Why do so many choose tyranny over democracy? Joan Esposito interviews Spencer Critchley

Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good

Spencer often talks with Joan Esposito, who interviews him about politics for her show on Chicago's WCPT-AM. This episode of Dastardly Cleverness replays one of those conversations that's especially relevant now.

Joan and Spencer focus on why democracy, after all its successes, is now in so much danger from authoritarianism. They talk about:

• Why so many people are choosing authoritarianism over democracy, mostly on the right but on the left too
• How the sources of America's division go back to the Founding
• The breakdown of the moral consensus that used to hold us more or less together and how that allows demagogues to appeal to the worst in us
• What Plato, Freud, Marx, religion, and Silicon Valley tech bro’s have to do with all this
• And more.

You can hear more smart, thoughtful interviews by Joan Esposito over the air on WCPT-AM Chicago, online at heartlandsignal.com, on SoundCloud, or with any podcast app — just search for “Joan Esposito.”