Coming Soon: A New Season of Autocracy in America
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Transcript
Speaker 1 I know you're going to get into some stuff, some pretty heavy stuff, but this is Gary Kasparov. I can't believe it.
Speaker 2 When I was young, I was lucky because as a chess prodigy, I could travel outside of the Soviet Union to play tournaments abroad. And I experienced for myself that life felt different in a democracy.
Speaker 2 The world celebrated in 1991 when the dictatorship of the Soviet Union gave way to new democracies. And I too hoped freedom was on the rise.
Speaker 3 Of course, the empire did not want to let us go easily.
Speaker 2 But in the decades that followed, we've seen the steady advance of autocratic regimes, a new belligerence from dictators and autocrats worldwide, and democracies in retreat.
Speaker 3 For dictators, for Islamic Republic, for Putin, for all the autocratic regime, America is first. Their first target is the destruction of American values.
Speaker 2 Even America, a beacon of hope to me and for countless millions of others, has shown itself vulnerable to the virus of authoritarianism and corruption.
Speaker 3 If you lie or your propagandists lie non-stop, then the reaction of the public is to say, right, you know, politics is a dirty game. I have no idea what's true or what's not true.
Speaker 4 I mean, that's exactly what's happening in the United States right now, is techno-fascism.
Speaker 3 You called it hypocrisy.
Speaker 2 I'm trying to be diplomatic, so I'm a host of the show.
Speaker 3 I call it absolutely betrayal.
Speaker 2
So I'm fighting the same battle I fought in Russia. What I have found is you need people that will speak truth to power.
In Russia, we lost the fight.
Speaker 2 Here, I like our chances, and I like them much more. I mean, this country is big, resilient, and we've made big mistakes and recovered from those mistakes in the past.
Speaker 2 But defenders of the free world can no longer take our liberties for granted.
Speaker 1 You several times have tried to get me to tell you, here's a roadmap to restore our democracy. Well, you should know I'm riding that roadmap as we speak.
Speaker 2 I'm Gary Kasparov, former World Chess champion and lifetime activist for democracy. Join me this summer for a new season of Autocracy in America from the Atlantic.
Speaker 2 Listen and follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.