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The Burn Bag Podcast
We’re here to redefine how scholars and policymakers approach national security and foreign policy. Join us, as we make sense of a world in crisis.
The Burn Bag Podcast
The Dissident's Dilemma: Case Studies of Moral Courage in an Age of Authoritarianism with Gal Beckerman
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In this episode of The Burn Bag, Gal Beckerman joins us to explore what it means to be a dissident in an age of conformity, fear, and authoritarian drift. Drawing on themes from his new book, How to Be a Dissident, Beckerman reflects on the people who refuse to betray their conscience — from historic rebels and moral witnesses to ordinary individuals forced to decide whether silence is still an option.
This conversation goes beyond the book to ask bigger questions about dissent itself: What separates genuine dissidence from performative rebellion? When does courage become recklessness? Why do authoritarian systems fear humor, memory, and witness? And how can acts of conscience become movements capable of changing history?
