We take the occassion of the first Trump-Mamdani meeting to ask: How can Max Weber's theory of charismatic authority help us understand fascism and the struggle against it? Do we need a charismatic leader to save us? PLUS: we spill the tea on Max Weber's spicy poly life. And the ghost of David Graeber makes his usual appearance.

THOUGHT SNACK is an occasional podcast from Sense & Solidarity where Sarah Stein Lubrano and Max Haiven explore the big ideas that make and break our world.

Sense & Solidarity is a platform where people who want to radically change the world can learn together and build individual and collective capacity. senseandsolidarity.org/

Sarah Stein Lubrano is a writer and researcher who specializes in the social psychology of politics. She is the author of Don't Talk About Politics: How to Change 21st-Century Minds (2025). www.sarahsteinlubrano.com

Max Haiven is an researcher and educator who uses writing, teaching, games, podcasts and other techniques for the radical imagination. His latest book is Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire (2022). maxhaiven.com/

Music by Dan Gouly.