Curious Worldview Podcast

Apologies for my tardiness!A lot has been going on (including recording lot's of episodes).I'm keen to hear from you - my email is here - ryan@atlasgeographica.comIn no particular order...Josh Szeps Robyn Davidson Nicholas Gruen Gideon Haigh Tim Cope Sam Roggeveen Pat McGeeLawrence Kraus 

Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeArne Anderson, Three Tours In Afghanistan For The Swedish Military #46Swedens Elite Police Unit, Piketen #146Christopher Neijd Police Lieutenant in Södertälje & Southern Stockholm #165 -----Because of my old mate, Arne Andersson - I've been incredibly lucky to have gotten to know several of his old military buddies. There are those listed above...And then there is my guest for this episode today, courtesy to the serendipity proximate to Arne…Peter, whose full name will remain redacted - is the head of the isolation ward at Kumla prison, which is the largest maximum security prison in Sweden. We recorded this about 6 months ago, so I am very late to publish, but I hope you'll agree that the contents are evergreen. Not tied down to any particular time and news, and therefore as useful now as it would have been then as it will be in 5 years time. Pete and I sat down together to record this one in Stockholm last late Autumn, it's as many ins and outs of the prison system that I could think to ask Peter. This is an exhaustive list, but it includes inmate demographics, the impact of overpopulation, the complexities of rehabilitation, the psychological effects of prison on both inmates and staff. the crucial differences between the Swedish prison system other countries, and how it's portrayed in the media, particularly regarding sentencing and the rehabilitation processes. the challenges of institutionalisation, the dynamics of inmate behaviour. Leadership and de-escalation techniques in managing inmate interactions, as well as the influence of gangs and ethnic divides within the prison system. Informal power dynamics among inmates, the prevalence of violence, self-harm, and the challenges faced by prison officers. The changing attitudes of younger inmates towards authority, the psychological impact of incarceration, and the ongoing issues of contraband and drug addiction. The discussion also touches on the responsibility of prison staff to understand and support inmates, the metrics used to evaluate prison conditions, and the societal perceptions of crime and punishment.In between all that there is as well Peter's good humour and the natural tangents much of that may draw you down…00:00 - Who Is Peter & Intro03:02 Demographics and Overpopulation in Kumla Prison05:51 Crime Types and Inmate Behaviour09:00 Rehabilitation and Sentencing in Sweden11:59 Isolation Units and Mental Health14:48 Challenges of Overpopulation and Violence18:05 Administrative Costs and Efficiency20:56 Psychological Impact of Isolation23:53 Interactions with Inmates27:04 Handling Manipulation and Trust30:00 Sympathy for Inmates and Their Stories32:48 Mental Health and Rehabilitation Challenges35:56 Conclusion and Reflections on the Prison System45:09 The Nature of Work in Prison51:49 Rehabilitation vs. Punishment in Nordic Prisons56:08 Institutionalization and Its Effects01:01:22 De-escalation Techniques in High-Stress Environments01:08:15 Leadership in Correctional Facilities01:16:55 Gang Dynamics in Swedish Prisons01:26:13 Understanding Power Dynamics in Prisons01:29:07 The Reality of Violence in Prisons01:31:34 Addressing Self-Harm and Mental Health Issues01:34:19 The Challenge of Knowing Inmates01:36:34 Evaluating Prison Metrics and Crime Hierarchies01:38:52 Religious Practices and Beliefs in Prisons01:41:01 Changing Dyn

Watch on Youtube instead - https://youtu.be/RinLuTi04cICurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeColin Thubron (Link's to all books)-----Colin Thubron is one of the greatest living travel writers. He started with the Mirror To Damascus in 1967 and with more than half a century and 18 travel books later published his journey along the Amur River just a few years ago. He's a contemporary of Theroux, Chatwin, early Dalrymple and inspiration for the newer generation of his genre, the likes of Rory Stewart, Levison Wood and many, many more. Colin has been a dream guest of mine for many years.This interview travelled a line across the map of his career. Colin reflects on his many experiences in Russia and China, the impact of historical events like the Cultural Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union - and the broader evolution of travel writing throughout the years. He gets into the effects of globalisation on cultural identities and how it's effected his experience over the decades. Colin observes the complexities of nationalism and patriotism, and as well discusses the role religion in his life, the nature of belief, and the rationality behind it all. Colin then comments on mortality and his legacy which leads to a discussion on how travel can serve as a coping mechanism for grief. Plus, together we also touch on the choices and more difficult trade offs surrounding parenthood and career, his aspirations for future literary projects, and the influence of serendipity behind it all. I can see from the analytics that not even 20% of you who are listening are following the show, I wish this to be 100! Therefore I would ask that you please consider following the show - whether on Spotify or Apple, this, alongside the reviews makes all the difference in the world… 00:00 - Colin Thubron02:29 - Reflections on Travel Writing07:15 - Evolving Perspectives on Russia10:36 - Cultural Observations in China15:02 - The Impact of Travel on Identity22:09 - The Evolution of Travel Writing32:47 - Brexit and Nationalism: A Personal Reflection39:55 - The Imprint of Home46:10 - Religion50:12 - The Impact of Travel on Grief56:03 - Influences and Inspirations in Writing01:03:28 - SerendipityConsider leaving a review on whichever platform you're listening on!

