For all of the West’s failings — terrible food, cold weather, and questionable politicians with funny hair to name a few — it has its upsides. Konstantin Kisin would know. Growing up in the Soviet Union, he experienced first-hand the horrors of a socialist paradise gone wrong, having lived in extreme poverty with little access to even the most basic of necessities. It wasn’t until he moved to the UK that Kisin found himself thriving in an open and tolerant society, receiving countless opportunities he would never have had otherwise.
Funny, provocative and unswervingly perceptive, An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West interrogates the developing sense of self-loathing the Western sphere has adopted and offers an alternative perspective. Exploring race politics, free speech, immigration and more, Kisin argues that wrongdoing and guilt need not pervade how we feel about the West — and Britain — today, and that despite all its ups and downs, it remains one of the best places to live in the world.
Konstantin Kisin is a journalist, comedian, voiceover actor and social commentator. Born in the Soviet Union, where he experienced both untold wealth and grinding poverty, he moved to the UK when he was 13 years old. Now an award-winning performer, he co-presents the popular YouTube series Triggernometry alongside Francis Foster. Together, they’ve interviewed some of the most in-demand intellectuals of our age, such as Douglas Murray, Jordan Peterson and many others.
Shermer and Kisin discuss:
- What it was like growing up in Russia
- “The Talk” parents have with their children in Russia
- What is the “West”?
- How do Russians view the West?
- Is the “war” on the West a necessary course correction from the sins of the past?
- Should Whites feel some guilt for slavery, racism, misogyny, bigotry, etc.?
- systemic racism: criminal justice, housing, employment, income, wealth, etc.
- CRT: If racism is not the explanation for the present Black/White differences in income, wealth, home ownership, and representation in professional careers, what is?
- immigration
- free speech and safe spaces
- private vs. public speech
- how language is used to distort truth
- the origin of “political correctness”
- journalism vs. activism
- capitalism
- comedy and free speech
- how the West could be lost.
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This episode was released on August 19, 2022.
