The authoritarian hangover

Today, Explained

Vox

Politics, Daily News, News

4.3 • 10.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Beating an authoritarian regime at the ballot box is hard, but rolling back its changes is harder. Just look at Poland. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Jolie Myers, fact checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King and Miles Bryan with special thanks to Grzegorz Sokol. It was supported by a grant from Protect Democracy. Vox had full discretion over the content of this reporting. Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, at a campaign rally in Krakow. Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's today explained. I'm Noel King.
0:02.4	And I'm Miles Brian.
0:03.4	And we are in a very cold Warsaw, Poland.
0:06.8	Doing what?
0:07.5	Beautiful Warsaw, Poland.
0:09.2	Let me start with a question, Noel.
0:11.2	If the Democrats are able to win back the presidency in the United States in 2028,
0:16.2	how are they going to wind back all the stuff the second Trump administration has done?
0:20.2	I have no idea. But the
0:21.7	reason that we're in Poland... Why were Miles Brian and I freezing in the street in Warsaw while he
0:28.8	asked me questions? I have no answers to. Okay, come on. Tell him what we're doing. Yeah. In 2015, Poland
0:33.8	elected a conservative party called Law and Justice. Law and justice had strong Trump two vibes.
0:39.9	They engaged in a lot of authoritarian behavior.
0:42.4	And then in 2023, Poland unelected law and justice and said about trying to undo what had been done to the country.
0:48.9	How that went?
0:49.8	Coming up on Today, Explain from Fox.
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