Watch on Youtube instead - https://youtu.be/w6Vpcy2cdRkCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribePhilippe Gijsels Book - https://www.amazon.com/World-Economy-Trends-superinflation-hyperinnovation/dp/9401409013-----The following is with Philippe Gijsels, the Chief Strategy Officer at BNP Paribas Fortis - he co-wrote a book last year called The New World Economy in 5 Trends - which within, reveals much of the new map we now inhabit, especially in light of the perplexing chaos of spearheaded by America's sloppy leadership in the last weeks. Philippe is an erudite bookophile and a banker, a combination that seems not uncommon among the best investors. He and I have been speaking since last year in anticipation of recording this podcast today. I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to get the interview into the meat of the book as quickly as possible, therefore, took more liberties with editing than I usually do and have excised a part of the podcast to the end of the discussion. The excised component  was an explanation and brief discussion on the idea of Reflexivity. As always, you can navigate through the rest of the show through the timestamps.Consider leaving this 5 stars on Apple or Spotify - nothing does more to drive the show to new viewers.00:00 - Philippe Gijsels02:54 - Understanding the Fourth Turning11:38 - Serendipity in Innovation14:40 - Interest Rates & Tolkien20:52 - The Impact of Inflation on Individuals26:49 - Wealth Inequality 39:38 - The Shift to Multi-Globalisation47:55 - The Future of Work and AI56:23 - Europe's Role in a Multi-Globalised World01:12:19 - The Commodities Bull Market01:14:47 - Demographics and Economic Implications01:20:46 - Serendipity01:27:02 - Reflexivity in Economics and MarketsConsider leaving a review on whichever platform you're listening on!

Youtube Episode - https://youtu.be/fXVZCUR_RowCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeTim Butcher Episode - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6QIQLYuwbA2cFLCzJc8TGl?si=nKU21dGrRX-Z-otWklpxgwKing Leopold's Ghost Book - https://www.amazon.com.au/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Adam-Hochshild/dp/0618001905From 1885, for 13 years, one man, King Leopold II, owned, as his personal property, one of the largest pieces of geography on earth. The Congo is four times larger than France, it's bigger than India, it's bigger than Texas, Alaska, California & Montana combined - the equator runs right through it's middle and makes it the second largest rainforest on the globe - it's impossibly rich in resources, and desperately poor in economics. In those 13 years of private ownership, Leopold oversaw potentially one of the most brutal regimes of extraction the world has ever known. The population was estimated to have halved in those 13 years, more than 10 million deaths. It was an exploit in mass slavery, mass death, bodily mutilation and mass extraction. Ivory and wild rubber were in high demand, and so under the guise of media manipulation and PR mastery, Leopold convinced the world that these goods were in fact being traded with, rather than extracted from, the Congo. The horror, however, could only be concealed for so long. A fella by the name of Ed Morell who worked for a shipping company in Liverpool noticed the bounty of ivory and rubber arriving from the Congo, with only men and arms making the journey back. His suspicion grew, he found accounts from missionaries and others who had been, and mounted a campaign to undermine the constant wall of propaganda Leopold had financed.In 1908, the Belgium state purchased the Congo off Leopold… where the country remained a colony of Belgium until 1960. And for a myriad of reasons, for which we address in the podcast, the Congo today is still on the back foot. Kinshasa, the capital city already has a bigger population than Paris, and is projected to be as much as 40,000,000 by 2050. The Congo today is among the most resource rich nations on earth, but among the least developed. It still attracts the same predation for extraction as it ever has, although all together less forceful and less violentThe man I speak with on the podcast today wrote the definitive history of this period. His name is Adam Hochschild, he's an author, journalist and historian and wrote in 1998, 'King Leopold's Ghost'. 00:00 Congo's Dark History & Adam Hochschild03:03 Leopold's Brutal Regime09:02 Modern Parallels of Exploitation12:11 The Unique Case of King Leopold14:58 The Mechanics of Control & Media Manipulation20:45 Campaigning Against Atrocities: The Legacy of Morrell34:22 Colonialism and Forced Labor: The Belgian Congo36:16 The Rubber Boom and Its Consequences38:09 Criticism Of The Book & Congolese Resistance42:57 Nationalism and Colonialism: Morel's Perspective44:48 The Impact of Colonialism on Modern Nations47:17 Geography and Development: The Congo's Challenges49:51 Natural Resources and Corruption52:27 The Future of the Congo: A Grim Outlook57:22 Serendipity(There was an technical difficulty right at the end of the conversation, which is why it cuts off) Consider leaving a review on whichever platform you're listening on!

