I am not surprised, as geostrategy is not the specialty of Prof. Loury, Prof. McWhorter, or Mr. Taibbi, but just about every possible reason for Russia's invasion was bruited - Putin's psychology/sanity, socio-cultural resentment against perceived western encroachment, political calculation about NATO - except military and economic strategy.
If possible, I strongly recommend that the podcast bring on someone like Peter Zeihan (particularly notable because he called this invasion several years ago in writing) who can meaningfully talk about how structural considerations like demography, geography, and resource production play into the cold logic of international affairs. (Spoiler: he thinks Russia isn't done invading places, but is running out of time, people, and sophisticated military equipment, and so does not pose a serious term threat beyond the next half decade or so).
I am not surprised, as geostrategy is not the specialty of Prof. Loury, Prof. McWhorter, or Mr. Taibbi, but just about every possible reason for Russia's invasion was bruited - Putin's psychology/sanity, socio-cultural resentment against perceived western encroachment, political calculation about NATO - except military and economic strategy.
If possible, I strongly recommend that the podcast bring on someone like Peter Zeihan (particularly notable because he called this invasion several years ago in writing) who can meaningfully talk about how structural considerations like demography, geography, and resource production play into the cold logic of international affairs. (Spoiler: he thinks Russia isn't done invading places, but is running out of time, people, and sophisticated military equipment, and so does not pose a serious term threat beyond the next half decade or so).