A long interview with now 80-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev about the last days of the Soviet Union, his failures and why he won’t give up politics just yet.

From Weekly Filet #33, in August 2011.

“They were truly idiots”

Spiegel

💔 Some older links might be broken — that's the state of the web, sadly. If you find one, ping me.

A policy without a conscience

Pandaemonium

Goodbye, Pepe

The Baffler

Pro-Neutrality, Anti-Title II

Stratechery

Welcome to the New Fact Checker

The Washington Post

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Book recommendations

2025 Book Club Books curious minds wished they discovered sooner Our most popular crowd-curated book recommendations thus far. Read the post →

Weekly Filet Book Club All recommendations from previous editions, at a glance. Find your next read → 📚 David's Bookshelf The books that shaped how I see the world and inform how I think and act. Browse the bookshelf →