As Vladimir Putin flexes his geopolitical muscles at the start of a second Trump term, we revisit our March 2022 conversation with British comics artist Darryl Cunningham, author of Putin’s Russia: The Rise of a Dictator.
In this hour-long special, Darryl tracks the rise of Putin from street fighter to authoritarian, and follows the economic and political corruption that's spread since Putin's first major power grab 25 years ago. We talk about Darryl's other graphic non-fiction books, including The Age of Selfishness, How to Fake a Moon Landing, and Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful. His newest book, Elon Musk: American Oligarch, is due to be published in September.
Host S.W. Conser also asks Darryl about his indie comics and his early adventures in the mental health field, as well as the outsize and often cultlike influence of such domineering figures as Ayn Rand, Rupert Murdoch, Jeff Bezos, and Donald Trump.
- KBOO