Lex Fridman Podcast: #248 – Norman Naimark: Genocide, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Absolute Power

Lex Fridman Lex Fridman 12/13/21 - Episode Page

Norman Naimark is a historian at Stanford, specializing in the history of genocide. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS:

Norman’s Website: https://history.stanford.edu/people/norman-naimark

Stalin’s Genocides (book): https://amzn.to/3oO0Hzb

Stalin and the Fate of Europe (book): https://amzn.to/3pLbWrk

Books & resources mentioned:

The Origins of Totalitarianism (book): https://amzn.to/3oNDSvA

Man’s Search for Meaning (book): https://amzn.to/3pMzs7d

Radio Majdanek (Research Paper): https://bit.ly/3GxPEAb

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OUTLINE:

Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) – Introduction

(07:08) – Stalin and absolute power

(21:05) – Dictators and genocide

(45:31) – What is genocide

(55:38) – Human nature and suffering

(1:25:23) – Mao’s Great Leap Forward

(1:32:37) – North Korea

(1:36:30) – Our role in fighting against atrocities

(1:45:26) – China

(1:49:35) – Hopes for the future and technology

(2:04:28) – Advice for young people

(2:07:15) – Love and tragedy