Superb interview. Tim Snyder has been giving warnings for years now. Great to see him now going completely mainstream

Remarkable, unsettling and thought-provoking interview. And profoundly insightful questions and analysis.

Nice to see Professor Snyder again, he's a great political thinker of our time

This is a masterclass of an interview. We could all learn a lot from this. Amazing.

A Brilliant interview. The dichotomy of "Us and Them" is at the crux of human problems, is an important aspect of this interview to take away with one and deeply consider what it means. The Constitution of the US, begins with the word "WE", all of us. "We the people..." is the key. Also, the gentleman who did the interview, has a similar speech pattern to the late Bob Hoskins, which I find very easy on the ears, with his beautiful diction and word usage. Thank you Channel 4 News.

I really rate this guy! Recommended reading from this amazing person: ‘On Tyranny: 20 lessons from the 20th Century “ and “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America”.

What a fantastic, intelligent and insightful interview. I will be sharing in a substantial way. Thank you so much.🇨🇦

Should be made required viewing in all secondary schools.

Mr guru-murthy I’d just like say how much I appreciate you’re journalism,

This interview should have WAY MORE views than it does. People have stopped using critical thinking (if they were ever taught in the first place) and have become consumers of social media misinformation and conspiracy theories. We are going backwards.

"Snyder is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum." -Wikipedia

A superb interviewer! Knowledgeable, thoughtful, respectful, intelligent. Rare on KZfaq.

The Rural/Urban divide is still there even when Trump leaves.

I found this so interesting great program 🦋👍

Haha! The ensuing partisan discussion here proves Timothy Snyder's points brilliantly. All of them. Reading the comments only, I would be more pessimistic about the future.... I don't think he emphasized this enough: living in different realities, with a different set of facts, is crushing to any nation. Especially to the US now.

Timothy Snyder is a scholar in the best sense of the word. That is, one who can support what he says with facts and informed analysis. One of the few people deserving of a long form interview.

Amazing interview.... very thought-provoking and well questioned... thank you

Professor Synder always, and I mean always, makes so much sense with his clarity of thought, and his uncanny ability to present complex ideas so that all could understand and who was so capably assisted by this very professional interviewer. This is how an interview should be carried out, with respect and with intelligence. Thank you.

This is by far the most important film I have watched in over a decade. . The future isn't what it used to be. We have to change that for our children. Because it's our fault. .

For insight into what is happening watch this interview. Thank you Channel 4.

This guy is a genius. Thank you

I really appreciate this interview and the information I've listened to. My train of thougts exactly. I appreciate the way he articulates it like he does, without sounding like a conspiracy therosist. I love to listen to all sides before I judge and this interview sums up my thoughts. Thank you and much love to you all. Moving forward, we will need it.

Not only a fascinating discussion but a skilfully woven one too.

Fantastic stuff Krishnan, Snyder's closing comments certainly something to think about.

Such an excellent interview, one that I surely shall be revisiting multiple times and referring others to. Thank you.

Some of the people leaving comments clearly haven't paid attention to this and do not know that Snyder was talking about them

In terms of what he believes to actually be true, I would observe that narcissists tend to actually believe what they say...even if it's completely at odds with reality. That's one of the reasons why they can be so compelling; you don't think that they are lying because they're not...they're deluded.

What clarity of thought Snyder has. It is a joy to hear and to see.

Incredibly interesting interview.

This guy is a real deal , very good talk

Such a clear headed teacher! I have been enjoying Tim.Snyder's lectures on the making of Modern Ukraine.

Absolutely eye-opening information! Thank you, Professor.

I could listen for hours. Excellent discussion.

“In the past 30 years, we defunded the humanities. . . . . These are not technical problems, they are moral problems, aesthetic problems, they are questions of judgment. And to have the concepts and the tools and the references for all these things, you need the humanities. History always has something to say about the present. It’s not that it repeats or even rhymes, it’s that it gives you this flow from the past into the present which may help you to see possible futures. History gives you the sense what structures there are that are limiting us, but also gives you the sense of how you might get around those structures and find ways into new structures. Also, unlike other ways of looking at the world, history emphasizes that there is certain amount of irreducible human agency, human choice in things." 25:00

We’ve dumbed down history. We’ve dumbed down the humanities. Thank you Tim Snyder for speaking an obvious truth.

it's called delusion, not stubbornness.

Calm collected intelligent thought provoking Must View KZfaq.

