Autocracy in America
Episodes
Coming Soon: Season 3 of Autocracy in America
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration is making radical, unprecedented changes to American institutions. By doing so, it is seeking to transform the American polit...
The Admiral
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite growing up in the Soviet Union, host Garry Kasparov admired American values—believing America was one of the good guys. But is that still th...
The Warning
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael McFaul witnessed Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on dissent as U.S. ambassador to Russia. He has a warning for Americans. McFaul and host Garry ...
The Columnist
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When host Garry Kasparov created the Renew Democracy Initiative in 2017, the founding manifesto warned that “the liberal-democratic order is under a...
The Negotiator
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the fight to save democracies from the grips of autocrats, defenders of democratic values must partner with people who would otherwise be their pol...
The Computer Scientist
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With all the hype and hysteria around AI, it’s important to remember that AI is still just a tool. As powerful as it is, it is not a promise of dyst...
The Advocate
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When democracy and civil society are all you’ve known, they are easy to take for granted. However, for some autocracy is not just a word but a way o...
The Politician
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does the future of Europe look like with the rise of newly aggressive authoritarian states? Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Viktorija Čmilyt...
The CEO
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the United States stepping back from its global leadership role, many around Europe and the world are waiting for Germany to step forward. Will i...
The Realist
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Soviet dissidents have long admired the United States and its Founding Fathers for their attachment to a moral core, the basis for individual human li...
The Ambassador
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How should American power be deployed in the world? Since the Cold War, America’s role as a global leader has been up for debate. Host Garry Kasp...
The Dissident
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is a dissident? In an autocracy, standing against the rulers could mean harassment, prison, torture, even death. Dissidents stand up anyway. H...
The Pollster
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have Americans grown complacent, thinking nothing can shake the United States’ democracy? Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Frank Luntz, someone well...
The Return
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since The Atlantic first released the podcast Autocracy in America last fall, Donald Trump was elected president again. Staff writer Anne Applebaum de...
Coming Soon: A New Season of Autocracy in America
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The former world chess champion and lifelong democracy activist Garry Kasparov guides a new series of conversations about society’s complacency with...
Bonus: Goldberg on Signalgate
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anne Applebaum speaks with The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg about the consequences of the Signal breach. This conversation was recorded...
Introducing: We Live Here Now
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev talk with Hanna Rosin about the new series We Live Here Now. Rosin, along with her co-host, Lauren Ober, re...
Politicize ‘Freedom’
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Freedom in the United States is a word that has had more than one meaning. It has meant freedom for some people and the repression of others. In a dem...
Join the Kleptocracy
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since the earliest days of the republic, America’s international friendships have shaped domestic politics. And some of those friendships helped Ame...
Consolidate Power
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate hundreds of workers across federal agencies if he becomes president again. Consolidating power and placing friends...
Capture the Courts
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In authoritarian states, the public has no agency and no real access to justice. Renée DiResta, a scholar who researches online information campaigns...
Start With a Lie
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The corruption of democracy begins with the corruption of thought—and with the deliberate undermining of reality. Stephen Richer, an election offici...
Introducing Autocracy in America
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look. Autocracy in America is produ...