Interesting Times with Ross Douthat, Released on 5/7/26

A stalemated war. Fractured alliances. A rival waiting in the wings. It feels to me that we’re having an “end of the American empire” moment. My guest this week, Ray Dalio, is an unlikely prophet of doom — the billionaire Bridgewater investor conquered Wall Street by studying history and mastering global trends. He foresaw the 2008 financial crisis,and these days he’s warning that the U.S. is repeating the patterns that ended great empires of the past.

01:33 – The rise and fall of empires through big cycles
08:27 – Geopolitical parallels: Iran and the Suez Canal crisis
13:23 – Is China the next hegemon?
18:55 – Ray Dalio: Invest in gold in times of risk
24:00 – America’s coming ‘heart attack’
31:00 – Can AI save us from civilizational decline?
42:54 – ‘Could we have a Japanese future?’
46:00 – Is the US still a safe bet in 50 years?

Ray Dalio is an American businessman and founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. Ray’s latest book is Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail.

  american decline, economy, gold, investing, Ray Dalio, US empire, war