Sometimes Tyrants can be Elected

As we are quickly finding out here in America, having leader who are democratically elected is not a bulwark against authoritarianism. The need for a sense of security, populist anger about dramatic change, and push back against the established order by those left behind, all contribute to an often popular desire for strong authoritarian leaders.

If what we are seeing here in America isn’t example enough, all we need do is look to Turkey and to India to see the impact.

The encouraging thing is that where this move to authoritarianism has been the case, citizens, journalists and political leader have pushed back. Often at great personal cost and sacrifice. This is the world that distinguished journalist Basharat Peer shows us in A Question of Order: India, Turkey, and the Return of Strongmen

My conversation on WhoWhatWhy.org with Basharat Peer:

Will Your Child Be Selected?

Millions of you are checking the mail every day waiting for that envelope that you think will determine the fate of your child. In almost all cases the kids will be fine no matter which excellent college they go to.  In India however, the stakes are higher. Not for college, but for cricket.

Millions of words have been written about helicopter parenting, about tiger moms, and dads pushing their sons in sports. This is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Throughout the world, as parents aspire for their children, these behaviors, good and bad, sensible and extreme, are everywhere.

Today we go to India, to Mumbai, to see a father as determined for his son's success in cricket as we would see an inner city father in Chicago, drilling his son on the basketball court, as maybe the only way out.

Perhaps, by seeing this all filtered through another culture, we can see it’s value and it’s absurdity. Booker Prize winning author Aravind Adiga does this in Selection Day.

My conversation with Aravind Adiga:

Great Soul

There are very few individuals for whom just the mention of their name conjures up a complete set of beliefs and values. Gandhi is certainly one of those. So it is remarkable that as India continues to go through its current transformation, that Gandhi's legacy is still evolving. Former New York Times Executive Editor and Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph Lelyveld in Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India, takes us on the journey of Gandhi's extraordinary struggles on two continents, his ideals and values and how the nation that still revers him, rejected so many of his values.

My conversation with Joseph Lelyveld:

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Imagining India

India's leading entrepreneur looks at his countries future. From debates over outsourcing at Indian call centers to constant headlines covering the nation's incredible economic growth, Nandan Nilekani is perhaps the most astute observer and thinker about India's future.

Part businessman, party philosopher, Nilekani gives us a market overview of ideas for India's future economic and social policy.

My conversation with Nandan Nilekani, founder and Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited and author of Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation.

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