America Isn't Collapsing... It's Mutating. Michael Malice
Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/ukOGFaOAKkQ?si=8oHaK77YdTDrkPpX
Tom Bilyeu
and Michael Malice
228,207 views Oct 14, 2025 Full Interviews of Impact Theory
Shortform: Try Shortform free and get 20% off your annual subscription at http://shortform.com/tombilyeu Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/impact Check us out wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1nARKz2... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Do you need my help? STARTING a business: join me here inside ZERO TO FOUNDER (https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder) SCALING a business: click here to see if you qualify (https://tombilyeu.com/scale) Get the exact systems, mindset shifts, and principles that built a $1B brand delivered straight to your inbox every week. Subscribe for free (https://tombilyeu.com) Check out our Video game - Project Kyzen: (https://projectkyzen.io/) Catch Me Streaming on Twitch - ( / tombilyeu ) Link to IT discord: / discord Tom's Favorite Things List: https://amzn.to/41Ftt7e On today’s episode of Impact Theory, Tom Bilyeu sits down with author and provocateur Michael Malice for an unfiltered deep dive into America’s current social and political turbulence. Are we living through an actual decline—or is that just a narrative fueled by polarization and economic anxiety? Tom and Michael clash over definitions, metrics, and the real-world symptoms of unrest, from “soft secession” among states to the creeping rise of populism and political violence. Together, they unpack the hidden costs of inflation, housing bubbles, and deficit spending, with Tom warning about a dangerous fork in the road ahead: revolution, civil war, or the quiet erosion into economic stagnation. Michael pushes back, claiming America is in “ascension” in some critical ways, but he doesn’t shy away from calling out the breakdown in civic discourse and the silos fueling division. They dig into historical context, global comparisons, and the role of universities as modern indoctrination hubs. This conversation doesn’t stop at politics—it veers into the future of AI, the meaning of tribalism, social credit scores, and how technological upheaval might drive us all into virtual worlds or leave millions behind. Buckle up for a wild ride through uncomfortable truths, dark humor, and some offbeat protein bar analogies—you’re about to hear two radically different views not just of where America stands, but what could come next.
00:00 – Intro
00:34 – Michael Malice pushes back on “collapse” rhetoric
01:14 – America vs. the world: Perceptions of American power and value
04:16 – Political siloization and the shrinking space for dialogue
05:56 – Soft secession: State vs. federal power games
08:39 – Paths ahead: Civil War, Argentina, or revolution?
10:46 – Revolution mechanics: Is another 1860s-style war possible?
13:12 – Violence, political unrest, and expanding executive power
16:06 – Economic crushing of young people and the rise of populism
17:58 – Housing, inflation, and the struggle for the American Dream
20:08 – Currency as a store of value: Societal ruin and a lack of political will
23:10 – The Japan counterargument and the threshold for crisis
26:07 – What drives people to “blink” in political standoffs?
28:24 – Party priorities, empty rhetoric, and pivoting for power
32:00 – Economic disenfranchisement, the myth of moderate politics
36:56 – Populism vs. establishment: Energies within parties
39:03 – Political novelty, enthusiasm gaps, and voter turnout
41:38 – Global leftward drift: Authoritarianism in Canada, UK, and beyond
46:13 – “The time for talk is over”—what this actually means
47:27 – Universities as the “villains” and the creation of ruling elites
49:56 – Marxism, egalitarianism, and cultural bifurcation
52:02 – Cultural shifts, earnestness vs. revolution, and memory-holed leftism
54:00 – The dangers of socia
Show more...