The 'Desk Killers' of History, with Dan Gretton and Ros Urwin

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2020

⏱️ 61 minutes

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Summary

In this episode we are joined by Dan Gretton, the author of I You We Them: Journeys Beyond Evil: The Desk Killer in History and Today. In an interview with Ros Urwin of The Sunday Times, he explores the psychology behind some of the least visible perpetrators of crimes against humanity in history — the banal and bureaucratic ‘desk killers’ who ordered and directed some of the worst atrocities of the last two hundred years. In the second half of the episode Dan Gretton makes reference to a map of the Auschwitz chemical plant, which can be seen here: http://bit.ly/3aNZZc7. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Maybe 30 or 20 years ago a Saudi might have said I'm Muslim and I'm Arab and I'm Saudi
0:06.9	Now they might say I'm Saudi and I'm Arab and I'm Muslim
0:09.9	You know they're trying to radically refashion their country and they need help from the best experts in the world.
0:15.0	Do you want to have your country's people be disqualified from that because of some essentially antiquated point of view about how countries work together.
0:23.4	In recent months it can feel like Saudi Arabia is intent on buying the world.
0:27.8	It's bought up much of golf, sports teams, many of the globe's best soccer players to its
0:32.4	own domestic league, and it owns huge chunks of many of the biggest companies on the planet.
0:37.5	But Saudi Arabia is not just on a shopping spree.
0:40.5	The ones insular oil-rich Kingdom is transforming into a major diplomatic and military
0:46.0	player, a pivotal actor in the energy transition and looks set to post high-end cultural events
0:51.6	like the FIFA World Cup.
0:53.0	You know, they know that buying a football club immediately brings you a
0:57.2	billboard into a global game that allows you to completely reposition
1:01.9	yourself or rebrand yourself.
1:03.4	It feels like we're entering the era of the Saudi project.
1:06.6	But what exactly is the kingdom trying to achieve and will it succeed?
1:10.4	Coming soon from Intelligence Squared, the Saudi Project is a new podcast series seeking to answer some of these questions and more.
1:17.5	Britain does have choices. It's not either-or situation. We either indulge Mohammed bin Salman or boycott of Mohammed
1:26.2	bin Salman. There is a third choice.
1:28.8	Search the Saudi project wherever you get your podcasts.
1:38.0	Hello and welcome to this episode of the Intelligence Square Podcast. In this episode we were joined by Dan Greten who's the author of a new book titled IU We Them journeys Beyond Evil,
1:46.1	the Desk Killer in History and Today. So it's a really fascinating historical
	...

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