Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Fareed Zakaria joins the show to discuss The Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, arguing that the past 30 years of globalization, AI, and cultural upheaval rival the Industrial Revolutions in their political consequences. He makes the case that today’s populist surges—from Sweden to the U.S.—are driven less by economics than by immigration-fueled cultural anxiety, and that Democrats’ failure to manage the border gave Trump his strongest 2.0 issue. Plus: the top of the show digs into the Federal Government's error-riddled Texas redistricting defense—complete with “sh*ts and gingles.”
This interview is from a Full episode of The Gist Podcast, Hosted by Mike Pesca.
🎧Listen Here👉open.spotify.com/show/3Q5MaJxR4gS4CwgZUCCYVt
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_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
TIMECODES:
00:00 Are we really living in a unique time?
01:06 When does the whole world feel truly upended?
01:26 First industrial revolution: peasants to factory workers
02:00 Second industrial revolution: electricity, trains and telegraph
02:22 Today’s wave: globalization, information age and AI
03:04 Globalization’s scale and the transformation of women’s roles
04:18 Can AI rival the second industrial revolution’s impact?
05:20 Seismic consequences of past revolutions vs modern safety nets
06:37 How big is today’s change? Globalization by the numbers
07:35 Populist backlashes then and now, from Bryan to “Wizard of Oz”
08:25 Can today’s populism lead to a constructive progressive era?
08:46 Centrist Democrats, affordability politics and recent elections
12:02 Are American democratic institutions still up to the task?
13:20 Trump, shattered norms and the fragility of the rule of law
15:43 Life without shared truth: silos, “deep state” stories and tech
17:38 Rebuilding facts and trust in the AI and disinformation age
19:25 Why right-wing populism isn’t mainly about economics
21:18 Immigration as the rocket fuel of global populism
22:27 How mainstream parties misjudged immigration and paid the price
25:22 Borders, development and the Mexican immigration lesson
27:09 Human xenophobia and Fareed’s own immigrant experience in America
30:18 Is Trump winning the politics of immigration?
32:19 The real immigration fight: legal visas, students and innovation
33:45 Fareed’s case for smarter immigration reform and American dynamism
33:52 Outro: The Age of Revolutions and Fareed Zakaria GPS
Fareed Zakaria joins the show to discuss The Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, arguing that the past 30 years of globalization, AI, and cultural upheaval rival the Industrial Revolutions in their political consequences. He makes the case that today’s populist surges—from Sweden to the U.S.—are driven less by economics than by immigration-fueled cultural anxiety, and that Democrats’ failure to manage the border gave Trump his strongest 2.0 issue. Plus: the top of the show digs into the Federal Government's error-riddled Texas redistricting defense—complete with “sh*ts and gingles.”
This interview is from a Full episode of The Gist Podcast, Hosted by Mike Pesca.
🎧Listen Here👉open.spotify.com/show/3Q5MaJxR4gS4CwgZUCCYVt
_______________________
Follow us:
INSTAGRAM:
/ pescagist
TWITTER:
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
Join the "Pesca Profundities" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter:
mikepesca.substack.com
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
TIMECODES:
00:00 Are we really living in a unique time?
01:06 When does the whole world feel truly upended?
01:26 First industrial revolution: peasants to factory workers
02:00 Second industrial revolution: electricity, trains and telegraph
02:22 Today’s wave: globalization, information age and AI
03:04 Globalization’s scale and the transformation of women’s roles
04:18 Can AI rival the second industrial revolution’s impact?
05:20 Seismic consequences of past revolutions vs modern safety nets
06:37 How big is today’s change? Globalization by the numbers
07:35 Populist backlashes then and now, from Bryan to “Wizard of Oz”
08:25 Can today’s populism lead to a constructive progressive era?
08:46 Centrist Democrats, affordability politics and recent elections
12:02 Are American democratic institutions still up to the task?
13:20 Trump, shattered norms and the fragility of the rule of law
15:43 Life without shared truth: silos, “deep state” stories and tech
17:38 Rebuilding facts and trust in the AI and disinformation age
19:25 Why right-wing populism isn’t mainly about economics
21:18 Immigration as the rocket fuel of global populism
22:27 How mainstream parties misjudged immigration and paid the price
25:22 Borders, development and the Mexican immigration lesson
27:09 Human xenophobia and Fareed’s own immigrant experience in America
30:18 Is Trump winning the politics of immigration?
32:19 The real immigration fight: legal visas, students and innovation
33:45 Fareed’s case for smarter immigration reform and American dynamism
33:52 Outro: The Age of Revolutions and Fareed Zakaria GPS
