The Political Scene | The New Yorker

What Happens When a Megalomaniac Begins to Fail

February 14, 2026·33 min·2-min readroundtablepolitics
Podzilla Summary (2 min)
TLDR
The episode examines the psychological and historical patterns of megalomaniacal leaders, particularly Donald Trump, through the lens of historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s concept of 'autocratic backfire'—where leaders, when facing declining popularity, double down on authoritarian behaviors, ris

Sign up to read the full summary

Free AI-powered recaps of every episode, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.

Guest

R

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

roundtable on The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Ruth Ben-Ghiatby Ruth Ben-GhiatDonald TrumpVladimir PutinBenito MussoliniEvan OsnosJane MayerSusan Glasser

Books

Strong Men, Mussolini to the Presentby Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Topics

AuthoritarianismForeign PolicyHistory Of SciencePolitical NewsSupreme CourtUs Politics

Listen to This Episode

Get summaries like this every morning.

Free AI-powered recaps of The Political Scene | The New Yorker and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.