Why, America misunderstands Putin, and podcasters, for many reasons. Americans of all sorts have found their news in different sources these days. Some watch “left wing” or “right wing” programming. Few people watch both types of content, though, which is part of the problem. But the main problem is that the passive nature of consuming this kind of material eventually erodes the necessary individualized thinking necessary to form a novel opinion. You have these hosts who, themselves, watch the same kind of content they produce.
These individuals also watch the same news or read the same stories you do – which means they usually have 0 insider knowledge that you lack. To a certain extent these “influencers” occupy space where those who are mid-investigation on a topic could preside instead. They also traffic in similar ideas and people who are running their marketing to tell them what ideas and attitudes are working.
Though people in this media ecosystem will often suggest they only do it essentially for the love; the reality is that in order to be successful in the previous era (including what we think of as podcasters) one had to play by certain rules.
What happens is, basically there are so few opinions, all of which have been homogenized beyond recognition. That’s why it’s become common consensus that, for example, Vladimir Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet Union. That kind of idea is held universally by people on all sides of different issues including Ukraine & Russia being at war right now. It simply isn’t true, yet it’s easy to prove or argue about. That’s mostly why it sticks around.
What Everybody Is Getting Wrong About Putin
Vladimir Putin is not trying to rebuild the Soviet Union.
This misunderstanding is not just a harmless misread of a geopolitical adversary. It’s a strategic failure – and it exposes how thoroughly disconnected America has become from the rest of the world. From the podcast class to the professor class to the power class, we’ve been trained to talk about countries like Russia, without actually understanding them.
If we don’t change that – fast – we’ll keep planning for the wrong outcomes and get blindsided some day soon.
Recently, the connection between the nation’s lack of understanding about Putin, and the podcaster class, became glaringly obvious to me. After watching the now-infamous Dave Smith vs. Douglas Murray debate on the Joe Rogan Experience, I recognized a pattern that seems impossible to break from the current crop of “experts” you have to chose from. It should be said that the set-up (for the audience watching) for that debate was very informal, and barely structured. So, for Smith, who felt it was genuinely a debate, he was often perplexed, as Murray, who appeared mostly scornful and exhausted the entire time – failed to much engage with his actual arguments.
A New Joe Rogan Experience, May Be In Our Future
Rogan was notably quiet, with rare exception, to interject that he mainly disagreed with Murray in his disposition.
A lot of the ~3 hour long plod-fest, was on the topic of Israel/Gaza. Murray’s broad criticism of podcasters is he doesn’t consider them real historians – and rebuked the flip-flop nature of people who on one hand pose themselves as not experts; but behave as such. This point seemed to not land, because Murray did an awful job explaining it. He also seemed not to understand how often he was being a caricature of his own assertions about people like Smith and Rogan. One moment about Putin, though, revealed how Murray actually exemplifies our Western society’s current cognitive decline. Murray, along with others like Smith, insist that Putin wants to revive the Soviet Union.
They are wrong about this.
Dead wrong.
I should say here, that part of the way people fail to listen or absorb new ideas anymore, is the fact that suggesting that the West is wrong about (something regarding) Putin, triggers for most Westerners familiar with the relationship between these nations – as adversarial to the West. In other words, my critique is of how people poorly categorize Putin’s aims and objectives. Yet since it does not hold the narrative of American exceptionalism as you’re used to hearing it, you may believe this has a tilt of somehow bending to or believing in Putin as my guide for leadership.
That is simply not the case, and more to the point, why people must open their ears – and their minds – immediately.
What Putin Has Actually Said – and Done
Though Putin has expressed disatisfiaction with the breaking up of the Soviet Union, and he has attempted to or successfully reclaimed former Soviet territory in the last decade or so, that does not mean he is strictly attempting to reclaim the Soviet Union to return to a former version that comports with America or Britain’s recollection of Russia.
Putin doesn’t quote Soviet leaders with admiration. That should be more of an indication to people that he would if it were his aim to do so. He doesn’t cite Lenin, Khrushchev, or Brezhnev as inspiration. What he does reference, is Peter the Great, the Tsars, and the concept of “historical Russia.”
“Peter the Great was returning and strengthening [Russian] lands…it has also fallen to us to return and strengthen.”
– Vladimir Putin, June 2022
In his own words, Putin has lamented – not the fall of the Soviet system — but the collapse of Russia’s imperial power.
“The collapse of the Soviet Union was the collapse of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union.”
