Benito Mussolini Part 4: A Fine Bromance

Real Dictators

NOISER

History, Fiction, Drama

4.8 • 8.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Il Duce uses propaganda to become a folk hero - part saint, part Father Christmas. He bans journalists from mentioning his birthday or the fact he’s a grandfather - to promote an image of eternal youth. Ernest Hemingway arrives in Switzerland to interview the Italian strongman, and sees right through him. Italy launches a genocidal campaign in Libya and gets away with it. And as the World Cup comes to the Fatherland, Benito Mussolini prepares to finally meet one Adolf Hitler… A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. Many thanks to Giulia Albanese, Joshua Arthurs, John Foot, Nicholas O’Shaughnessy, Lisa Pine, Helen Roche. This is Part 4 of 7. Get every episode of Real Dictators a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:31.0	It's June the 10th, 1934, just before 6pm. We're in the Stadio Nacional in Rome. It's been another scorching day,
0:42.1	pushing 40 degrees. And we're here, amid 55,000 sweltering fans with the second ever World
0:51.2	Cup final. On the lush green turf,
0:56.0	the national team of Italy are taking on the 11 men of Czechoslovakia.
1:01.0	The Czechs have done well.
1:03.0	They rolled over a strong German team in the semi-final.
1:07.0	The Italians have navigated their way to soccer's ultimate showpiece by more unorthodox methods.
1:13.6	The holders, Uruguay, mysteriously, are not present at this tournament.
1:19.6	Then there are the three Argentinians in the Italy side, full internationals in their home country. They've been fielded despite FIFA deeming them ineligible.
1:32.3	In Mussolini's new Italy, rules, like opponent's legs, are there to be broken.
1:39.3	In the course of final replay against Spain, a visiting midfielder was dispatched to the
1:45.8	hospital after just five minutes.
1:48.7	The ten-man Spaniards in the days before substitutions limped on to inevitable defeat, though
1:55.0	not without having two goals inexplicably disallowed.
1:59.8	The night before Italy's semi-final with Austria, the tournament favourites, Mussolini hosted
2:05.5	a lavish reception for the Swedish referee, Ivan Eklund.
2:11.3	The referee paid the favour with a fine display at the match.
	...

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