🎧 Where Power Stops

Episode summary: David gives another in his series of talks about democracy. This one draws on the theme of his new book Where Power Stops: The Making and Unmaking of Presidents and Prime Ministers. From Lyndon Johnson to Boris Johnson, does power reveal the true character of politicians or do politicians reveal the true character of power? What sets the limits to what presidents and prime minsters can do? And how do we find them? https://profilebooks.com/where-power-stops-hb.html The books that have had the single largest influence on modern Western politicians are Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johson. - These books are a love letter to politics: the glory, the grind, the graft. - Johnson’s life is a tale of redemption: he was a terrible man, but he did some great things. - Johnson’s life shows that individual politicians can make a difference. This is a story that a lot of politicians want to hear. Caro says that the lesson of Johnson’s life is that power corrupts, but power also reveals. David disagrees. - Johnson…