Interviews
“This is how a cult of personality works. The leader will say something that everyone knows is wrong, and no one will correct him.”
The NY Times, December 20, 2019
A Historical Lens on Trump’s Authoritarianism
December 21, 2019
Virginia Heffernan interviews Ruth about seeing Donald Trump through an authoritarian lens, a deeper look at mafia culture, and how Trumpism will one day fall.
“Stephen Miller is a quiet extremist – the most dangerous kind.”
The Guardian, December 4, 2019
An Unauthorized Biopic Of Silvio Berlusconi, Already Stranger Than Fiction
“Berlusconi knew how to create continual moments of outrage to capture the news cycle,”
Dean Obedaillah Show, Sirius XM 10-01-2019
“This is more of Trump’s Politics of Apocalypse.”
Don Lemon CNN Tonight Interview
October 2, 2019, CNN
“Staring Down Impeachment, Trump sees himself as a victim of historic proportions,”
Washington Post, September 28, 2019
“Their cult of victimization is part of their persona…It’s how they justify lashing out.”
“With a white nationalist in the White House stoking hatred and 400+ million guns in circulation, America is in uncharted terrain.”
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, August 5, 2019
“Trump does nothing by accident. The use of repetition – a propaganda mainstay – points to an intention by Trump to impose a way of thinking about his designated targets.”
USA Today, August 8, 2019
“Trump est égotiste, raciste, mais il n’est pas fou. Le culte de la personnalité qu’il suscite, sa stratégie d’omniprésence médiatique, sa brutalité, sont typiques des régimes autoritaires.”
Mediapart, July 28, 2019
“Trump has created a corps of supporters fanatically loyal to him who turn his latest racist messages into group rituals (chants, slogans) and who hate the people he tells them to.”
The Huffington Post, July 18, 2019
“Trump has to colonize everything…Any holiday, any civic ritual, becomes a Trump ritual.”
The Atlantic, July 3, 2019
“Trump is turning American military might…,into a way to glorify himself and further an agenda which is seen as authoritarian.”
Vox, July 3, 2019
“War evokes our sense of national identity, establishes an “us vs. them” framework and forces us to choose sides.”
Fivebooks.com, June 14, 2019
Podcasts/ Featured Interviews
What Happens When a Megalomaniac Begins to Fail
The Political Scene Podcast
February 13, 2026
Autocracy in America Podcast
January 23, 2026
Ali Velshi
MSNBC
October 18, 2025
How to Fix It with John Avlon
June 22, 2025
Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins John Avlon in a conversation titled “Rules for Surviving Authoritarian Times.” Watch and listen here.
UpFront
Al Jazeera
May 23, 2025
Is the US sliding into authoritarianism? The Excerpt
April 27, 2025
“An Alarm Bell for American Democracy” – Apple News Today
April 25, 2025
Listen to the interview here.
Katie Couric
April 10, 2025
Democratic Emergency in Turkey
March 19, 2025
WIRED’s Tech Support
March 18, 2025
David Pakman Show
March 16, 2025
All In With Chris Hayes
October 25, 2024
Ana Cabrera Reports
October 24, 2024
PBS News Hour
October 14, 2024
Trump ramps up his dangerous political rhetoric in final weeks of the 2024 campaign. Watch the segment and read the interview here.
Strict Scrutiny Podcast
August 26, 2024
Trump’s Mental State Suddenly Takes a Darker Turn: “I’ve Gotten Worse”
July 29, 2024
“The European Elections: Discontent with Democracy”
June 11, 2024
Mediaite.com
April 11th, 2024
Authoritarianism Expert Talks to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway About Trump and ‘What’s Happened In America’
The Bulwark Podcast
April 4, 2024
The Politics of Everything Podcast
March 29, 2024
WDET| Is Donald Trump a Fascist?
February 23, 2024
Is Donald Trump a fascist?
The Lincoln Project:
Masochism and Ritual Humiliation
February 4, 2024
NPR: All Things Considered
January 4, 2024
Ruth Talks with Cult Expert Dr. Steven Hassan
December 11, 2023
KCRW: Press Play
November 22, 2023
The Weekend Show with Anthony Davis
August 6, 2023
Malcolm Turnbull, Defending Democracy, 2023
Meet the New Autocrats and Their Playbooks
Who are the new autocrats and what’s their playbook? We are now living in the era of the strongman – and every dictator has built on the accomplishments of his predecessors.
