Understanding the historical rise of mass media is not just about the tech. It’s also about how people used—and abused—those new ways of communicating with the public. That picture becomes clearer when you realize that new innovations in amplification and broadcasting coincided closely with the rise of nationalism in the Western world. Successful nationalist movements in Italy and Germany ushered in new two modern countries by the end of the 1870s. In the first half of the 20th century, those countries’ dictators used new mass-media technology to amplify not just their voices, but their personalities. In so doing, they passed themselves off as larger-than-life figures who claimed to speak for their entire nations.

This episode explores how the convergence between nationalism and industrial mass-media helped prop up these two totalitarian dictatorships, suppressing other voices in the process. Investigating this history allows us to reflect on the nature of nations, how new ways of communication can be disorienting, and how being savvy about the history of media can help to keep you grounded.

Learn more about this rogue, underdog, Hail Mary pass of a project at findyourselfinhistory.com !

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Thanks for listening! To learn more about this history project, check out findyourselfinhistory.com.