I was a bit annoyed yesterday when you cut Timothy short in a news segment about the capitol riots. All is forgiven after this arrived! Timothy always provides a great perspective on Trump. Thank you Krishnan. I continue to keep my copy of 'On Tyranny' close at hand.

Thank you both very much for this excellent interview. The King's Library, in The British Library, deliberately combines Humanities and Science with equal importance. I'm a Physicist first and also like to learn from history. Someone once quoted to me that "the experiences of our past illuminate our future". That should be true in reality, what we would call a current fact in science. Dealing with facts in science for 50 years has made Trump's lies seem like the world was going mad to me. Most of my career, however, has been spent in human communications (not in technology and not in "anti-social" media, as I've always called it). Also, I've often pointed out that with the mantra of "Competition", by definition, you build in both winners and losers. Yet, human success in evolution of the species has been dependent upon people working together and cooperation. It'd be great to hear more from Prof. Snyder, especially on the US networks! Thanks again. Ken Allsopp

Gawd !! I could listen all day long

Excellent work here. One MAIN POINT of many - WE NEED MORE OF THE HUMSNITIES!!! Technology is NOT going to solve humankind's emotional blindness and INABILITY to percieve and discern REALITY.

Society must re-learn to be guided and learn from history

Professor Snyder , I agree. Now approaching my last year's, I'm shocked and concerned how little history is known by the rising generations. We need history, geography, civics and the arts returned to class rooms, along with math and science curriculums. For the sake of our human well being and future.

The lack of ego from both the interviewer and interviewee is so refreshing. Snyder is a clarion voice and it is delightful to see him being allowed to fully explain his ideas.

Excellent interview. This needs to be shared with the Brexit and Trump camps

I don't often get inspired by listening to this kind of thing, but this was inspiring. Excellent interview.

What a legend, that's what wisdom sounds like

I'm a Tim Snyder fan. I've read The Road to Unfreedom. I'd like to meet him and have him sign it.

Excellent interview with excellent insights!

The (schoolboy) editing was unfortunately seriously messed up. Check out 4.25 into it and the host is speaking but it's the guest we can hear. Channel 4 please don't let your professional skills and attention to detail (or lack thereof) mar you message.

Informative and great insight. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with the point of needing more emphasis on history and humanities, and would add that we need to invest a lot more in education overall. Especially critical thinking skills, bc that is SO basic to build all other education on. And we really need to value education as a society. It seems like we will certainly continue to decline as a society, unless we have a better educated population.

Niiice! Make discussion great again.

Micheal Moore is someone you must watch as he has evidence of a further event ; this time armed

Fascinating interview! The major problem was that both China and Russia were taken from a US historians perspective. Russia was Putin and China was considered as a Dictatorship and not an evolving Communist System with an enormous population and thriving economy. One important point was the need for the focus in education to include the “Humanities”. I Would instead emphasize International History, but even more relevant Anthropology and Languages. In order to understand and draw comparisons it ie essential that “ Others” and their cultural values are perceived from a non ethnocentric perspective. And that the particular historical, ethnocentric perspective of the Historian is contextualized. Finally, it’s simple for an English speaker to compare and analyze aspects of US or British Societies. On the other hand once they broaden their generalizations to “Other” societies and nation states, they often forget that in the cases of the USA and England that these two “Democratic” States, have plundered, attacked, destroyed, and colonized other peoples and continue to undermine and attack others often in the name of “Democracy” and Human Rights. ♦️♦️♦️

Excellent, superb discussion, let us all think about what was said, humanity!

Very, very interesting, thank you.

Wonderful journalism, brilliant questions! Thank you!

Came across by accident.I don’t do politics but I have found this video really interesting.I hope America will be united again.Best Wishes To All.Keep Safe.

Important conversation covering a wide spectrum of topics impacting humanity around the world.

Staying in the limelight and raking in contribution from his fans, as well as earning income (which he has never done except as a media performer) will all motivate him to maintain a media presence -- through one of the right-wing cable channels or through a new organization of his own. The connection with his following can be maintained only by giving his media presence a political coloring. Of course the "I wuz robbed" story will remain useful for that. Therefore, however unlikely another successful run for President might be (and let's not forget that it's being unlikely and Trump's recognizing the unlikelihood are two different things), Trump will be a major presence in the Republican party at least until 2024.

A perfect voting system in USA... really ??

Great interview thank you

Superb interview ,

He explained the troubles of Trump to me more accurately than any political commentators and academics. I will buy his books.

smart guy, that mr snyder.

