I want to pick up on a word that you used earlier which is this idea of taming subjects. One of my favorite phrases from the whole book is when you say conversations around brainwashing in the early Cold War were often characterized by inflated claims about Western civilized values and moral ascendancy. But I think it's important to point out that the fact that they were happening on both sides of what starts out as an East-West dichotomy, their binary is no use to us at all. Really everyone is at the same thing.
In this episode we explore the history of brainwashing - the process of pressuring someone into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means.
Daniel Pick, a Psychoanalyst, Historian, and Professor Emeritus of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, joins Subhadra Das, broadcaster, academic and writer, with a keen interest in the history of eugenics, to delve into the murky history and psychology of brainwashing and to discuss Pick's latest book, 'Brainwashed: A New History of Thought Control'.
This episode was recorded on the 17th of April 2023. It was produced by Senior Producer Tom Hall, with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney
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