Elections always have consequences. But few have suffered as consequences as personal as Professor Robert Mann.

Bob is author of several books including Kingfish U: Huey Long and LSU and he recently launched a Substack called Something Like the Truth. 

He was the Manship Chair in Journalism at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University when Jeff Landry was elected governor of Louisiana. And that was the night he decided to step down.

The state of Louisiana has taken a bleak turn under Landry, who is following in the path of his fellow Southern demagogues Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott. But the new governor has a distinctive passion for putting people in prison.

We spoke to Bob about his decision to leave LSU, why civility is a trap, and what the last dictator in America could teach us about the man currently running to be dictator.

And you should definitely check out his Last Lecture at LSU.

Catch up on all the episodes of “How are you feeling about democracy?” here.

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