Any book recommendation from this guy ,l really like this historian

The idea of rigging elections is not in the least bit novel in the UK. They did it in Ireland for centuries, and it took decades of violence to end it. Also, the US infection and death rates aren't the worst in the first world... Take a look at the lis and you will find that per capita, the UK is significantly worse. Wonder why.

I really enjoyed listening to this well informed discussion

This is how a real historian applies their knowledge to the present. There is such a contrast between Timothy Snyder and David Starkey. Both are historians turned media personalities. But whilst Snyder relies on his wisdom to explain what is malfunctioning in our world, Starkey has simply ceased being a historian (and he used to be a good Tudor historian) in favour of being an angry, racist, media personality flying the flag of regression.

What a superbly high quality interview; thank you.

Snyder consistently gives me new insights and challenges to view history from a different angle. Thank you for this interview.

Jack Ma, criticism of Chinese banks and system has made him disappear. Where’s Jack? American government and democracy is not much different.

What happened in America now, this can repeatedly happen all over the whole. So UK government should take action in case we have the samething happen in UK.

Proper interview and meaningful information. Who knew it was possible?

Truth is irrevocable. Thankyou for telling it like it is.

super interesting interview

Pushing the boundaries of oligarchy in USA?? Sorry, those are way behind you...

Brilliant content! We need more of this input! Promotes humanism!

Trump has employed the same tactics as Hitler did in the 30s. America is at a crossroads and the direction it takes has never been more important.

History has never repeated itself. Similar occurrences are but a distant echo.

Thank you very much for this great video.

An open letter to Dr. Snyder, I very much enjoyed reading your editorial in the NYT today. I noticed the early Quaker influence you had; my most cherished years were studying the humanities and theatre at Earlham College '91. I grew up on an apple orchard in Vermont, went to a boarding school, then after Earlham, went to study theatre design and production at UC Irvine. Following a career as a dance-theatre producer in San Diego, I moved to homesteaded in southwest Oregon which gave me more than a decade of time to reflect on the world around me. I am writing to share a critique I hope you accept as a kind gesture despite its rather direct approach. It's in response to your lovely critique of malefactors and illiberalism in an interview from a year ago with Channel 4 in Britain. Calling "populism" nationalism and authoritarianism is an unfortunate framing of the word. Many adherents to Liberalism (perhaps the neoliberal wing?) mischaracterize populism as if it were despotism, autocracy, totalitarianism, fascism, or as a dictatorship. They claim that democracy and Liberal governments are under attack by populists. They do not point to populists for evidence of their claims; instead, they point to self-aggrandizing malefactors. For a recent example, many asserted their defamatory claims by calling the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol populists. This is nonsense; those are not populists. They are fear-driven insurrectionists who pledge allegiance to a wannabe authoritarian-fascist who himself is a truly corrupt elitist. Too many of Liberalism's adherents inaccurately ascribe to decent, peaceful populists the work of a few stupid, evil leaders and their angry mob. This is not fair. For context, populists are best exemplified by the Quaker tradition -- citizens seeking agency, peace, and consensus in the direct control over their private and public affairs, whether at the local, state, national, or worldwide level. Just because populists want more agency in their lives does not necessarily make them an adversary. Populists do not want despotism, autocracy, totalitarianism, dictatorship, and fascism. Indeed, many around the world have had enough of that already. Members of the ruling class, most of whom are neoliberals from the left and right, say we threaten society when, in fact, it is they who feel threatened. Their deceit on this matter is a bitter irony: they have used their corporations to control our governments by overwhelming our democracy through campaign financing and lobbying. We reject the gaslighting accusations that we are the very thing that we want to escape and that they aren't already doing what they falsely accuse us of wanting to do. Populists (the populace) want more involvement in their government beyond just voting for oligarchs and their obsequious sycophants to rule over them. We want magnanimous representatives, not overlords. Currently, we do not sufficiently control the governments we elect, nor the corporations for whom we work or from whom we shop -- that's a growing problem. Ours is an effort to regain control of our governments and livelihoods: this is what populism is; this is what the populace wants, and it's not such a bad thing. But many in the ruling class defile the term populism to push back against the populace from having more power and control over the political economy. I have a strong intuition that it's not a winning strategy: Thomas Edsall writes every week about how Liberalism is under attack and crumbling. Neoliberalism is solely at fault for its demise; alienating the populace for the past 40 years (letting neoliberals steer the ship) is a serious existential threat to Liberalism. It appears to me the reason Liberalism defames populism is to discredit both populists and evil malefactors at once, forging one opponent out of two very distinct, opposite political ideologies that threaten Liberalism. (Look no further than Francis Fukuyama and his colleagues' "Global Populisms and Their Challenges" for an example of this.) We can all agree that the increasing number of despots, autocrats, dictators, totalitarians, and fascist wannabe's who threaten the social structure in the U.S. and Europe are heinous. I would ask you to also agree that they are not populists. But it appears to be a Neoliberal fashion to smear populists as evil or dangerous, and in one stroke, take down both competitors in one shot: 1) the compassionate, caring populists who want more agency in the political economy, and 2) the evil, destructive malefactors sowing mayhem around the world. I suggest an alternative: please consider attracting the populace to Liberalism instead of alienating it. Allow populism to positively impact Liberalism's rough edges (I'm thinking here about how Catholicism absorbed cultures by adopting their stories like bunnies and santas). I understand there is some awkwardness in a glomming merger of Liberalism and populism (we need experts!), but there is certainly a long term benefit to forging an alliance with the populace rather than alienating it; the two could really go after the despots, authoritarians, dictators, and fascists in a united way. The Overton Window is closing on Liberalism's view that populism (perhaps let's call it "a more direct form of democracy") is a threat that runs contrary to minority rule by an elite class of experts. Surely, we cannot abide a kakistocracy or ochlocracy, no reasonable person would suggest such disorder. But fading to a more representative (less overlord) system is a far better alternative than despotism and fascism. I think this means governing for the human persons, not the corporate persons and their owners. You mentioned the proper Us vs. Them contest is between humans and machines; perhaps, but more importantly, I think it is also between humans and corporate persons. One aspect of Liberalism that has been metastasizing over the past 40 years is how individuals rise up by virtue of their merit to run the political economy on behalf of the populace who do not possess the skills to do it themselves. Another growing problem is how the scarcity of elites in the free market justifies compensating them for their responsibility to the populace at higher levels compared to the median income. Both circumstances are, ideally, reasonable; however, they have been taken to an extreme, and that is causing the backlash to Liberalism worldwide. Liberalism's leaders have wrestled control of the free market by writing laws (and setting case law) permitting all manner of income inequality, including lowering tax rates for themselves and allowing campaign financing and lobbying to further ensconce their control of the political economy in order that they can further aggrandize themselves financially and politically. This feed-back loop of power and wealth has begotten more power and wealth for them; as such, Liberalism's leaders have abused their heightened position at the expense of the populace. The blatant jettisoning of Noblesse Oblige is intolerable, poor form, and a bad strategy. I hope my letter finds you well and that you may share my concern with your peers. I am a proud member of the populace working on the above issues and ask for your support. Kindly, Christopher Hall Cave Junction, OR

