Sep 24, 2026 · 1h 40m
A genocidal leader hides behind alternative medicine
Part Two: Radovan Karadžić: The Genocidal Dictator Who Became a New-Age Guru
The episode shows how nationalist propaganda, international failures, and political protection allowed a war criminal to evade justice for years.
- 1Karadžić transformed political fear and ethnic grievance into an eliminationist Bosnian Serb nationalist movement.
- 2Serbian military support enabled the siege of Sarajevo, mass atrocities, and the Srebrenica genocide.
- 3After disappearing from public life, Karadžić hid in plain sight as an alternative healer until political change ended his protection.
Don't miss
Karadžić’s transformation into Dragan Dabić, a conspicuous alternative healer and Reiki practitioner, captures the absurdity of his years in hiding.
The brief
Karadžić’s path ran from disgraced psychiatrist and Green Party politician to architect of Bosnian Serb nationalism, showing how countercultural politics can be redirected toward ethnic exclusion.
The episode traces how fear, historical trauma, propaganda, and Slobodan Milošević’s nationalist strategy helped turn political grievance into war against Bosnia’s Bosniak and Croat population.
Under Karadžić and General Ratko Mladić, forces besieged Sarajevo, targeted civilians, and carried out mass deportations, killings, and the Srebrenica genocide.
The most surreal turn comes after the war: Karadžić adopts the name Dragan Dabić, grows a beard, and builds a public career as a Reiki practitioner and alternative healer.
His capture followed years of international failure and political protection, exposing how a wanted war criminal could remain visible inside nationalist and pseudomedical networks.
Books & mentions
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