Historian and bestselling author Timothy Snyder joins Shane Smith for a wide-ranging conversation about what he calls America’s “superpower suicide” and what it could mean for the future of the United States and the world. Snyder explains why he believes the U.S. is voluntarily giving up many of the advantages that made it powerful, while Russia has followed its own path of self-destruction through the war in Ukraine. They discuss how drones are changing modern warfare, the threat of nuclear proliferation, Russia’s influence on the American right, and why Snyder sees the war in Ukraine as part of a much larger global struggle between democracy, oligarchy and authoritarianism. The conversation also turns to the upcoming midterm elections, foreign interference and propaganda, the relationship between corruption and affordability, the power of billionaires, and Snyder’s concerns about artificial intelligence making people less capable rather than more capable. Finally, Snyder shares what worries him most about the years ahead, along with the political movements and democracies that still give him hope. #ShaneSmithHasQuestions #SSHQ #ShaneSmith #TimothySnyder #VICENews #Ukraine #Russia #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Democracy #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #NuclearWeapons #Propaganda #Authoritarianism Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com Follow VICE News here: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vicenews?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicenews More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo =================================== Chapters: 00:00 Superpower Suicide and the Fall of Empires 04:21 Russia, Ukraine, and Military Propaganda 09:24 Learning from African Lion and Asymmetric Warfare 11:07 World War and Nuclear Weapons 18:10 Oligarchy vs Humanity 23:53 How Russia Became the American Right's Best Friend 27:31 How the Republican Party Went Lockstep 31:23 Knowledge Demands Presence 35:24 Propaganda, Midterms, and Dirty Pool 39:47 Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and the Strait of Hormuz 45:46 Greed Is Real 51:57 Ukraine Rumors, Optimism, and Closing How America Is Committing “Superpower Suicide” ft. Timothy Synder | Shane Smith Has Questions https://youtu.be/QIvzICF0O8A