**What’s happening in global politics, and is there a thread that ties it all together?** **There is, and it is called populism.** In the spring and summer of 2016, the world’s richest democracies witnessed a collective upheaval that shocked the globe and seemed impossible to understand. As if overnight, many Democrats revolted and passionately backed a socialist named Bernie Sanders; the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, in a stunning rebuke; the nativist billionaire Donald Trump became the presidential nominee of the Republican Party; and a slew of extreme parties continued to win election after election in countries like Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Austria, and Greece. John B. Judis, one of America’s most respected political analysts, tells us why we need to learn about the populist movement that began in the United States in the 1890s and whose politics have recurred on both sides of the Atlantic ever since. *The Populist Explosion* is essential reading for anyone hoping to grasp the forces that are altering the course of history, written by a brilliant observer who has seen the change coming.