Preview: The Prairieland Railroading Happening Right Now

Autocratic Despair: The Podcast · Apr 16, 2026 · 31m · transcript

The Autocratic Despair Podcast launches in May. Until then, enjoy this practice episode.

This week on Autocratic Despair, Nick and Dr. Craig open with something they haven't been able to do very often on this show: celebrate.

On April 12, Viktor Orbán — the international model for how to dismantle a democracy from inside one — conceded defeat in Hungary's parliamentary election after sixteen years in power. Péter Magyar's Tisza party won in a landslide, taking 138 of 199 seats on 53.6% of the vote, giving Magyar the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend Hungary's constitution.

The…