Soviet Union

E92: Adam Neumann's second act, a16z's $350M bet, housing policy, Inflation Reduction Act & more

All-In Podcast

Used as an example, alongside China, of historical enemies that were pushed together during the Cold War due to US foreign policy mistakes.

Georges St-Pierre: The Science of Fighting | Lex Fridman Podcast #179

Lex Fridman

Lex mentions his origin from the Soviet Union when discussing the dangers of centralized power and historical figures like Stalin.

The End of Global Order: A Conversation with Peter Zeihan and Ian Bremmer (Episode #288)

Sam Harris

Its collapse is described as the greatest humiliation of Putin's lifetime, motivating his actions.

Eric Weinstein: Geometric Unity and the Call for New Ideas & Institutions | Lex Fridman Podcast #88

Lex Fridman

Referenced in historical context regarding the suffering and brotherhood of soldiers during wartime, and their custom of visiting war memorials.

Lisa Ling — Exploring Subcultures, Learning to Feel, and Changing Perception | The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim Ferriss

The adversary of Afghanistan during a decade-long war where the US supplied weapons to the Afghans.

Ann Druyan: Cosmos, Carl Sagan, Voyager, and the Beauty of Science | Lex Fridman Podcast #78

Lex Fridman

Mentioned in comparison to the United States during the Cold War, highlighting a lack of long-term thinking in both.

Deep State, Hegemony & U.S. Foreign Policy: John Mearsheimer vs. Jeffrey Sachs | All-In Summit

All-In Podcast

Cited as one of the four historical powers that threatened to become regional hegemons, against whom the U.S. played a key role in opposing.

The Russian War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Garry Kasparov (Episode #275)

Sam Harris

The former country where Garry Kasparov grew up and which Vladimir Putin views as a lost entity.

Rosalind Picard: Affective Computing, Emotion, Privacy, and Health | Lex Fridman Podcast #24

Lex Fridman

Rosalind Picard mentions being born there, connecting to the worries about government control and ethics in technology.

Special Episode: Recipes for Future Plagues

Sam Harris

Predicted by Szilard to acquire nuclear weapons more quickly if the bomb was used on Japan.

Guy Raz on Building ‘How I Built This,’ Managing Depression, and Podcasts | The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim Ferriss

The country that was the subject of Arthur Koestler's 'Darkness at Noon,' highlighting its transformation into a dictatorship and police state despite socialist ideals.

Stephen Kotkin: Stalin, Putin, and the Nature of Power | Lex Fridman Podcast #63

Lex Fridman

The former socialist state in Eurasia, whose history and leadership under Stalin (and later Putin) is the main subject of discussion, especially regarding unconstrained power.

Russ Tedrake: Underactuated Robotics, Control, Dynamics and Touch | Lex Fridman Podcast #114

Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman was born in the Soviet Union, which allows him to deeply connect with the themes of 'Animal Farm' related to its history, suffering, and the nature of power.

Michael Stevens: Vsauce | Lex Fridman Podcast #58

Lex Fridman

Mentioned as a society where the strength of the nation and society was prioritized over the individual, contrasting with American values.

Garry Kasparov: Chess, Deep Blue, AI, and Putin | Lex Fridman Podcast #46

Lex Fridman

The former country from which Garry Kasparov hails, whose rise and fall offer lessons on undemocratic and totalitarian regimes.

Chapter 2: Great-Power Rivals: Then and Now | LFHSPBC

PolicyEd

The former state that collapsed before the period of newfound cooperation between powers. Russia's actions post-collapse are discussed in relation to its alignment with the U.S.

We're Witnessing Soviet-Scale Collapse of National Power

Sam Harris

Geo-Strategy #3: How Empire is Destroying America

Predictive History

The geopolitical rival to the US during the Cold War; its collapse in 1991 marked the US's transition to a global empire.

Edward Frenkel: Reality is a Paradox - Mathematics, Physics, Truth & Love | Lex Fridman Podcast #370

Lex Fridman

The country where Edward Frenkel grew up, specifically a small town near Moscow called Kolomna, where he initially found school mathematics boring.

Is History Repeating Itself? Religion, War, and Democracy with Sam Harris & Simon Sebag Montefiore

Sam Harris

The country that was disintegrating in the early '90s, serving as a training ground for Montefiore's historical insights.

Bhaskar Sunkara: Socialism and Communism | Lex Fridman Podcast #349

Lex Fridman

Discussed as an authoritarian system where a bureaucracy dominated others in the name of socialism, lacking political democracy, which ultimately led to its collapse.

Ed Calderon: Mexican Drug Cartels | Lex Fridman Podcast #346

Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman's childhood home, where similar issues of corruption and ethical gray areas existed, drawing parallels with Mexico's systemic corruption.

Abbas Amanat: Iran Protests, Mahsa Amini, History, CIA & Nuclear Weapons | Lex Fridman Podcast #334

Lex Fridman

Formerly a powerful communist state, its influence over the Tudeh Party and its post-WWII actions in Iran led to U.S. and British concerns, shaping Cold War interventions.

Kanye 'Ye' West Interview | Lex Fridman Podcast #332

Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman mentions growing up there and having family perish in the Holocaust, providing context for his strong reaction to Ye's comparisons.