Mike Pesca

No relation, by the way.

To sort of answer that question fully.

But there's no doubt they're needed.

It is clear we rushed through the democratization of the former Soviet republics.

And...

And it was really divvying up industry, is ended up creating the oligarchs.

And in that sense, I think you could say we had a hand in creating the oligarchy that now essentially runs too much of Russia and many of the former Soviet republics on that front.

So great question.

Next one today comes from Gavin Brady.

Loved your deep dive on how post-World War I decisions still shape global politics today.

Such an overlooked part of history, the way Western powers redrew borders in the Middle East continues to have serious repercussions, yet it's barely discussed.

You've talked a lot about media decline, but how do we address the erosion of historical education and understanding it feels essential for making sense of modern challenges?

Gavin Brady, Brisbane, Australia.

This is my frustration, right?

Look, I imagine...

You know, Australia, world history is certainly taught through the prism of Australia, just like world history is taught through the prism of America in American schools, etc.

But I think we do...

There's no doubt we have done a poor, we don't teach, we don't think about creating historical curriculums through the prism of today's issues, right?

So if you were to create a curriculum on history, and I almost wonder if there's a class to be made, which is the history of current events, okay?

I need to come up with a better class for that.