Podcast Summary

London Real: "Gaza Burns. Ukraine Falls. Venezuela Plots. Is The American Era Over?"

Host: Brian Rose
Guest: Colonel Douglas Macgregor
Date: November 21, 2025

Main Theme

This episode of London Real features a probing and unfiltered conversation between Brian Rose and Colonel Douglas Macgregor, focusing on the shifting landscape of global power, American foreign policy failures, and the rise of new global alliances. The discussion highlights the crises in Gaza and Ukraine, emerging tensions in Venezuela, and asks the critical question: Is the American era of dominance over?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Theater of U.S. Politics and Policy Confusion

• Colonel Macgregor critiques U.S. political leadership, especially under President Trump, for a lack of clear strategy in foreign affairs.
  • Quote: “Everything is theater. And President Trump seems to love this sort of thing, but the theater is confusing. This is especially true in Moscow. You're trying to figure out, what does this man want?” (00:01)
  • He describes an endless cycle of posturing, sanctions, and unclear goals: “He says he wants an agreement, but he goes back to the ceasefire. And when we say no for the 99th time... he imposes more sanctions. We have no coherent national security strategy. None.” (00:01–00:27)

2. Venezuela, Regime Change, and the Cost of Intervention

• Brian Rose raises concerns about escalating situations in Venezuela.
  • Question: “And talking about Venezuela's situation, does it worry you what's going on down there right now?” (00:27)
• Macgregor warns against military interventions in Latin America and reflects on the failures of regime change.
  • Quote: “Bombing Venezuela, attacking Colombia. If we marched into Mexico, that would not help our case. How often has regime change worked? I think the answer is not much. It's very expensive.” (00:32–00:46)

3. The Gold Standard and Endless War

• Brian Rose brings up economic constraints of the gold standard possibly preventing perpetual wars.
  • Quote: “There's many that say if we were still on the gold standard, that we wouldn't have all these... forever wars of war, because we literally couldn't afford them.” (00:46)
• Macgregor highlights the global shift in economic power and its military consequences.
  • He notes that global central banks hold more gold than the U.S. treasury and says, “The Reserve currency today is gold. We're moving into a different world now where you're going to end up with a divergence between the United States and Europe and the rest of the world. BRICS is growing and building a parallel financial system.” (00:53)
  • Quote: “This is not, I have a bigger army than you do. This is not. I have a bigger air force than you do. And this is the final point. We don't seem to understand that economic prosperity and strength are the foundation for military power.” (00:53)

4. The Call for a Domestic Focus

• Macgregor urges a pivot from global intervention to rebuilding domestic infrastructure, industry, and scientific capacity.
  • Quote: “It's time to pull inside. Shed these overseas. Commence focus. Here at home, we need a strategy that's industrial, technological, scientific, agrarian. Why are we not doing these things? Well, we're too busy intervening around the world, pursuing other agendas that, frankly, are irrelevant to the average American.” (00:53–End)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Colonel Macgregor: “Everything is theater. And President Trump seems to love this sort of thing, but the theater is confusing... We have no coherent national security strategy. None.” (00:01)
• On intervention failures: “How often has regime change worked? I think the answer is not much. It's very expensive.” (00:32)
• Economic-military link: “We don't seem to understand that economic prosperity and strength are the foundation for military power.” (00:53)
• Domestic priorities: “Here at home, we need a strategy that's industrial, technological, scientific, agrarian. Why are we not doing these things? Well, we're too busy intervening around the world, pursuing other agendas that, frankly, are irrelevant to the average American.” (00:53–End)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01: Opening critique of U.S. political theater and Trump’s approach
• 00:27: Concerns over Venezuela and general pattern of U.S. interventions
• 00:46: Discussion of the gold standard and economic limits to war
• 00:53: Shift to BRICS, decline of U.S. financial dominance, and call for domestic revival

Conclusion

Brian Rose and Colonel Macgregor deliver a no-nonsense analysis of American foreign policy blunders, the transforming world order, and why U.S. strength must be rebuilt from within. The episode stands out for its directness, challenging listeners to question established narratives and envision a new, more sustainable strategy for American power.