Alex Alvarez
Professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northern Arizona University and a scholar of genocide and mass atrocity; coauthor of the book Lethal Elites, which examines how professionals and institutions enabled the Holocaust.
Best podcasts with Alex Alvarez
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Feb 15, 2026 • 59min
Alex Alvarez and Richard R. Fernandez, "Lethal Elites: The Institutions and Professionals That Made the Holocaust Possible" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Alex Alvarez, a criminology professor who studies genocide, discusses Lethal Elites. He explores how professionals and institutions legitimized and facilitated the Holocaust. He outlines which sectors—science, law, clergy, military, industry—were implicated. He warns that prestige, careerism, and institutional incentives can normalize atrocities.
Feb 15, 2026 • 59min
Alex Alvarez and Richard R. Fernandez, "Lethal Elites: The Institutions and Professionals That Made the Holocaust Possible" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Alex Alvarez, criminology professor and genocide scholar, discusses Lethal Elites, a study of how professionals and institutions enabled the Holocaust. He explores definitions of lethal elites and how bureaucracies channeled ordinary people into roles of harm. He also covers motivations, the roles of educators, clergy, military elites, and how cultural prestige normalized persecution.
