Francisco Macias Nguema Pt. 1: Equatorial Guinea

Benito Mussolini Pt. 2: Italy: Il Duce’s ineffective economic policies left Italy completely unprepared for World War II, and yet he forced the country into it anyway. by Dictators

49 min listen

Crossover Week: Kingpins (Manuel Noriega Pt. 2): He was the Panamanian politician who ran one of the most successful drug and gun trafficking rings in the world in the 1970s and 80s—until an American coup brought him down. by Dictators

48 min listen

Vlad the Impaler Pt. 2: Wallachia (Romania): He purged Wallachia of enemies and retained an iron grip on power in the region. by Dictators

43 min listen

Benito Mussolini Pt. 1: Italy: The Italian "Il Duce" had one of the most dramatic transformations of any politician in history. by Dictators

54 min listen

Joseph Stalin Pt. 1: Soviet Union: Before he became the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world, Joseph Stalin was an idealistic, but ruthless revolutionary. by Dictators

46 min listen

Joseph Stalin Pt. 2: Soviet Union: Now in total power, Joseph Stalin went on to transform the Soviet Union into a modernized country—but at the cost of millions of lives. by Dictators

45 min listen

Welcome to Dictators: Every Tuesday starting January 21st, delve into the minds behind some of the world’s most infamous leaders. Hear more about the men who claimed to love their country, but were intricately responsible for killing millions of their own people. by Dictators

2 min listen

Francisco Macias Nguema Pt. 1: Equatorial Guinea: His early life, before seizing power in 1968, is shrouded in mystery. But what we do know is that Francisco Macias Nguema used the colonial system as a means to grasp his own power. But instead of British colonialists, in Nguema’s case, it was the Spanish. by Dictators

44 min listen

Ivan the Terrible Pt. 2: Russia: After the death of his beloved first wife, Tsar Ivan the Terrible descended into madness and paranoia. He turned his hatred and fear against his own people dragging the empire he had built with his own hands down into poverty and despair. by Dictators

49 min listen

Adolf Hitler Pt. 1: Germany: As a young man, nobody would have expected aspiring artist Adolf Hitler to become one of history's cruelest dictators. by Dictators

48 min listen

NEW: Kim Il-sung Pt. 1: North Korea: He rose from anti-Japanese freedom to the leader of a Soviet-led puppet government in North Korea. But just as North Korea gained its independence, Kim Il Sung led the country to the brink of extinction, by dragging it into a costly and destructive civil war against South Korea and the United States. by Dictators

41 min listen

Crossover Week: Kingpins (Manuel Noriega Pt. 1): How did Manuel Noriega rise from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama in the 1980s? by Dictators

51 min listen

Adolf Hitler Pt. 2: Germany: Once he was appointed Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler was finally in the position to implement his long-awaited vision. by Dictators

52 min listen

Ivan the Terrible Pt. 1: Russia: Ivan Vasilyevich the Fourth was crowned Grand Prince of Muscovy at 3 years old after his father died. After a traumatic childhood of chaos and coups, Ivan would crown himself the first Tsar of Russia and go on to create the Russian Empire. The first half of his reign would have made him a legend... if the second half did not turn into a waking nightmare that would earn him the name "Ivan the Terrible." by Dictators

47 min listen

Genghis Khan Pt. 1: Mongolia: A nomad exiled from his tribe as a child, Genghis Khan used populism and meritocracy to unite the tribes of the Mongolian Steppe and become the ruler of all of Mongolia from 1206-1227 CE. by Dictators

45 min listen

Queen Isabella Pt. 2: Castile and Aragon: In the 15th century, Queen Isabella became convinced that heretics and infidels were threatening Christendom. by Dictators

50 min listen

Kim Jong-un Pt. 1: North Korea: For the first two decades of his life, the world was unaware of the existence of Kim Jong-un. by Dictators

44 min listen

Augusto Pinochet Pt. 1: Chile: He was a career military man until a coup against socialist President Salvador Allende installed him as Chile’s next leader. by Dictators

47 min listen

Kim Il-sung Pt. 2: North Korea: In the aftermath of the Korean War, Kim Il-sung used propaganda and violence to exert total control of North Korea and its people—transforming it into the most isolated nation on earth. by Dictators

42 min listen

Kim Jong-un Pt. 2: North Korea: As he continued the family legacy of oppression, Kim Jong-un looked to show the world he was more than just a laughing stock. by Dictators

45 min listen

Vlad the Impaler Pt. 1: Wallachia (Romania): Born between 1428-1431, Vlad the Impaler was abandoned by his father as a boy and betrayed by everyone he trusted. He channeled his resentment into an unquenchable lust for power and violence—eventually becoming the ruler of Wallachia. by Dictators

44 min listen

Genghis Khan Pt. 2: Mongolia: After uniting the Mongol tribes in 1206, Genghis Khan used his military prowess to assert dominance over the Ottoman Empire and the Chinese Jin Dynasty. By 1222, his empire spanned from the Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean. by Dictators

38 min listen

Queen Isabella Pt. 2: England: Tired of playing second fiddle, Isabella decided to turn on her husband and join forces with his enemies: the exiled barons. by Dictators

48 min listen

Kim Jong-il Pt. 1: North Korea: Born in a guerilla camp in the early 1940s, Kim Jong-il seemed destined to take his father's place. by Dictators

47 min listen

Idi Amin Pt. 2: Uganda: Throughout the 1970s, Idi Amin ruled over Uganda with an ironfist as means to make sure he stayed in the spotlight. by Dictators

41 min listen

Idi Amin Pt. 1: Uganda: Growing up in colonial Uganda in the 1930s and ‘40s, Idi Amin chose to embrace his British colonists by joining the British Army. by Dictators

44 min listen

Queen Mary I Pt. 2: England: Despite an auspicious early ruling period, Mary’s reign was upended by an event that triggered deep emotional distress. by Dictators

39 min listen

Alfredo Stroessner Pt. 1: Paraguay: In 1932, 20-year-old Alfredo Stroessner was a cadet at the Paraguayan military academy. by Dictators

43 min listen

Jorge Rafael Videla Pt. 2: Argentina: After establishing himself as a military dictator, Videla fought a bloody conflict against citizens of his own country. by Dictators

44 min listen

Kim Jong-il Pt. 2: North Korea: After carrying the legacy of his father into the 1990s, Kim Jong-il took a defensive stance against the world, isolating North Korea from global affairs. by Dictators

43 min listen

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Francisco Macias Nguema Pt. 1: Equatorial Guinea

Francisco Macias Nguema Pt. 1: Equatorial Guinea

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