Intro

As we stand on the brink of a new Cold War, it's time to look back at the first Cold War and try to understand why America won—and, more importantly, why the USSR lost.

Samantha and guest Yakov Feygin, author of *Building a Ruin*, talk about the fundamental story of Soviet economic success, stagnation, and ultimate implosion. What does this have to teach us about China today? How can party states create economies that are simultaneously world-beating and profoundly dysfunctional?

Feygin's book is available at https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780674240995