“Voting someone into power is kind of like the cherry on top of the democratic system. First, you need free expression, then you need separation of powers, then you need civil society.”
— Alex Gladstein

- - - - -

Alex is Chief Strategy Officer at The Human Rights Foundation and a human rights activist. In this interview, we discuss the extent of authoritarianism around the world, how absolute power corrupts and how Bitcoin supports financial freedom.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription:
https://www.defiance.news/podcast/why-we-defy-alex-gladstein

- - - - -

Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Show Intro
00:01:39 - Welcoming Alex to the show
00:03:36 - Birth of Defiance
00:08:08 - Global variances in freedom
00:11:32 - Veil of freedom in Russia
00:17:12 - Why do countries become authoritarian
00:23:02 - Turkey’s migration to dictatorship
00:26:22 - Saudi Arabia international relations
00:31:43 - Collapse of society in Venezuela
00:34:37 - Fallacy of Che Guevara
00:37:01 - Absolute power corrupts
00:43:01 - From an open democracy to dictatorship
00:45:57 - Encroachments in free societies
00:49:46 - Wikileaks and how Bitcoin supports financial freedom
01:12:52 - Why decentralisation is so important
01:15:24 - China’s Belt and Road programme
01:23:54 - Satoshi Nakamoto’s an act of defiance
01:25:41 - Where does change come from?

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -