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cover of episode Inside the Bizarre World of Dictators

Inside the Bizarre World of Dictators

2024/3/29
logo of podcast Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
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本集节目探讨了独裁统治的三个侧面：首先，通过克里米亚事件分析了俄罗斯的‘切香肠战术’，即通过一系列小的、模棱两可的行动来逐步实现目标，避免直接对抗，并最终吞并克里米亚。其次，节目分析了独裁者普遍存在的洁癖倾向，这可能是由偏执、对健康的过度关注以及‘寄生虫压力理论’造成的，即对疾病风险的担忧会加剧权威主义倾向。最后，节目讲述了苏联工程师彼得·帕尔钦斯基的故事，他因坚持说实话而被处决，而苏联体制的压制也最终导致了其自身的崩溃，这说明在独裁政权下，说真话的危险性以及由此带来的后果。

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The episode begins with the mysterious appearance of the Little Green Men in Crimea in 2014, exploring their identity and the confusion surrounding their presence, leading to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

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Why are so many autocrats germaphobes? Why was the truth so dangerous for Soviet engineers? And what can salami reveal to us about the mind of Vladimir Putin?

This is the first of two special episodes in partnership with HBO's new series "The Regime". Tim Harford investigates real-life dictatorships and the social science that explains them, drawing on insights from game theory and psychology.

For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com).

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