The Geopolitics and Empire podcast is joined by Moscow-based American journalist Robert Rich.

He's also the author of Midnight and the American Empire.

We'll be having a chat on the American Empire, the election, the civil war scenario, COVID,

cancel culture, the post-American world and what it's like for both of us being expatriates.

As they say in Russia, how about Robert?

All right.

Thank you very.

All right.

A little bit cold here.

I can imagine.

Perhaps we could start by, I was thinking to discuss our experiences as both as Americans and as expatriates, which I know I think is of interest to some listeners.

There's always people who are thinking of leaving the U.S. You left the U.S. 25 years ago and had been in Russia for a quarter of a century, and you

recently became a Russian citizen. I left the U.S. to something like 15 years ago. I wanted to see

the world and experience different cultures. I had also gotten tired of some of the negative

aspects of American culture, which tend to be marked by, you know,

a lewd type of behavior, excessive drinking, sexual immorality, and the focus on

unintellectual pursuits such as, you know, sports and entertainment.

And, you know, I saw it more conservative culture, which I found in Central Asia and the

Americas.

And people have told me, you know, you don't

know your own culture until you step outside of it and examine it from without. And furthermore,

a shocking moment for me was when I discovered that America was an empire, as silly as that

...