Does Putin believe his own conspiracy theories? | Why the next Marine Le Pen could win

We've Got Issues

This week, we speak with the authors of two New York Times opinion pieces, published in the past week, that look at different aspects of the authoritarian far-right in Europe.

First, Ilya Yablokov, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield and author of “Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Soviet World,” tells us that Vladimir Putin once used propaganda instrumentally to maintain support at home, but he and his inner circle appear to believe their own conspiracy theories now--and explains why that's so dangerous.

Then we welcome Rim-Sarah Alouane, a legal scholar at Toulouse Capitole University in France, to talk about what has happened in France over the past 30 or so years to give Marine Le Pen, a smoother but dangerous Trumpian candidate, a mainstream veneer that made last week's French presidential election too close for comfort. Alouane warns that if present trends persist, a xenophobic far-right candidate like her may become president of the French Republic in the near future.

Playlist

• Dusty Leigh: "Like That"
• Breland: "My Truck"
• Jelly Roll: "Heaven"