– Putin, December 2021
These references pre-date the Soviet Union entirely. Because Putin, as other Russian leaders before him, has a long historical legacy to think about. America does too. We often get hung up on the moment or our lived historical experience. World leaders, on the other hand; often call upon moments in their national history for purpose and conviction. Sometimes – they just need an excuse with national resonance.
Americans Would Love To Have Russia Revert To Soviet Union, But Putin Would Not
To Putin, actually, the Soviet Union itself was a structural mistake.
It’s been reported before, and reminded to people, that Putin once said, “Anyone who doesn’t regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brain.” That could not be more clear. So, how is it possible that Murray, a professed expert on the subject of Ukraine/Russia – can espouse that Putin wants so clearly to bring back the Soviet Union? Is it because the word “Soviet” sounds so good in his British accent, especially when paired with cultural disdain for the Russian people?
Perhaps. I do not expect Smith to know everything on these topics. I actually don’t expect Douglas Murray to either. What I expect, is that eventually Rogan figures out that regardless of how successful his show is or has become, and no matter how much he might enjoy talking to people like Murray and Smith; they are not doing good work.
Putin Doesn’t Play the Same Games as American Leaders
American politicians love to still use phrases like “Communist China” or “socialist Russian” to describe adversaries and when they need to assign blame for something. But the fact is, China and Russia both participate massively on the world stage in the global economy. That is something you would not typically find in a traditionally defined “communist” or “socialist” order. Therefore, something fundamentally different is happening.
Yet, people who are viewed as “experts” or even “occupiers” in the media realm; have not caught up. It’s like they haven’t downloaded the software or firmware update yet.
Putin isn’t reviving Marx. He’s expanding Moscow’s reach. And as many in the Western media keep echoing Soviet-era talking points, they’re missing what he’s actually doing – and therefore they could not determine what he will do next.
The Soviet Frame is Comfortable – For Ignorant Academic Westerners
Here’s a dirty little secret: most Western academics, journalists, and pundits have read more about the Cold War than they have read all of Russian imperial history.
They read about Ronald Reagan vs. the Soviets in school. They know what the USSR was. There are a lot more documentaries on YouTube about the Soviet Union rise and fall. So, when Putin starts moving troops in the 2020’s, many project what they do understand onto the present moment.
However, this ignorance of Russia’s history is not sufficient analysis.
It’s a reflex. It’s a lot of experts resting on their laurels.
Rather than ask, what does Putin believe? Or, what does his historical lens look like?
They default to the intellectual muscle memory of red flags and hammer-and-sickle geopolitics. That’s how consensus forms. And that’s how misunderstanding spreads.
The Smith-Murray Debate: A Microcosm of America’s Intellectual Decay
On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, comedian-turned-commentator Dave Smith squared off against Douglas Murray in a debate about Ukraine, Putin, Israel, global politics, and podcasting. It was a strange, frustrating, and revealing exchange.
On one side, you had Smith – a guy who plainly admits he’s just riffing, yet often holds court on major geopolitical topics as well as a strong position within the Libertarian Party. On the other, you had Murray – an Oxford-accented commentator who presents himself as a well-traveled journalist, but relies heavily on regurgitated talking points. I’m not sure what private exchange took place between Joe Rogan and his two “friends” that led to them appearing on the program for this, but the episode felt like it followed some personal sniping that had happened beforehand.
Though a lot of shows on the internet have commented on this incident, I think it did represent a certain kind of sea change. It might be hard to know for sure until later, but I wonder how much more Rogan will alter the format of his show to become more debate-oriented. That alone might not make the difference for the public, though. We don’t need an American Piers Morgan any more than we need a “Joe Rogan of the left.”
The debate between these two guys mostly was for the fans of these people, not the general public. Also, 0 new solutions were brought to the table. All it was really, was a dick-measuring contest between two pseudo-intellectuals being moderated by a guy who maybe shouldn’t have the world’s biggest podcast.
Grifted Communicators Stunt Deep Knowledge
Smith is a gifted communicator, but he has no track record of tangible action in any of the issues he comments on. I bet in his private moments he refers to himself as “King COVID” or “Captain COVID” or something like that. Because his entire persona and rise to prominence came from how he capitalized on the moment between 2020 – 2022. Sure he was a figure within the standup comedy world, maybe even the Libertarian Party.
But, Smith did not write to or speak with elected officials, he did not file lawsuits, and he did not protest anywhere in the streets. He didn’t even ever mention how he stood up against this “regime” in his own family or friend group. All he really did was echo Joe Rogan talking points in a smaller audience group.