Youtube - https://youtu.be/gQa204zHovUCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeAxel Humlesjö is a Swedish journalist against which money laundering, the plumbing of offshore finance and the cancerous nature of dark money, continuously crash up against.Axel was a part of the team that uncovered systematic money laundering activities with Swedbank in the Baltics. Part of the team behind the series - The Shadow War - which exposed Russian espionage activities in the Nordics and led to the expulsion of five Russian spies from Sweden. Many other stories as well, but of course co-author of his debut book, The Honey Trap which explores Swedbank's involvement in one of the world's largest money laundering scandals and details this extensive operation for how the Russian security service uses sparrows and other means to honey trap and acquire kompromat on a broad slew of people. Honey traps were used directly to illicit compromising material to infiltrate Swedbank.This podcast goes into Axel's views on the evolution of journalism in a globalised world, and the significant role that money plays in shaping political landscapes. He goes as far to say it is the single biggest societal issue facing Europe and how intertwined money laundering is with currying foreign influence. This was recorded in person in Stockholm with Axel last December, it was the last interview I recorded before I left the country.00:00 - Axel Humlesjö 01:30 - Journalism in a Globalised World06:23 - The Impact of Money Laundering on Democracy13:28 - The Influence of Russian Oligarchs15:48 - The Structural Damage of Under Money25:38 - The Iceberg of Financial Corruption41:53 - The Impact of Money Laundering on Society48:58 - The Kompromat Strategy: Honey Traps and Coercion01:07:01 - The Future of Investigative Journalism

Youtube - https://youtu.be/4MWFzPXQPY8Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeTaiwan is the greatest geopolitical question of the 21st century says Kerry Brown,  sinologist, and former Diplomat to the British Embassy in Beijing. He is, I am thrilled to say the guest on todays podcast. A sinologist is a scholar and expert of China, its language, history, politics, and culture - and the theme today is top to bottom the myriad questions looming over one of the largest political issues for China… Taiwan. Kerry published a book last year called The Taiwan Story: How a Small Island Will Dictate the Global Future. It is marvelous, and my hope was to do as much justice to the various questions which Kerry approaches Taiwan with as possible in a brief podcast.The big questions being, the economy, given Taiwan's semi conductor supremacy with its home grown TSMC, the perplexing idea that Xi would view Taiwanese reunification as the most significant achievement to his legacy, how a more fractured, less unified global order creates lots of wiggle room, Taiwan's history, and that despite having 95% Han ethnicity, what is it about Taiwan which makes them a distinctly different culture to China, Kerrys feeling for the inevitability of an attempt at reunification and lots more between those cracks. 00:00 - Kerry Brown01:20 - Big Opportunity For China04:13 - Brief Taiwan History07:33 - TSMC24:09 - What China Thinks Of Taiwan37:42 - Taiwanese Identity & Culture50:14 - It's All Xi52:35 - Opinions Of Taiwan58:30 - Kerry's Life Work1:06:00 - Kevin Rudd & Australia1:16:30 - Indonesia & Serendipity

Youtube - https://youtu.be/G6EIYURdSOACurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeRobert Kaplan has been sighted as one of the most influential geopolitical thinkers of the modern era. The Revenge Of Geography, Surrender or Starve, Balkan Ghosts, Asias Cauldron, The Tragic Mind, and so on, I counted 18 books so far with his most recent being - Waste Land: A World In Permanent Crisis. I've listened to many of his books at this point, I found Revenge Of Geography a few years ago whilst preparing for my interviews with Tim Marshall. 00:00 - Robert D. Kaplan00:54 - Deterioration Of The Rules Based Order08:34 - Utopian Versus Tragic Leaders14:32 - Geographies Role In Shaping Geopolitics23:05 - Writing For History Or Influence?25:13 - Australia28:46 - A Position Robert Holds That Folds Against The Status Quo

