238 - Mao Zedong: Father of Communist China and Worst Mass Murderer of All Time?

Mao Zedong's name is associated with one of the heinous totalitarian regimes of the 20th century - if not one of the most heinous regimes in the history of the world. Due to famines brought about directly by his brutal policies and political "purges" he authorized, roughly 45 million Chinese citizens died. Possibly tens of millions more. Chairman Mao is responsible for more noncombatant deaths than Hitler and Stalin combined. So doesn't that make him the worst mass murderer of all time? We take a look at China in today's big episode - it's history, it's culture, and how the communist came to power in the wake of WW2 with the son of a farmer as their leader. We explore Mao's life and the rise of communism in what was long an imperial nation, in today's true crime, why didn't he brush his death, yes he really tried to have all the sparrows killed, insane, tyrannical edition of Timesuck.  Thanks for helping Bad Magic Productions donate at least $12,500 this month to The SaintBernard Project. The SBP will be helping those in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana as they continue to work on their recovery from winter storm Uri. To find out more, go to https://sbpusa.org/ Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DfBh-Q7_hfM Merch  - https://badmagicmerch.com/   Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v COTC private FB Group: Please search on Facebook for "Cult of the Curious" For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste) Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast  Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.