Take Me To Your Leader!

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  • 4.8 (553)
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Take Me To Your Leader!

From autocratic strongmen to democratic internationalists, Hamish Macdonald examines the cultural, historical, and personal motives of people on the world stage. What would we uncover if we ask the friends, enemies, colleagues and observers to 'Take me to Your Leader!'

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  1. Dictators & Demagogues 01: Kim Jong Un

    EPISODE 1

    Dictators & Demagogues 01: Kim Jong Un

    He’s more ruthless than his father and more chilling than his grandfather, and his regime has been called a "model dictatorship".  Meet North Korea's reclusive Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, and enter his world of missiles, murders, oppression and secrecy.    Guests:  Anna Fifield - Asia-Pacific editor for The Washington Post  Hyun-seung Lee - North Korean defector and former Army Special Forces soldier  In Bum Chun - Retired South Korean Army lieutenant general    Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  2. Dictators & Demagogues 02: Yahya Sinwar

    EPISODE 2

    Dictators & Demagogues 02: Yahya Sinwar

    Believed to be ‘the mastermind’ behind the October 7th attack on southern Israel, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an IDF attack in Gaza in October 2024. So who was he and how did he rise to power? Three observers, including one who has met Sinwar, grapple with the factors that led to the man and the leader he became. This episode was recorded before Yahya Sinwar was killed.   Guests: Ben Wedeman - CNN senior international correspondent  Khaled Hroub - Professor of Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern University in Qatar  Michael Koubi - Former chief interrogator for Shin Bet, Israel's security service    Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  3. Dictators & Demagogues 03: Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto

    EPISODE 3

    Dictators & Demagogues 03: Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto

    He’s Indonesia’s hard man of politics - Prabowo Subianto is a former military leader who stands accused of human rights abuses. But in the latest election campaign he pitched himself as a cute, dancing Grandpa. Now he’s the country’s newest president. So, what kind of leader will he be?   Guests: Yoes Kenawas - Research Fellow at the Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta  Dr Jemma Purdey - Fellow at the Australia-Indonesia Centre at Monash University  Geoff Thompson - Former ABC foreign correspondent    Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  4. Dictators & Demagogues 04: Hungary's Viktor Orban

    EPISODE 4

    Dictators & Demagogues 04: Hungary's Viktor Orban

    At just 35 Viktor Orban, then a fiery radical, became Europe's youngest prime minister. Since then, his political brand has undergone an astonishing change.  So how did the student dissident become a 21st Century demagogue?   Guests: Zsuzsanna Szelenyi - Program director at the CEU Democracy Institute, former Hungarian politician and author, Tainted Democracy Viktor Orban and the Subversion of Hungary  Nick Thorpe - The BBC's Central Europe correspondent  Ben Wellings - Associate Professor of politics and international relations at Monash University      Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  5. Dictators & Demagogues 05: Iran's Ali Khamenei

    EPISODE 5

    Dictators & Demagogues 05: Iran's Ali Khamenei

    He’s leader for life, his word is final in the highly factionalised theocratic regime of Iran and his influence extends across the flashpoints of the Middle East. Yet we know almost nothing about the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  And as you’ll hear, his loyalists defend him as stridently as his critics attack him.   Guests:  John Limbert – One of the 55 American hostages held in captivity in Iran in 1979  Arash Azizi - Iranian writer and Historian. Senior lecturer in political science and history at Clemson University  Fereshteh Sadeghi - Iranian journalist based in Tehran    Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  6. Dictators & Demagogues 06: Javier Milei – Argentina’s ‘mad man’

    EPISODE 6

    Dictators & Demagogues 06: Javier Milei – Argentina’s ‘mad man’

    Make Argentina Great Again. That's the catchcry Javier Milei has borrowed from his friend, Donald Trump.  Wildly brash (like Trump) deliberately unkempt (like Boris Johnson), Milei has made his way to the top job with no government experience and a whole lot of chutzpah.  And you won’t believe who – or what – set him on this path...   Guests: Dr Constanza Sanhueza - Lecturer in Political Science, Australian National University  Vera Bergengruen - TIME Washington DC reporter    Eduardo Amadeo - Diplomat, economist, and economic advisor to Javier Milei’s Security Minister      Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  7. Dictators & Demagogues 07: Rwanda's Paul Kagame

    EPISODE 7

    Dictators & Demagogues 07: Rwanda's Paul Kagame

    To many in the West, Paul Kagame is Rwanda’s saviour, the man who restored the country after its recent genocide. But those who have dealt with him inside and outside the country paint a very different and much darker picture.   Guests: Noel Zihabamwe - Survivor of 1994 genocide, now a leading member of Sydney's Rwandan community  Phil Clarke - Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London  Michela Wrong - British journalist and author      Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    28 min
  8. INTRODUCING Season 3: Dictators & Demagogues

    EPISODE 300

    INTRODUCING Season 3: Dictators & Demagogues

    Democracy is under threat more than ever right now. Around the world, we’re seeing populism and nationalism taking hold and strongman leaders grabbing power.  So, is this the era of dictators and demagogues? Who are they and what makes them so appealing? Our third season dives into the lives and times of seven autocrats from North Korea to Gaza to Hungary.      Host: Hamish Macdonald Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti  Executive Producer: Amruta Slee  Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

    2 min
See All Season 3 (8)

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From autocratic strongmen to democratic internationalists, Hamish Macdonald examines the cultural, historical, and personal motives of people on the world stage. What would we uncover if we ask the friends, enemies, colleagues and observers to 'Take me to Your Leader!'

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  • Creator
    ABC listen
  • Episodes
    16
  • Seasons
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Take Me To Your Leader!

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