Mike Rowe
@therealmikerowe·1.3M subscribers·663 videos
Communism For Dummies | Bill Whittle #498 | The Way I Heard It
Posted
August 13, 2026
Views
7,172
Likes
890
Comments
172
Engagement
14.81%
August 13, 2026
7,172
890
172
14.81%
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1:24:53Now PlayingA few days ago, I wandered into a conversation about communism. Thousands of comments later, it became clear to me that a surprising number of people have very different ideas about what that word means, what socialism promises, and what history has to say about both. So, I called my old friend Bill Whittle.
Bill has spent a lot more time studying this stuff than I have, and I asked him to come on the podcast and explain it in a way that doesn't require a political science degree—or a willingness to be lectured for 90 minutes.
The result is a conversation I’m calling, “Communism for Dummies,” where we talk about free stuff that isn't free, what happens when the state takes precedence over the individual, and why millions of people throughout history have risked everything to escape communist countries—and virtually no one has risked everything to get into one.
Mostly, though, I wanted to understand why an ideology with such a spectacularly bloody resume appears to be enjoying a renaissance in America, and why calling yourself a communist today doesn't carry anything close to the stigma you might expect. Bill has some thoughts, and so do I.
Is any of it persuasive? I have no idea. But given the conversations happening right now and the number of people openly telling me what they believe and what they'd like to change about this country, I don't want to sit this one out.
Watch the whole thing and decide for yourself.
#podcast #america #history
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