EP 372: Jared Diamond on Nations in Crisis

Pulitzer Prize-winning author, scientist, and renowned polymath Jared Diamond reveals that many of the same factors in how individuals cope with a personal crises can also predict how countries survive national crises. He profiles six nations in transition in his new book Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis and shares his personal experiences and observations about those countries including why one should never utter the word "Finlandization" in Finland, how Chileans in the 1960’s never thought that their democracy would fall to a bloody dictator, and he says this doesn’t bode well for the U.S. He discusses why some countries like Germany choose to acknowledge their violent past while others like Indonesia choose to bury it. Then he warns of two nations currently facing crises - Japan, which suffers from crippling national debt and an aging/shrinking population, and the United States, where he says the decline of political compromise and voting rights is eroding our democracy.

Order Jared Diamond's terrific book Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis on Amazon, Audible, or wherever books are sold beginning Tuesda, May 7. Today's episode was sponsored by So, Bob podcast, SiriusXM radio, and Zebit. Subscribe to Kickass News on Apple Podcasts and leave us a review, follow us on Twitter at @KickassNewsPod, and take our short listener survey at www.podsurvey.com/kick.