowledge that every American and indeed every resident of the free world must possess.