The Rise of the Dictators

The episode explores how dictators like Hitler and Mussolini used propaganda and violence to consolidate power, with the Great Depression contributing to widespread social unrest and opening the door for extremist ideologies to flourish.

Dictators are characterized as charismatic, narcissistic and sadistic, but most of all by their thirst for power; once in power, holding on to it requires negotiation, coercion and force.

Consider the factors that inevitably cause dictatorships to crumble; look at how hubris destroys cults of personality; see how factions fracture military dictatorships; weigh the miscalculations that turn the tide against tyranny.