The Russian narrative that they are a liberating force in Ukraine is entirely untrue, Gessen says. “And that's how you end up with this completely insane seeming mix of let's go back to the USSR by fighting Ukrainian Nazis and gays.” “Russia is forever fighting the righteous war and saving the world from the Nazis. The third element is harking back to World War II, he says. “A great empire passed that was based on traditional values, it has nothing to do with reality, but the mythology is that people lived in traditional marriages, there were no gay people, no trans people in the country, and everybody was happy and went to church, not true, but that's the mythology.” In the case of Putin, it is a glorious Russian empire, Gessen says. How does this circus look from abroad? And how would a default impact the international financial system? Plus, Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations at The London School of Economics, talks to Fareed about the Arab League's decision this week to welcome Syria back into the organization…and what he thinks a post-American Middle East might look like.“So, whether it's Trump in the Republican Party in the United States, or Putin in Russia, this they have in common, it's they base their political actions and their political agenda on a mythologised view of the past.”

Show more o America’s debt ceiling deadline. Fareed also speaks with Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator for The Financial Times, in the leadup t. Hear why she believes it is not the right solution. Then, The Economist’s Mian Ridge explains Britain's highly controversial immigration bill which would ban migrants arriving via boat.

Secretary of Homeland Security, joins the show this week to talk about the migration crisis as American authorities lose an important tool to keep order at the U.S./Mexico border.

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