American Downfall – Past empires. Present America. Same warning signs.

The Empire That Ran Out of Gold: How a 1,300-Year-Old Tax Revolt Foretold America’s Debt Spiral

A special report from Shamus Gerry III A government, at its core, is a protection racket. It takes your money in exchange for services and security. But what happens when the racket goes broke? What happens when the enforcers can no longer be paid, and the people being shaken down refuse to...

The King Who Was Told ‘No’: How a 140-Year-Old Island Coup Foretold America’s Constitutional Crisis

A special report from Shamus Gerry III A constitutional order is not a piece of paper. It is a gentleman's agreement. It survives only as long as all parties, especially the most powerful, agree to abide by the rules, even when they lose. When a leader decides the rules no longer...

The Ghost Fleet: How a 180-Year-Old Drug War Foretold America’s Terrifying Iran Gamble

A special report from Shamus Gerry III It is happening with breathtaking speed. In the last 48 hours, the United States has amassed the largest concentration of military power in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq. More than 120 advanced fighter jets have been deployed. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier...

The Silver Curse: How a 500-Year-Old Inflationary Collapse Foretold America’s Supply Chain Nightmare

A special report from Shamus Gerry III It’s a quiet anxiety that gnaws at every American. You see it at the grocery store, where the price of eggs seems to mock your budget. You feel it at the gas pump, watching the numbers climb with a sickening speed. You hear it in...

The Men With the Swords: How a 1,200-Year-Old Palace Coup Foretold America’s State vs. Federal Nightmare

The Men With the Swords: How a 1,200-Year-Old Palace Coup Foretold America’s State vs. Federal Nightmare A special report from Shamus Gerry III The illusion of control is the most dangerous drug in politics. Leaders, surrounded by the architecture of power—flags, seals, and armed guards—come to believe they are the masters of...

Split-screen: American National Guard soldiers in a tense standoff on a city street, next to Zulu warriors in formation on the African savanna

The Crushing Wheel: How a 200-Year-Old African Civil War Foretold America’s Terrifying Internal Collapse

A special report from Shamus Gerry III In the sterile quiet of a university conference room, a group of senior military and government officials played a game. The game was called "American Civil War," and the scenario was chillingly plausible: a rogue president, a defiant state governor, and a violent clash...

Split-screen: An abandoned European conference hall with US and EU flags, and Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb sitting alone on his throne — two empires that destroyed their own alliances

The Empire of Broken Trust: How a 400-Year-Old Indian Dynasty’s Betrayal of Its Allies Foretold America’s Own Self-Destruction

A special report from Shamus Gerry III In the gilded halls of Munich, a chilling prophecy unfolded. As American officials spoke, the very foundations of the post-war world trembled. For eighty years, a network of alliances, painstakingly built on shared values and mutual defense, had kept the world from the brink....

Split-screen image: US Capitol under storm clouds and the Battle of Tondibi, 1591

The Empire That Ate Itself: How an Ancient African Power’s Political Gridlock Foretold America’s Own Paralysis

A special report from Shamus Gerry III The Rot Within In the halls of power, a creeping paralysis has taken hold. The gears of the American government, once a symbol of decisive action, now grind to a halt, choked by the rust of partisan fury. Bills that would once have been debated...

The Gilded Cage: How the Collapse of a 1,000-Year-Old ‘Hydraulic City’ Exposes the Terrifying Fragility of Our Own Government

A special report from Shamus Gerry III The Machine Seizes Up Washington D.C. is a ghost town. The Department of Homeland Security, the sprawling agency created to prevent another 9/11, has been shuttered. Not by a foreign adversary or a catastrophic attack, but by the petty squabbles of a political class that...

The Great Law of Peace: How Five Warring Nations Built the World’s Oldest Democracy While Washington Can’t Keep the Lights On

A special report from Shamus Gerry III The Hook: A Government at War With Itself Washington is paralyzed. As of midnight, the Department of Homeland Security — the very agency tasked with protecting the nation — is grinding to a halt. The reason? A bitter, intractable feud between political factions that has...