Awesome interview

Thank you!

Excellent interview.

This guy is a bright dude!

Brilliant man. Thanks for letting me know this guy’s name, which I’ll make sure to remember

President Biden needs you to head up a "You vs them" commission Thank you for your brilliant insights ❤️💙❤️

The real question should be: Has Putin already gave up on Tramp?

Very interesting and informative discussion - as always. Thank you.

It sounds like he agreed that human rights is not just about civil political rights, but also socio-economic rights, to be free. Basically, you cannot make a free, rational and informed decision when you are in poverty or face existential threat from the state. But what is poverty?

As a black gay jew, it's so refreshing to hear a white sis man who understands racism in America.

What a breath of fresh air ! Thanks

Wow thank you for what you know.

fantastically insightful about the conditions of democracy and the context for the creeping authoritarianism that threatens it

Thank you for mention Russia.. Ive only seen Pelosi talking openly about it. And i dont really understand why its so hushed? UK .. Your welcome to reapply for EU membership 2022. Its always better to work together on the challenges we face. Cheerio

'we are on the trajectory of shrinkage' lol i'm such a child. great convo

Timothy Snyder is in effect a modern Thomas Paine.

Leadership matters. After all this, why is no one talking about setting minimum requirements for the Presidency and other high offices: basic science and medicine, knowledge of history, competence, decency, empathy, tolerance, sense of justice, sanity, integrity, intelligence, honesty, literacy, psychological or personality tests like the MMPI, etc.? A security guard goes through more testing for competence than the guy holding the nuclear codes and deciding on national policies in a pandemic. But then again, most politicians would probably fail all tests.