Episode · Interesting Times · 2026-05-07
Ross Douthat & Ray Dalio: books mentioned on Interesting Times
Ray Dalio’s Theory of American Decline | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
A stalemated war. Fractured alliances.
Ray Dalio discussed The Republic.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
The Republic
Plato's foundational classical text "The Republic" explores justice, political structures, and the nature of reality.
Discussed“Plato talked about this cycle. And no. In the Republic. And he talked about the democracy and the problems with the democracy, because the people don’t vote for what is good for them.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged How Countries Go Broke
“I wrote my most recent book to explain how it works with 35 examples was called How countries go broke.”