The invention of the printing press radio, those two communication innovations had tumultuous results that today we don't think about because it was long ago. Every time there's been a major change in the way in which people get and process information, there has been a political revolution that followed. The first people who really understood this were Hitler and Stalin, both of whom were fanatically interested in radio. We've mostly forgotten that Protestantism may led to 100 years of terrible religious wars in Europe.
Journalist and author Anne Applebaum talks about her book, Twilight of Democracy, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Applebaum discusses the rise of populist and nationalist movements in Eastern Europe as well as in the West, and the appeal of these movements even when they begin to erode or destroy democracy.