Anne Applebaum on why Putin is rooting for Trump and democracy's decline
I’ve been on the road the past few days, so an essay will be in your inbox tomorrow morning.
On my journey, I was able to go hiking in Indian Canyons, located in South Palm Springs. It’s owned and operated by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians as reservation land. My friend Paul captured these bighorn sheep:
On this week’s episode of The Warning podcast, I had the privilege of speaking with Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic and a Pulitzer prize-winning historian. We covered a lot of topics, including the rise of authoritarianism and democratic decline, propaganda, myths, and the manipulation of truth in politics. She also explains why Putin is so interested in Donald Trump winning the 2024 presidential election.
You can watch our discussion here, or check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast platform:
Putin owns Trump. I would not be surprised if he had a lot of incriminating evidence to blackmail Trump. More importantly he knows how to manipulate Trump. I guess we all know, flatter him and you can have everything. Also they know, Trump is for sale.
Steve, nice that you’re traveling. I love Palm Springs especially in January :) I have a suggestion: all of us substackers that love reading your essays and your interviews would love to see you in person. You should pick a small venue and allow Substack members to buy a ticket and come see you. You could just speak or you could interview someone and we all would have an opportunity to say hello. It would be awesome! Think about it.