This week, my guest Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert in authoritarianism, democracy protection, and propaganda and author of the bestelling book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. Ruth is both a professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. Outside of the classroom, Ruth frequently appears on cable news to discuss the frightening similarities between early fascism in Europe and current movements here in the United States within the Republican party and abroad. On today’s episode, I speak wth Ruth about our current crop of authoritarian brutes who use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power and what we can do to stop them. To stay current with Ruth’s thinking, you can subscribe to her substack, Lucid or read her and her insightful opinion column with MSNBC. Contact Booked Up: You can email Jen & the Booked Up team at: [email protected] or by writing to:  BOOKED UP  P.O. BOX 147 NORTHAMPTON, MA 01061 Get More from Ruth Ben-Ghiat Twitter | Website | LUCID Substack |  Author of STRONGMEN Get More from Jen Taub: Twitter | Follow the Money substack| Author of BIG DIRTY MONEY