That isn’t brave, or commendable. It’s barely even notable. Yet, Smith has traded on that identity for years and nobody has ever called him out on that nor respectfully challenged him to be more directly involved in the world he speaks so passionately about. I know that it’s a free country and people can talk shit and do nothing if they want, but those people should have a much smaller platform. By definition, they are providing less value.
Murray Ain’t Too Much Better, Either
Murray called Smith out for having never visited Israel (which is shocking since Taglit experiences are free to younger American Jews – as I know from my personal trip to Israel) but Murray also leaned too heavily on that experience. As if it were an ace in the hole of winning any or all debates on the topic of Israel and everything else. It’s not a magic bullet.
Smith even suggested Murray claiming visitation to the place was a requisite to win a debate or have a legitimate opinion on matters, was like a leftist purity test of some kind. Meanwhile, despite his travels, Murray also has never mounted a real campaign to create change, nor has he taken direct legal or political action, nor put forward a credible resolution to any conflict he critiques. So, at the end of the day, they’re the same. I’m unimpressed by both of them.
Neither guy is actually effective at much besides selling media content and ads. Or self-promotion, and staying in the good graces of Joe Rogan. Some accomplishments…
This exchange showed something critical, though: America doesn’t just suffer from bad information – it suffers from disassociated commentary. On the one hand, commentators like Smith claim not to be experts while delivering what amounts to expert testimony. On the other hand, commentators like Murray claim to be experts while delivering poorly constructed versions of somebody else’s point of view. They assume they are correct, and righteous too.
Yet, without earning any credibility in the fight, to me – they are passive observers – not direct participants.
Guys With the Grift of Gab
Murray’s insistence that Smith “visit Israel” to be taken seriously wasn’t wrong per se – because it does add some value and depth to knowledge – to have been in the place you are studying. But it’s not some mythical magical prove-you-right card that you can whip out just to say you’ve been somewhere. That’s like people who think their identity as a Jew, or black person, or woman – makes them more of an expert on the topic of all things related to those identity characteristics – even when compared to somebody whose life’s work is studying those issues.
This nuance and depth is lacking across the board. It’s funny, though, to see it spill out from the epicenter of the conversation itself – to commentators about the debate – like Breaking Points. There were (4) of these people from Breaking Points trying to prove that Dave Smith won this meaningless debate. They made a few of these points about identity politics I just said here. A few of them were very angry at Murray for criticizing a podcast that he had not actually watched; and meanwhile – several of the hosts of this Breaking Points show admitted they didn’t want the entire Smith/Murray debate – only the clips they played.
Why Did Joe Rogan Do This To Himself?
From the moment Rogan produced on his show having these inauthentic strings of nonsensical dialogue; to the people commenting about this stupid affair – everybody who watched it basically came out the other side dumber. If a person didn’t watch it, but rather caught commentary from others – they got even more dumb.
Murray’s own firsthand experiences haven’t yielded any profound solutions. He doesn’t know what to do to bring an end to the war in Israel. I’m not saying that’s an easy thing to conceive of, but in all the debates he’s done or books he’s written I don’t believe a solution is ever part of the equation. Even Douglas Murray is ultimately just another voice in the echo chamber, polished – but – performative.
How Many Wrong Sides of History Are There?
They’re all, in the end, just guys (and gals) talking sh*t on a podcast.
And yet these are the types of voices Americans trust to explain to them the motivations and ambitions of a person as complex as Putin. Sadly, the topic of Ukraine/Russia did not occupy much of the conversation between Smith & Murray. But even if it did, you would not have heard much originality coming from either of these guys. They are both just reiterating things you could have also watched on another YouTube video or podcast.
That means they aren’t progressing anywhere. Yet everybody is looking for answers about what to do in this moment.
Cynical & Disaffected Former Comedians Are Not Our Best & Brightest
When Jon Stewart and the Daily Show started, it was a refreshing thing to hear balanced news and politics takes from a comedy show. However, Jon Stewart personally became much more partisan and incapable of nuanced understanding of anything over the years, and his format got transformed into podcasting. Now, too many people simply find their version of a comedic take on the news, and that could be as “serious” as people like Rachel Maddow or Chris Hayes, or as clearly satirical as Tim Dillon. In the end, the schtick is very similar, across the board.
They are all just observers of a situation while also acting as if their influence is so profound that they are actively shaping the world around the viewer. In reality, these people are passive consumers just the same as their audiences, and that’s why the feedback loop works so well. It keeps the decisions about what happen in our world few and far between, rather than enabling revolution to occur. It maintains the status quo, even by people claiming they live to dismantle “the establishment.” And ultimately, the audience and public suffer for it.
