Quick, name the powerful figures behind the rise of right-wing politics in America. The Koch Brothers? Yes, and... James McGill Buchanan.
Who? Buchanan was a Nobel-winning economist whose ideas were largely taken up and boosted by the Koch Brothers.
Historian Nancy MacLean told the story in her book Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America. MacLean visited in 2017 to talk about her research; we rejoin the interview here.