Francis Fukuyama: Demand for Dignity

04/06/22 • 33 min

Bright Minds: from the John Adams Institute

From Amsterdam...this is the John Adams Podcast, a treasure trove of the best and the brightest of American thinking.
This week’s guest is indeed one of the brightest: Francis Fukuyama, the writer, thinker and teacher. You may remember him from his book: "The End of History", where he proclaimed the triumph of liberal democracy as something of a societal finish line.
Well, he does NOT think that anymore. What changed his mind? The election of Donald Trump, among others.

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Previous Episode

Megan Twohey: The #MeToo Story

This week’s guest is Megan Twohey, whose book about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse of women in Hollywood was also, as she put it, “an X-ray into the abuse of power”. The #metoo movement really got going after New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor published their investigative articles about Harvey Weinstein.
They followed with their book, “She Said”, which dives deep, not just into Harvey Weinstein’s decades long alleged sexual predation, but also the failures of the system that let it happen. Some have called “She Said” the feminist “All the President’s Men”.
Back in 2019, Megan Twohey gave the John Adams an interview that was almost like a crime procedural. She detailed how you piece together an investigation into someone powerful who was determined to undermine you every step of the way.
It’s a tale of harassment, spies, failures of the legal system and, ultimately, the triumphant power of the truth to actually make change. The Dutch journalist Joyce Roodnat interviewed Megan Twohey in front of a packed audience at the University of Amsterdam.

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Christiane Amanpour: Reporting while Female

Forbes magazine called Christiane Amanpour of the “100 Most Powerful Women.” On January 25th 2019, CNN’s chief international anchor and host of ‘Amanpour’, joined the Dutch journalist Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal, for what turned out to be a witty, revealing and slightly flirty conversation.

Amanpour’s career began in 1990 as a correspondent for CNN, where she reported on international crises in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Palestinian territories, Iran and many more countries. She has interviewed many world leaders and has received every major broadcast award. In 2014, she was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. Amanpour is also an active human rights campaigner has interviewed educational rights activist Malala Yousafzai for CNN on several occasions and brought attention to the plight of the 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram.

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