The podcasters responsible for this stagnation have an out that their role is noninvasive or simply observational. If that’s the case, they should get a lot quieter; so I can speak and be heard – about what we should be doing right now as a country. Instead of these do-nothings and sound-alikes.
I’m Right Here
I’m not on Rogan (yet). I haven’t sold a best-seller (yet). But I’m not just talking.
The things I write about on this blog, like the corruption in our government, is not just as passive venture. My digital and ground game campaigns have caused major shifts and movement within governmental affairs and geopolitics over the last (5) years. Through Trump’s first impeachment, to George Floyd, COVID, the 2020 election, Biden’s administration, and plenty of financial events – you may not yet recognize my contribution because of a lack of recognition on platforms such as the Joe Rogan Experience.
I mean hell, I don’t even have a Wikipedia page (yet).
But just recognize that these things you may be thinking, are all those markers of “expertise” you seem to need to justify believing the content of this blog or taking me as a writer seriously.
Compare Their “Record” To Mine…
Recently, regarding the Ukraine/Russia conflict, I developed a blueprint called ULTRA – a structured plan to end U.S. funding of the war in Ukraine and get the American people paid back for their sacrifices. My plan also held that Ukraine would sell minerals (at above market rate) directly to Russia. This would be a better security guarantee than the United States could afford or offer. It would put these two warring nations in business together. As difficult as it would be to generate that results; I believe it is a cure for the momentary ill.
However, if people believe Putin is imperialistic towards Ukraine with irrational motivation; they will keep treating him like somebody who cannot or will not be reasoned with regarding the peace process.
Figuring Out What Can Be Done Isn’t Easy, But I Can and Have Done Just That
What I am suggesting is that by undoing the incorrect justification that Putin wants to reconstitute the Soviet Union – new possibilities for negotiation would emerge – and that would be good for everybody.
I sent my ULTRA plan to members of Congress, members of the Canadian Parliament, dozens of international press outlets…and yet all of them refrain from providing me their platform. Nobody is commenting about the weird guy who thinks he can solve the problems Donald Trump can’t or won’t. Yet there have been far more less reputable whackos provided a much bigger stage. And far bigger names in much larger positions of power, doing nothing.
Cory Booker may have filibustered longer than Strom Thurmond did against the Civil Rights Act, but even Booker’s most staunch supporters have admitted; this accomplished nothing. The degree to which Americans are pacified and suppressed is immeasurable, despite the ability to express one’s self. Genuine thought is suppressed. So is actual effective revolt. Imagine for a moment, though, you might know that but not understand how or why. But I do.
Catching People Up To My Timeline Is Difficult
I’ve drafted articles of impeachment to prove the Congress to remove Donald Trump from office for financial, economic, and geo-militaristic treason against the United States. They are founded on the recognition of how he is using his cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial and the DOGE project to seize control of our national and international payment processing and monetary infrastructure. This has been coinciding with the fascistic overtaking of authorities under false emergency declarations. Why can’t anybody see that clearly enough or know how to stop it?
Nobody did anything about that the first time. I was not heard when I raised issues about the simple declarations and definitions of things, and how important that was. Everybody got sucked into a narrative about the necessity of taking all precautions, including lockdowns – or they became reactionary to these draconian measures – but never understood how to reverse course.
Let’s Go Back To Where It All Seemed To Have Begun…
On COVID? During the peak of the madness, I stood up to family, friends, and hospitals who were mistreating people and insisted they stop authorizing the COVID treatment of ventilators. No, I did not recommend Joe Rogan’s cure-all Ivermectin. However, I did research on other treatments which were never covered by anybody.
I also explained through relatives for the care of their loved ones, why non-invasive ventilation was a protocol they had to focus on. In the earlier days of the “regime” as Smith calls it, I wrote a complaint to the FTC and encouraged others to follow, to hold Fauci and the pharmaceutical companies accountable for fraudulent marketing. That is different than the protections they were afforded related to vaccine injury, by the way.
The way I became so powerful against those attempting to use COVID to further some sort of national socialist agenda was in figuring out how to disengage from their rhetoric, and maintain sanity.
If anybody listened to me then, we could have avoided a lot of madness.
From Russia, With Love (of Donald Trump)
People who talk about the “Russia Russia Russia Hoax” like Dave Smith, could not possibly conceive of Donald Trump being a traitor to his nation because that idea has been removed from his mind as a cognitive possibility due to his (admittedly) non-expertise on the subject of treason, impeachment, etc.
But in reality, as I’ve written about here, Trump does not need to be directly colluding with Russia against the interests of the United States for him to commit an act of treason against our monetary system, financial well-fare, troops, or anything else. Putin could simply be engaging with Donald Trump and the authorities he has or gets away with, for the benefit of Putin’s own country: Russia.