Listen to the podcast here.
WBUR, Here and Now with Deepa Fernandes
June 12th, 2023
The Deepening Radicalization of Donald J. Trump
May 24th, 2023
The former president’s positions and rhetoric have grown more confrontational and extreme as he seeks a second term. Listen here.
The Lincoln Project
Donald Trump’s Victimhood Complex Podcast
March 29th, 2023
Discussion on how the entire GOP has become an autocratic entity (not just the MAGA extremists), why Trump’s propaganda has turned into policy, and how Donald Trump’s victimhood complex is just another play from the standard authoritarian playbook.
Stay Tuned with Preet Podcast
October 13, 2022
The Rise of Global Fascism
Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast
September 27, 2022
Balance of Power, Bloomberg Radio
September 26, 2022
On Giorgia Meloni and the future of Italian politics
Balance of Power: What To Expect From Italy's New Government
KCRW
Press Play With Madeline Brand Podcast
September 26th, 2022
Fascist Giorgia Meloni is likely to become Italy’s first female prime minister and the country’s first far-right leader since World War II. And she could be out without 1 year.
PBS News Hour
July 18th, 2022
How some members of the Republican Party have normalized the use of violent rhetoric
Click here to watch the video podcast segment.
This is Critical with Virginia Heffernan Podcast
May 22th, 2022
Zelensky is the Antidote to Putin’s ‘Strongman’
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Renew Democracy Initiative
May 20th, 2022
Winter Is Here Podcast: Why Tyrants Should be Humiliated
Click here to listen to the podcast.
MSNBC – The Beat/ Ari Melber
May 18th, 2022
Busted: Tucker Carlson’s ‘Fascist’ Conspiracy Theory Cited By Shooting Suspect
MSNBC – The Rachel Maddow Show/ Ari Velshi
May 6, 2022
Ruth talks about what the lessons of history suggest will happen if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and empowers conservatives to criminalize previously private matters.
MSNBC – The Rachel Maddow Show
April 16, 2022
DeSantis is making Florida into his own mini-autocracy
BBC Radio, April 11, 2022
Thinking Aloud podcast
Strongmen: Laurie Taylor explores the global rise of authoritarian leaders.
Thinking Aloud podcast, April 11, 2022
NPR – 1A Podcast, March 8, 2022
Why is authoritarianism surging worldwide?
CNN Newsroom With Anna Cabrera
March 13, 2022
MSNBC – The Sunday Show
March 13, 2022
“Autocrats don’t negotiate, they do deals with other autocrats.”
Velshi, MSNBC
January 22, 2022
KCRW – Press Play with Madeline Brand – January 20, 2022
Putin signals he may soon invade Ukraine. How likely is it?
New Day With John Berman
October 11, 2021
Democracy in peril
SKY News – January 22, 2021
Trump’s Last Stand
MSNBC: The Choice – January 22, 2021
Going to Extremes
ABC News – The Breakdown
January 7, 2021
Extremism in America
WNYC, November 23, 2020
Podcast interview on A History Of Modern Authoritarians
David Pakman Show/ Free Speech TV, November 19, 2020
“How Authoritarian Strongmen Come to Power” interview
WBUR, November 12, 2020
Podcast interview on On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
Vox.com, October 23, 2020
Is Trump a fascist? 8 experts weigh in.
Call him a kleptocrat, an oligarch, a xenophobe, a racist, even an authoritarian. But he doesn’t quite fit the definition of a fascist.
Read the full article here.
CNN International Interview – November 15, 2020
NPR On Point Podcast
“What The ’Strongmen’ Of History Reveal About Modern Politics “
NPR 1A Podcast
“What is Fascism? Is Trump a Fascist?”
“A Scholar of Fascism Sees a Lot That’s Familiar with Trump,”
The New Yorker, November 4, 2016
Read the full article here.
Strange Days with Fernand Amandi
Two of America’s most prescient scholars on autocracy & fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat + Sarah Kendzior, sound the alarm on a must-hear #StrangeDaysPodcast.
Click to image below to listen:
Slate Trumpcast
A Historical Lens on Trump’s Authoritarianism