<p>The first of a series of lectures examining Turchin&#39;s work in Ages of Discord, a structural-demographic analysis of American history.<br>Topics in this episode<br>- Imperiopathosis: the current situation, its underlying dynamics<br>- Basics of secular cycles<br>- Population-elites-state as fundamental factors<br>- Political Stress Index (PSI) = Mass Mobilization Potential x Elite Mobilization Potential x State Fiscal Distress<br>- Symptoms of political instability<br>- Examining symptoms in a past &quot;age of discord&quot;: The Gilded Age - The Violent Teens<br>-Examining symptoms in our own &quot;age of discord&quot;: The Turbulent 2020s</p>