Though Americans can feel any way they’d like, and say anything they’d like about Putin or other world leaders, he is not our responsibility. American Presidents like Joe Biden and Donald Trump are our responsibility. They are who we can protest in such a way that they are constitutionally compelled to listen and respond. I don’t just analyze global power plays; I look for where society has misunderstood them and offer actionable alternatives. I’m not chasing clout. I’m chasing clarity.
Smith and Murray? Rogan and Hannity? Carlson and Gutfeld? The Young Turks? Piers Morgan?
They all chase attention, clicks, soundbites, and hold “debates” trying desperately to convince themselves and their fan base that they “won.” But what is “winning” a debate like this? Who cares? So what if someody demonstrates more historical knowledge than the other guy? If nothing changed, and nobody learned anything, that’s inconsequential to me. Yet your own media diet is profoundly mixed up with people who have no skin in the game. That’s got to change.
Disconnected Commentators Are A Real Danger
Douglas Murray went on, among a number of topics, about the dangers of guys who slowly nudge their audience down dark pathways. He cited Dave Smith directly, which was refreshing in the sense that usually these types of people speak around or about one another without confrontation. However, the lack of actionable impact from all the gentlemen in this episode was palpable to me as somebody who has put it all on the line for what I believe.
Dave Smith claims the COVID regime was one of the worst authoritarian takeovers of a country in modern history and a stain on America. However, without it, he would be an unknown. His entire identity is still wrapped up in how “good” he thinks he was “on COVID.” Always quick to want to put his record up against anybody else’s.
Well, Mr. Smith, I would relish the opportunity. This rambling rant and rave was meant to demonstrate that sure, I can write or talk shit with the best of them. But at the end of the day, why should I be elevated above guys like this on topics like Putin, COVID, or any other consequential matter? Because once something I deem of consequence occurs, I delve deep enough into that topic to form an actionable opinion.
Everybody’s Captured By An Audience They Captured
Eventually, all manner of media manipulation can (by people like high-ranking elected officials) be blamed on Putin and Russia. That’s why it’s easy for people like Smith to gravitate towards believing Trump about the “Russia hoax.”
The American public, our elected leaders, and our cultural commentators all suffer from the same disease: they think commentary is a sufficient contribution. If Murray is so concerned about a person’s lived experience visiting a place they criticize, I’m surprised he doesn’t also feel that he needs to take action in order to have an opinion on those who are taking actions. If he did, he might be more neutral about the situation instead of acting like he’s invested in Israel.
Maybe he has.
Understanding Putin Is A Problem, For Podcasters of All Varieties
If people like meandering long-reads that sound conversational and cover multiple topics: here you go. Yes I could do it on a podcast as well. But the danger of misunderstanding foreign leaders – especially someone like Putin – is not an academic mistake. It’s a strategic one. And those errors are now carrying real-world consequences.
The days of our ignorance being cost-free are over.
If we keep misreading Russia – if we keep projecting our fears and assumptions onto a man with a completely different worldview – we will keep planning for the wrong threats and missing the real ones.
Putin is not trying to revive the Soviet Union.
He’s trying to rebuild the Russian Empire – and expand beyond that.
I Am An Expert On Non-Experts Pretending To Be Experts
Over my lifetime I have infiltrated and helped to dismantle cults, stopped financial crimes in their tracks, caused government investigations into the wealthiest and most powerful, impacted the stock market on a massive scale, and fought against multiple Presidential administrations – from both parties – so I’m not a novice at analyzing world affairs.
Throughout all the efforts I’ve made, I have encountered a lot of people in positions of power or authority who do not deserve it or who are abusing it. So, to viewers of the Joe Rogan Experience, the political commentariat, the credentialed or elected class, the billionaires, the bureaucrats, and the self-styled experts: listen to me for real for real.
Not because I crave recognition, but because the systems you trust are no longer giving you what you need. Guys Smith and Murray aren’t enough for the public anymore either. At best these people are all pacifiers.
The acquisition of truth should matter more than enabling these established personalities. Ideas only matter if you’re trying to do something with them. This moment with Ukraine and Putin, is a test.
Not of Russia; but of us.
If you fail this moment by misunderstanding our adversaries and elevating unserious voices over practical minds, we will pay for it – financially, diplomatically, and possibly militarily. You don’t have to agree with everything I say.
But, if you care about America’s future, you need to start reading what I write, across the board. Take it seriously. Put me on. And let the chips fall where they may.
