Dwarkesh Podcast

Ada Palmer – Machiavelli is the most misunderstood thinker of all time

June 16, 2026·2h 8m·7-min readnarrativehistory
Podzilla Summary (7 min)
TLDR
Machiavelli’s The Prince is not a cynical manual for self-serving power, but a desperate, patriotic plea to stabilize a fractured Italy, written by a man who sacrificed everything to serve his country. The episode reframes Machiavelli as a selfless intellectual, not the villain his name

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Guest

A

Ada Palmer

narrative on Dwarkesh Podcast

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Ada PalmerNiccolò MachiavelliLorenzo di Piero de' MediciCesare BorgiaPope Alexander VIDante Alighieri

Books

The Princeby Niccolò MachiavelliDiscourses on Livyby Niccolò MachiavelliDe Rerum Naturaby Lucretius

Topics

American HistoryAncient HistoryHistorical FiguresHistory Of ScienceMedieval HistoryMilitary HistoryPhilosophyWorld War 2

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