This Authoritarian Life
This Authoritarian Life explores how people experience, adapt to, and resist authoritarian politics in their everyday lives.
Each month, anthropologists Kristóf Szombati and Erdem Evren speak with guests from around the world to understand what authoritarianism looks like up close — and how it can be contested.
Group winner of the 2025 New Directions Award of the American Anthropological Association, TAL combines ethnographic insight with accessible storytelling to reveal the textures of life under authoritarian stress.
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Podcasting since 2024 • 7 episodes
This Authoritarian Life
Latest Episodes
Politics of Life and Death: Gaza and the Weaponization of Medicine (Frontlines) #1
🎙️ Season 2 of This Authoritarian Life begins at one of today’s most tragic frontlines: Gaza.In this episode, we talk with Guy Shalev, anthropologist and executive director of Physicians for Human...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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1:11:05
The Language of Authoritarianism (Origins) #6
In this sixth episode of This Authoritarian Life we look at how language is used to entrench authoritarian power. Authoritarian leaders have long realized the power of propaganda, deploying radio, television and more recently social me...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:03:00
Intertwined: The Regime and the Far-Right in Russia (Origins) #5
In this fifth episode of This Authoritarian Life we continue to investigate the impact of war on contemporary politics. We look at the case of Russia where our guest Arkadij Lomonosov has until recently worked as a journalist an...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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1:10:48
The Psychic Life of Authoritarianism (Origins) #4
In this fourth episode of This Authoritarian Life we focus on the destructive dimension of contemporary politics. Looking at the case of Israel and its latest campaign in Gaza, psychoanalyst Iris Hefets reflects on the post-1967...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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52:38
Veiling and Unveiling: Everyday Gender Struggles in Iran (Origins) #3
Pursuing our exploration of the ‘Origins’ of authoritarianism, in this third episode of This Authoritarian Life we will continue to focus on the role of the body in authoritarian politics. More specifically, we will turn our attention ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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45:00
Kristóf Szombati
Host
Erdem Evren
Co-host
Polina Georgescu
Editor
Shai Levy
Editor
Vera Jónás
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