Brandon K. Gauthier (@bk_gauthier) wrote Before Evil, about the childhoods of six of the twentieth century’s most notorious dictators, to show that even the most vile among us share a basic humanity. We must remember that if we are to avoid becoming like them. The two of us discuss the impetus for writing the book and Brandon reads a couple of excerpts. The passionate conversation ranges from the importance of democratic norms and structures in avoiding sliding into autocracy (reminiscent of PfI S01E05 with Miriam Mufti) and the importance of free expression while recognizing the difficulty of determining where its limits lie (echoing a discussion in PfI S01E06 with James Turk). Brandon emphasizes that we are all subject to ideologies that view others as less than human, and implores everyone to approach complex subjects with humility.
Listen to our conversation here:
A video recording is also available:
