4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 1 August 2019
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Why do dictators and despots create outlandish myths about themselves? Why spread lies claiming that you've written 18,000 books or that you personally invented hamburgers? Why waste millions on a golden statue of yourself that rotates to face the sun? It turns out there's a method to their madness. In this episode, we examine some of the weirdest and most brutal dictators on the planet to understand the three step playbook for how despots across the globe try to transform themselves from flawed tyrants into seemingly flawless demigods with a cult of personality.
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0:00.0 | Thank you for listening to Power Corrupts. We make this show because we think it's important not to make money, |
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0:14.0 | First, pre-order my new book, Corruptible, Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, |
0:19.0 | which comes out on November 9, 2021. |
0:22.0 | It's an exploration of the bizarre fascinating ways in which humans relate to |
0:26.0 | power that ranges from everything from corrupt beehives to the time I took a ski lesson with a man who |
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1:09.0 | Have you ever thought about what your funeral will be like? |
1:13.7 | What stories will people tell? |
1:15.9 | Will there be crying and sobbing or laughter or a mix of both? |
1:21.2 | Well, if you don't want to leave it to chance, if you want to make sure that you are properly |
1:25.8 | mourned, there are really only two options. |
1:29.8 | First, you can do it the old-fashioned way. Be a good person. Make sure your life is worthy of grief. |
1:37.3 | But if you're not willing to go to all that trouble, don't worry. All you need is a bit of cash. |
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