The Secret of Charisma
3/2/20261 hr 34 min
Charismatic leaders can inspire devotion and give people a powerful sense of meaning. They can also make us vulnerable. This week, we explore how figures across history have gained followers by offering clarity in moments of uncertainty — and why that clarity can come at a cost. Historian Molly Worthen explains how to recognize the spell of charisma, and why questioning it is essential to a healthy society. Then, on Your Questions Answered, Antonio Pascual-Leone returns to respond to listeners' thoughts and questions about moving on after a breakup.
Do you have personal stories about being drawn in by a charismatic leader? A question about how we can be swept up in the spell of a mesmerizing person? If you’d be willing to share your question or story with the Hidden Brain audience, please record a voice memo on your phone. Then, email the file to us at feedback@hiddenbrain.org. Use the subject line “charisma.” Thanks!
Our next stops on Hidden Brain's live tour are coming up in just a few weeks! Join Shankar in Philadelphia on March 21 or in New York City on March 25. More info and tickets are at hiddenbrain.org/tour.
Episode illustration by Imhaf Maulana for Unsplash+
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsShankar Vedantam· Host0:00
This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. In the 1930s, an unlikely man from rural Louisiana rose to political stardom. Huey Long appealed to working class Americans with fiery speeches and a populist agenda. He promised free textbooks, better infrastructure, and redistribution of wealth.
Huey Long· Soundbite0:21
That while we might have millionaires, and men worth two million, and men worth three million maybe, and men worth maybe five or six million, but that nonetheless, there must be a limit on how big any one man could get.
Shankar Vedantam· Host0:38
Thousands gathered to hear him speak. His promise to make every man a king soon earned him a nickname, The Kingfish. But Huey Long also made powerful enemies along the way. Critics saw him as a dangerous demagogue. They warned that he was crooked, cunning, and completely unconcerned with checks and balances. He fired those who opposed him, took over state agencies, and appointed loyalists. When Louisiana State University published a newspaper article criticizing him, Huey Long saw to it that the seven students who wrote the piece were expelled. Huey Long wasn't just popular, he was magnetic,