Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She is an MSNBC Opinion Columnist and commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and other media outlets about authoritarianism, Fascism, and threats to democracy around the world.

Her latest book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present examines how illiberal leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century. She publishes a terrific Substack community called Lucid about democracy and autocracy that I’m proud to be a paying subscriber where she not only writes her regular newsletter but hosts chats about the issues of the day and the march of authoritarianism here and abroad.