367 | Jared Diamond on the Course of History and the Role of leaders

367 | Jared Diamond on the Course of History and the Role of leaders

From Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll

September 7, 2026 · 1h 17m · Episode 367

About this episode

Jared Diamond discusses the impact of leaders on the course of history and their success factors.

The course of history is affected by many things, including the political and social situations of large groups of people, their biological and physical abilities, and their geographical and environmental contexts. Sometimes, it would seem, history -- or corporations, or religions, or sports teams -- can be affected by the actions of just a few influential persons. In his new book, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings , Jared Diamond asks what effect leaders can have, and what it is that makes them successful (or not). Right now, Babbel is offering listeners who want to learn a new language up to 60% off. Go to https://babbel.com/MINDSCAPE . #ad Preserve your online privacy at Incogni and get 60% off an annual plan at https://incogni.com/MINDSCAPE . #ad Monthly pledges to FarmKind to help fight factory farming will be boosted by 50% at https://farmkind.giving/MINDSCAPE . #ad Blog post with transcript: https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/09/07/367-jared-diamond-on-the-course-of-history-and-the-role-of-leaders/ Support Mindscape on Patreon . Jared Diamond received a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Cambridge. He is currently a professor of geography at the…

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