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The Bad Manager Podcast

The Bad Manager Podcast

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

The Bad Manager Podcast is a history and leadership show about the people who were put in charge—and shouldn’t have been.

Each episode explores real stories from history where bad management, poor leadership decisions, and misused authority caused teams to fail, organizations to collapse, and people to pay the price. These aren’t stories of villains twirling mustaches. They’re stories of managers who ignored feedback, chased the wrong metrics, protected their ego, or confused control with competence.

From military and political hierarchies to businesses, institutions, and large organizations, the podcast examines management failures, toxic leadership, decision-making under pressure, and how small managerial mistakes compound into large-scale consequences.

This is not a productivity podcast or a guide to becoming a better boss. It’s a narrative-driven look at bad managers in history, leadership failures, organizational dysfunction, and why authority often rewards the wrong behavior.

If you’re interested in management mistakes, leadership history, power dynamics at work, organizational collapse, and understanding why so many smart people end up led so poorly—this podcast is for you.

The Bad Manager Podcast Because most failures don’t start at the top. They start with the manager.

© 2026 The Bad Manager Podcast All rights reserved.
Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Nikolai Vavilov: Science vs. Ideology and Starvation
    Feb 15 2026
    In this episode, we explore the compelling story of Nikolai Vavilov, a botanist and geneticist who risked everything to collect seeds and prevent famine in the Soviet Union. We examine his conflict with Trofim Lysenko and illustrate how ideology and the pursuit of certainty can lead to devastating consequences when prioritized over scientific truth and reality.          Chapters    00:00 Introduction to Vavilov    00:37 Vavilov's Vision and Work    03:33 The Rise of Lysenkoism    08:21 Vavilov's Arrest and Legacy
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    8 mins
  • James Buchanan and the Myth of Inevitable Collapse
    Jan 17 2026

    After the Civil War began, Buchanan insisted it was unavoidable. This episode challenges that narrative, examining the choices, delays, and refusals that helped make war feel inevitable only after the fact.

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    10 mins
  • The Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg's Mary's Heights
    Feb 14 2026
    In this episode, we explore the devastating leadership failure during the Battle of Fredericksburg, focusing on the Irish Brigade's doomed advance at Mary's Heights. We discuss the strategic missteps, the immense casualties, and the lingering questions about why the brigade was sent forward into an unwinnable battle.          Chapters    00:00 Introduction to Fredericksburg    00:43 Burnside's Ill-Fated Plan    04:44 The Irish Brigade's Advance    10:55 Lessons in Leadership Failure
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    9 mins
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