S8 Ep256: THE COLD WAR TRAP AND GORBACHEV'S MISCALCULATION Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The timeline shifts to the Cold War rivalry, arguing that Soviet aggression was driven by a genuine belief

THE COLD WAR TRAP AND GORBACHEV'S MISCALCULATION Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. The timeline shifts to the Cold War rivalry, arguing that Soviet aggression was driven by a genuine belief—shared by the CIA—that their economic system would eventually outproduce the West. The invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 became a trap, as the US applied "hard power" and economic pressure that eventually bankrupted the Soviet state. The segment characterizes Mikhail Gorbachev not as a democrat, but as the "last true believer" in communism who attempted to "fix" the system through better planning. Gorbachev failed to understand that corruption and coercion were the only things holding the Soviet economy and empire together; by trying to remove them to reinvigorate the system, he inadvertently dismantled the regime. NUMBER 7