#248 – Norman Naimark: Genocide, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Absolute Power

Norman Naimark is a historian at Stanford, specializing in the history of genocide. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Coinbase: https://coinbase.com/lex to get $5 in free Bitcoin – Quip: https://getquip.com/lex to get first refill free – Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings – NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour – ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free EPISODE LINKS: Norman’s Website: https://history.stanford.edu/people/norman-naimark Stalin’s Genocides (book): https://amzn.to/3oO0Hzb Stalin and the Fate of Europe (book): https://amzn.to/3pLbWrk Books & resources mentioned: The Origins of Totalitarianism (book): https://amzn.to/3oNDSvA Man’s Search for Meaning (book): https://amzn.to/3pMzs7d Radio Majdanek (Research Paper): https://bit.ly/3GxPEAb PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: – Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast – Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman – Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman – Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) – Introduction (07:08) – Stalin and absolute power (21:05) – Dictators and genocide (45:31) – What is genocide (55:38) – Human nature and suffering (1:25:23) – Mao’s Great Leap Forward (1:32:37) – North Korea (1:36:30) – Our role in fighting against atrocities (1:45:26) – China (1:49:35) – Hopes for the future and technology (2:04:28) – Advice for young people (2:07:15) – Love and tragedy