logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
1h 18m

Andrew Roberts - SV's Napoleon Cult, Why...

Dwarkesh Patel
About this episode

Andrew Roberts is the world's best biographer and one of the leading historians of our time.

We discussed

* Churchill the applied historian,

* Napoleon the startup founder,

* why Nazi ideology cost Hitler WW2,

* drones, reconnaissance, and other aspects of the future of war,

* Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Ukraine, & Taiwan.

Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple PodcastsSpotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes.

Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Post WW2 conflicts

(00:10:57) - Ukraine

(00:16:33) - How Truman Prevented Nuclear War

(00:22:49) - Taiwan

(00:27:15) - Churchill

(00:35:11) - Gaza & future wars

(00:39:05) - Could Hitler have won WW2?

(00:48:00) - Surprise attacks

(00:59:33) - Napoleon and startup founders

(01:14:06) - Robert’s insane productivity



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dwarkeshpatel.com
Up next
Jul 3
Why I don’t think AGI is right around the corner
I’ve had a lot of discussions on my podcast where we haggle out timelines to AGI. Some guests think it’s 20 years away - others 2 years. Here’s an audio version of where my thoughts stand as of June 2025. If you want to read the original post, you can check it out here. Get full ... Show More
14m 1s
Jun 2
Why I don’t think AGI is right around the corner
I’ve had a lot of discussions on my podcast where we haggle out timelines to AGI. Some guests think it’s 20 years away - others 2 years. Here’s where my thoughts stand as of June 2025. Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh.com/subscribe 
14m 1s
Jun 26
Godfather of Synthetic Bio on De-Aging, De-Extinction, & Weaponized Mirror Life — George Church
George Church is the godfather of modern synthetic biology and has been involved with basically every major biotech breakthrough in the last few decades.Professor Church thinks that these improvements (e.g., orders of magnitude decrease in sequencing & synthesis costs, precise ge ... Show More
1h 33m
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
How Stalin won WW2
In June 1944 Allied armies landed in force in northern France, and the liberation of western Europe began. But, the battle that really sealed Hitler's fate was taking place in the east, as the Red Army prepared an almighty assault against the war-weary Wehrmacht. Speaking to Rob ... Show More
40m 7s
May 24
#470 – James Holland: World War II, Hitler, Churchill, Stalin & Biggest Battles
James Holland is a historian specializing in World War II. He hosts a podcast called WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep470-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, su ... Show More
3h 30m
Mar 2023
Churchill's Darkest Hour
Winston Churchill's ascension to Prime Minister in 1940 was a key turning point in world history, ultimately being one of the first steps to help the Allies secure victory in the Second World War. The legacies of Churchill’s decisions still shape our world today, but a lesser kno ... Show More
42m 22s
Sep 2024
Winston Churchill & WW2 Revisionism
Sir Winston Churchill is almost unanimously regarded as a hero in Western society.In this country we voted him the Greatest Ever Briton; ahead of Shakespeare, Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton.Churchill had significant flaws, including some caustic opinions and brutal decisions ... Show More
42m 56s
May 2024
157. Battleground 44' - Adolf Hitler
In our latest instalment of our Warlords series, Saul speaks to good friend of the show expert historian and occasional co-host of Battleground Roger Moorhouse about the most infamous of all the war leaders from the Second World War - Adolf Hitler.If you have any thoughts or ques ... Show More
42m 43s
Jan 2025
528. The Nazis' Road to War: Hitler Prepares to Strike (Part 1)
Throughout the course of the 1930s, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party has overwhelmingly, terrifyingly seized power in Germany. Now, Hitler’s vile ambitions have turned to Czechoslovakia. On the 12th of September 1938 at the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, he rabidly defended the suppo ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 2024
Dwight D Eisenhower: life of the week
Few men did more to shape the course of the 20th century than Dwight D Eisenhower. Not only did 'Ike' mastermind the Allied invasion of western Europe on D-Day, but he also went on to become president of the United States as it cemented its status as the world's most powerful nat ... Show More
40m 18s
Jan 2025
529. The Nazis' Road to War: Showdown in Munich (Part 2)
On 17th September 1938, in Munich, one of the most extraordinary meetings in history took place. Neville Chamberlain launched an extraordinary and unprecedented diplomatic coup. Boarding a plane, he set off to meet Adolf Hitler in a desperate attempt to prevent war over Czechoslo ... Show More
59m 19s
Mar 2025
The Spy Who Duped Hitler | From Zero to Hero | 1
The story of Operation Mincemeat. It’s 1943 and World War 2 hangs on a knife-edge. Everybody knows the obvious next move for the Allies is to invade Sicily. So Winston Churchill gives his spy chiefs a daunting task: create a lie so good it will fool Adolf Hitler and get Nazi Germ ... Show More
41m 18s