Hosted by Patrick Watts. Moderated by David Owen.

“Are we witnessing the end of the American Empire? And if so, what comes next?

From the author of the provocative book that’s become part of the modern political lexicon comes a bold new podcast - The End of the American Empire.

I'm Patrick Watts, author of The End of the American Empire, and since publishing the book, I’ve heard the phrase echoed everywhere - from academic panels to everyday conversation. It struck a nerve. That’s why this podcast was born.

In this monthly series, moderated by my longtime friend and collaborator David Owen, we take a deeper dive into the key questions, ideas, and voices at the center of the Empire’s unraveling. Each episode features spirited, timely discussions with global thinkers, journalists, academics, and insiders to uncover what’s really happening in America, and where the world might be headed next.

What to Expect

Themes we’ll explore:

The History & Mechanics of Empire

• How the American Empire was built - and how others fell

• The military-industrial complex and unhinged capitalism

• Global interventions, dollar dominance, and imperial echoes

Internal Collapse: The Empire Within

• America’s health, inequality, addiction crisis, and political paralysis

• Education, food insecurity, and the fraying social contract

• Institutional gridlock and systemic dysfunction

The Cold Civil War

• Polarisation, extremism, and the illusion of choice

• Oligarchy, corruption, and “too much democracy”

• Filibusters, debt ceilings, and a government built for a past era

Media, Truth & Trust

• The end of objectivity, rise of conspiracies, and deepfakes

• The battle between censorship and free expression

• Can independent media save public trust?

The Future of War

• Cyber, hybrid, and autonomous warfare

• Drones, Ukraine, and the real limits of US military might

A Shifting World Order

• The retreat of American leadership

• The future of NATO, the dollar, and globalization itself

Existential & Environmental Threats

• Climate change, pandemics, AI, soil collapse, antibiotic resistance

• Celestial threats and extreme weather

Want to join the conversation?

We’re currently booking guests for Season One. If your work touches on any of the themes above - or if you're simply ready for an honest, wide-ranging conversation - we’d love to hear from you. Please email podcast@tecolotespirit.org