In this episode of pplpod, we examine the rise and fall of Pol Pot, the quiet former schoolteacher who became the architect of one of the deadliest genocides of the twentieth century. The episode traces how Saloth Sar, a privileged Cambodian student educated in elite schools and later exposed to radical politics in Paris, transformed into the leader of the Khmer Rouge. Rather than embracing traditional Marxist industrial theory, Pol Pot became obsessed with the idea that rural peasants represented the only “pure” society. That belief eventually evolved into the horrifying vision known as “Year Zero,” an attempt to erase Cambodia’s history, cities, religion, money, education system, and modern culture in pursuit of an agrarian utopia built entirely through forced labor and terror.

The discussion explores the geopolitical chaos that allowed t ...