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The New Leader Playbook

The New Leader Playbook

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

The New Leader Playbook is a history and leadership podcast built on the mistakes of the past.

Instead of recycling leadership clichés and motivational myths, this show digs into real historical cases of bad leadership, failed decision-making, and power misused—and turns them into a modern playbook for leaders who don’t want to repeat the same errors.

Each episode explores moments when leaders made the wrong call, ignored warnings, trusted bad advice, or doubled down on failing strategies. From political and military disasters to corporate collapses and cultural breakdowns, the show examines leadership failures from history, decision-making under pressure, power dynamics, and the hidden forces that distort judgment at the top.

This isn’t a podcast about inspirational quotes or founder worship. It’s a narrative-driven look at how leaders fail, why smart people make terrible decisions, and what actually happens when authority meets ego, fear, incentives, and uncertainty.

If you’re interested in leadership lessons from history, management mistakes, organizational failure, crisis leadership, and building better judgment in high-stakes roles—this podcast is for you.

The New Leader Playbook Built from history’s mistakes. Designed for today’s leaders.

© 2026 The New Leader Playbook 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
  • The President Who Thought Doing Less Meant Doing No Harm
    Jan 19 2026

    James Buchanan believed restraint was wisdom. History disagreed. This episode tells the story of a president who mistook quiet for stability and legality for leadership—while the country slid into war.

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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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