How To Survive a Dictatorship (feat. Wagner Moura)

Pod Save America

News, Politics

4.5 • 87.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What can we learn from other countries that have lived through dictatorships? How can artists fight authoritarianism? How should an Oscar nominee react to an encounter with ICE on the way to the Academy Awards? Alex Wagner is joined by actor and filmmaker Wagner Moura, star of the Oscar-nominated The Secret Agent — a thrilling, beautiful film set during Brazil’s military dictatorship. You may also remember Moura as Pablo Escobar from Narcos. Wagner and Wagner discuss the political parallels between Brazil and the United States, what Alex Pretti’s killing teaches us about masculinity, and the Trump administration’s distorted response to violence in the streets. They also talk about the importance of cultural memory, what the Epstein Files say about power, Trump’s reaction to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, and the gutting of The Washington Post. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett will be back in your feeds this week.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Brian Tyler Cohen, host of the No Lie podcast, which is part of Crooked Media.
0:05.6	You've likely seen my videos online or watch me torture Tommy V. Torres as part of our series on YouTube.
0:10.5	But this week, I've got a really exciting episode.
0:12.9	I'm interviewing the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.
0:16.8	So if you want to tune in and hear what he's got to say, including a definitive answer as to whether or not aliens are real, make sure to listen by searching for No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen host of Pod Save America, but also
0:55.7	host of Runaway Country. This week we have a really special interview. I'm talking to Wagner
1:01.5	Mora, who you may recognize from his turn playing Pablo Escobar and Narcos, which was amazing,
1:08.0	but he is nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. The picture he is in,
1:13.3	The Secret Agent, is also nominated for Best Picture, and it is an incredible film, which you
1:17.9	should all see if you haven't already. And what brings us together today is the talk of
1:22.8	dictatorship, because the Secret Agent focuses a lot on a period of Brazil's history when dictatorship was the
1:29.3	order of the day. And the film is set in the 1970s. And what you will notice in that film is the
1:35.0	eerie echoes with the society we are living in today. It's not quite as overt, but certainly the freedoms
1:40.4	that are being infringed upon, the targeting of perceived enemies, all of it has a real
1:45.4	echo with some of the stuff we're dealing with today here in America. And Wagner-Mora is an
1:50.5	incredible actor, but also a real deep thinker about politics both here and in his home country
1:56.6	and sort of what this moment means for artists and people who are keen to resist tyranny.
2:02.6	So it's a really good conversation. I hope you check it out.
2:05.9	This is Wagner Mora and me, Alex Wagner, talking in politics.
2:10.7	Take a listen.
2:16.6	I did not believe this could happen, and I am so thrilled to have Wagner Mora on the Ponsave America Sunday show.
2:23.4	This is a real delight.
	...

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