meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Preacher Boys Podcast

Why Are Bad People Good at Getting Power? | Dr. Brian Klaas

Preacher Boys Podcast

Eric Skwarczynski

Documentary, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, True Crime, Christianity

4.6701 Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Purchase a copy of the book, Corruptible, here: https://amzn.to/2YZtC9g :

A provocative and revelatory look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (for a while, at least) have had the upper hand—from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.

If you’ve pre-ordered/purchased CORRUPTIBLE, fill out this form and you can get access to an exclusive episode of Power Corrupts, only available through this offer.

Dr. Brian Klaas is an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London and a columnist for The Washington Post. Klaas is also a frequent television commentator and political consultant. He was previously based at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. He is also the author of the forthcoming book CORRUPTIBLE: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us and host of the Power Corrupts podcast.

Dr. Klaas is an expert on democracy, authoritarianism, US foreign policy, American politics more generally, political violence, and elections. He has previously authored of three books: "The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy" (Hurst & Co, November 2017); "The Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding & Abetting the Decline of Democracy," (Oxford University Press, December 2016) and "How to Rig an Election" (Yale University Press, co-authored with Professor Nic Cheeseman; May 2018).

Klaas has advised governments, US political campaigns, NATO, the European Union, multi-billion dollar investors, international NGOs, and international politicians.

Dr. Klaas has extensive experience working in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and United States politics.  Prior clients include the premier conflict management NGO in the world, International Crisis Group, the respected international election monitoring organization, The Carter Center, and large private firms.  He has conducted field research, interviewing prime ministers, presidents, ministers, rebels, coup plotters, dissidents, and torture victims in an array of countries, including Madagascar, Thailand, Tunisia, Belarus, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, and Latvia.

His writing and research has also recently been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, the Times Literary Supplement, Financial Times, Newsweek, The Telegraph, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Foreign Policy, and many other publicationsKlaas is a regular commentator on a wide array of international media outlets too, including MSNBC, CNN, BBC News, Sky News, NPR News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, BBC World Service, Monocle 24, France 24, and many others.

Prior to becoming an academic, Dr. Klaas worked on US campaigns -- including serving as the Policy Director / Deputy Campaign Manager for Mark Dayton's successful bid for Governor of Minnesota.

Klaas, an American, speaks French and is proficient in Arabic in addition to his native English.  He received his DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford (New College), an MPhil in Comparative Government from the University of Oxford (St. Antony's), and a Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa) from Carleton College.


Support the Show:

https://www.patreon.com/preacherboys

Purchase a Preacher Boys shirt, mask, sticker, or other merch to rep the show! https://www.teepublic.com/user/preacher-boys-podcast

________________

Find more stories regarding the IFB movement by visiting:

preacherboysdoc.com

https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/

https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc

https://www.instagram.com/preacherboysdoc/

To connect with a community who share the Eric Skwarczynski and the Preacher Boys Podcast mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188



This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/PreacherBoys and get on your way to being your best self.

Our Sponsors:
* Use promo code preacherboys at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/preacherboys


Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Trigger warning. This podcast contains descriptions of various abusive situations. Listener discretion is advised.

0:09.0

Once you accept that power hungry, bad people are disproportionately drawn to power, disproportionately

0:14.9

good at getting it and disproportionately good at holding onto it, and then you think about how do we

0:19.3

design a system with that truth in mind.

0:21.8

You actually can get better outcomes.

0:23.4

I think what happens now is we're on autopilot.

0:25.6

There's something happening below the surface that we're not paying attention to.

0:29.6

That's one of the reasons why we have so much abuse is because we're focusing on a minuscule part of the problem.

0:35.0

You are listening to the Preacher Boys podcast, a podcast shedding

0:39.2

light on decades of mental, physical, and sexual abuse within the independent fundamental

0:44.6

Baptist movement. The testimony shared on this podcast are told from the personal experience

0:50.2

and perspective of the survivors. Not all legal outcomes are known or final.

0:55.8

Any suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

1:00.4

Now, here is your host, Eric Squarsinski.

1:04.3

Welcome back to the Preacher Boys podcast.

1:07.0

We've heard the statement that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

1:13.5

But is that true?

1:14.7

Does power truly corrupt?

1:16.6

Or does it attract a certain type of person?

1:19.8

On today's episode, I'm sitting down with Brian Kloss, the author of Corruptible.

1:24.8

Who gets power and how it changes us.

1:29.8

Dr. Brian Kloss is an associate professor in global politics at University College London and a columnist for The Washington Post.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Eric Skwarczynski, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Eric Skwarczynski and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.