In the West, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is always seen as one of two things: KGB spy or judo master. But to anyone who’s ever lived in the Soviet Union, Putin is something else entirely: a street kid. Join journalist Julia Ioffe as she explores how Putin’s childhood taught him lessons that shape his thinking and actions to this day.

Progress isn’t inevitable. Justice is forever elusive. Liberty is always fragile. What will it take for America to find its better angels? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The religious right becomes a force in American politics. Guided by a belief that Christianity belongs at the center of public life, some Evangelical voters view secularism as an existential threat: a threat that has helped create a false choice between faith and fact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republican presidents in second half of the 20th century were not strangers to extreme rhetoric and hardline statements, but in practice they were more centrist than members of the far-right might have hoped. Over several decades, the spirit of what George HW Bush called, “sound governance” aggravated the ideologues and fomented a contempt for compromise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Yalta Conference to the centrist Dwight Eisenhower administration, members of the far-right feel a sense of betrayal as the country integrates and embraces separation of church and state, laying the foundation for a paranoid style of politics and a flight from fact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LBJ announces his vision for a "Great Society" in an America predominately defined by two competing visions, both rooted in a shared sense of reality. But on the far right wing of the political spectrum there is a disaffected group of people, driven by paranoia and fear, who are captive to conspiracy—setting a dangerous course for the decades to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices