Richard Poplak is an author, investigative journalist, and filmmaker based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a regular Rhyming Chaos guest.

In this episode, we catch up after half a year of Trump 2.0 and of this podcast. Topics include:

* State capture in South Africa and the U.S.

* Trump’s bullying of the tiny and crushingly poor nation of Lesotho.

* Science denialism in South Africa and America.

* How the middle class suffers and survives in South Africa and the future of the American middle class.

* The scapegoating and persecution of immigrants in South Africa and the U.S.

* Why the U.S. is looking like a developing country.

The Rhyming Chaos podcast is produced by Jeremy Goldkorn and Maria Repnikova, and edited by Cadre Scripts. The theme music is Paper Boy, composed and performed on the guzheng by Wu Fei. Our closing music is Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, arranged and performed by Wu Fei. Our cover art is by Li Yunfei.

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