It’s Christmas Eve, and what’s more germane to the holiday season than some lengthy rambling about authoritarianism? Of course, today’s Ruminant is a little more nuanced than that. It also digs into how political states emerge in the first place, why Russia is becoming a “really crappy” country, and how to distinguish between valid criticism of American foreign policy toward Ukraine and toadying to Vladimir Putin. On the lighter side, Jonah also answers a few questions that arose after the week’s earlier episode with the Fair Jessica. We wish you all a wonderful holiday!

Show Notes:

- The Fair Jessica’s Remnant return

- Zelensky’s speech to Congress

- Julia Davis’ Russian Media Monitor

- Jonah: “Authoritarianism’s Bad Year”

- Francis Fukuyama’s The Origins of Political Order

- How Putin’s war became a catastrophe for Russia

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