Infinitesimal Impossibilities 03: The Warlord‘s Cook

The Infinitesimal Impossibilities subseries returns with a story in which Molly and Alex look at one of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century...from the perspective of his personal chef. It's all drawn from the work of Polish journalist Witold Szablowski in his incredible 2020 book, How to Feed a Dictator (which it should be noted, Alex misdated during this first episode as being 2016). Uganda's infamous Idi Amin is discussed through the eyes of his personal chef, Otonde Odera, who not only managed to survive the murderous regime's rise and fall, but managed to be both Idi Amin and Amin's predecessor Milton Obote's favorite cook and, ostensibly, member of the help. Molly explores Otonde Odera's roller coaster of a life story and the dictator's methodology of ensuring loyalty is examined throughout this tale, a tale that ultimately leaves us on a melancholy note. Is it better to be feared, loved, or both? What is more terrifying: the dictator mad man who flies into a rage at the slightest provocation or the cold, calculating psychopath? What do you do when you're trapped in circumstances that are still arguably better than the alternatives? What does it feel like to be on the receiving end of a madman's wrath? These questions are examined and, despite their heavy nature, we managed to keep it all relatively light.And yes, the question of Idi Amin's supposed cannibalism is addressed.History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:David AdamcikElias BorotaMatthew DakusNathan DiehlGavin EdwardsKevin GonyNathan GrotePeter HauckDevin HrehaMike KalninsBenjamin LeeTrevor LindborgJose MartinezMike MaylebenJudy McCoidMonicaKostas MorosRyan MortensonBen MullenMolly PanJean PetersEdmund PlamowskiPJ RaderGleb RadutskyJon Andre SaetherAlison SaloSamEmily SchmidtJulian SchmidtCameron SmithBrian SteggemanJared Cole TempleSteve UhlerF. You