Youtube - https://youtu.be/MntDK3kWRekCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeThe following is with german political scientist, former beer brewer in the Congo, and author of How Tyrants Fall - Marcel DirsusMarcel interviewed coup leaders, dissidents and soldiers to write about the workings and malfunctions of tyrants. Because while the individual personas, eccentricities and reputations might make them all distinct from one another, there are more threads that draw disparate dictator's together than don't.I think this excerpt from the book sums up the essence of Marcel's work and as well, the themes in todays podcast.“The most powerful tyrants on earth are condemned to live their life in fear. They can make their enemies disappear with a snap of their fingers. They, their families, and their acolytes may control entire countries from the luxury of their palace, but they also have to spend their every waking hour plagued by the fear of losing everything. No matter how powerful they become, they cannot pay for or order that fear to disappear. If such tyrants make one wrong move, they will fall.”So the interview is about the workings of various tyrants around the world, both living and dead. I ask Marcel in the about applying a prisoners of geography lens to this topic, china and the case for dictators not being all bad all the time, marcel's rogues gallery of tyrants and as well, Marcel offers a raw reflection of the potential future of authoritarianism in the USA particularly because of the astounding moves made so far under trump. This was recorded the day after the US inauguration.00:00 - Marcel Dirsus01:40 - Economist's Book Of The Year03:55 - Serendipity & The Congo11:35 - Prisoners Of Geography Lens17:17 - Singapore A Dictatorship?20:10 - China27:50 - Saudi & MBS30:43 - Marcel's Unconventional Idea's34:15 - Geographical Concentration Of These Regimes39:10 - Tipping Point (When Regimes Collapse)49:10 - Rogues Gallery Of Tyrants53:25 - The Leader Who's Coming Closest To Power56:46 - Does Global Order Sustain Or Undermine These Regimes?1:00:25 - Trump's Chances At Dictatorship1:07:40 - Bullish & Bearish Country

Youtube - https://youtu.be/uPU6hJsvMcMCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeGregory Zuckerman is one of the Wall Street Journal GOATS and as well has authored plenty of wonderful books. He pulls back many of the hidden curtains of wall st. The big egos, the big enigmatic personalities, and naturally as well, the big brilliance behind these masters of the universe types. None for emblematic than Jim Simon's, the central character of todays podcast.Theres a podcast called, Acquired, which did a fantastic episode of RenTech (if you want more), the boys over there also relied heavily on Greg's work to put the episode together. 00:00 - Gregory Zuckerman01:27 - Secrecy All The Way Down06:27 - Acquired08:02 - Obscure Datasets15:07 - It Will Take Longer Than You Think20:04 - Jim's Eye For Talent22:27 - Discoveries From Within RenTech28:54 - Greg's Admiration For Jim & 50+ Year Olds Making It35:27 - Nassim Taleb39:01 - Consequences Of Size41:47 - Acquired Podcast & Bob Mercer44:07 - Politics Infecting Interpersonal Dynamics46:07 - Super Quants Can't Recreate RenTech50:47 - Journalism As Sales53:17 - How Does One Conduct A Good Interview?57:37 - The Most Important Question About RenTech Noone Asks59:13 - Decline Of Journalism1:11:14 - The Role Of Serendipity In Greg's Life

Youtube - https://youtu.be/EF-yONBmGa8 Bradley's #51 Curious Worldview Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cHyTyId6UbBrBM1nbDt9q?si=faZKIDlQRGCH8iQW4k2uwQ Bradley's #51 Curious Worldview Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/51-bradley-hope-billion-dollar-whale-blood-oil-project/id1540424160?i=1000539362238&l=en-GBWhale Hunting Podcast (Highly Recommend) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whale-hunting/id1718751733 Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeBradley Hope returns to the podcast.By far the highest production value I've ever done. We recorded this together in Bradley's studio in London. It's TV quality stuff so refer to youtube for this one. And the podcast was as much in 90 minutes that we could possibly do around his book, Blood and Oil. The co-author of which, Justin Scheck has also been a previous guests on this podcast. Blood and Oil is the story of MBS, Mohammed bin Salman, who is the crown prince and most powerful person in Saudi Arabia, he is as well, the singular vision responsible for most of the good but as well, most of the bad that Saudi Arabia has been responsible for since about 2017.Some of the things that stand out from this episode that I would encourage you to stay around for include… the Shiek Down, this brazen transference of power and wealth which MBS oversaw.Bradley's take on the supposed sports-washing this region has been all over the news for, specifically here, referring to football and golf.The US/Saudi relationshipNEOMAnd in between all of that a sense for MBS as told through the reporting and journalism of one of the best.00:00 - Bradley Hope02:30 - The Region - Oil, Religion, History06:45 - Sovereign Wealth Funds08:50 - Religious Divide Between Gulf Nations010:41 - Saudi Arabia Young Country13:40 - Understanding MBS19:40 - The Shiek Down27:35 - MBS & Risk30:58 - MBZ - UAE33:40 - Bradley's Contrarian Take On Sportswashing43:07 - Geopolitical Significance Of The Region51:10 - Consultancies (McKinsey, etc) In Saudi55:23 - NEOM1:00:10 - Journalist Craft1:05:15 - Has MBS Read Bradley's Work & Does Bradley Still Love Journalism?1:08:30 - Bradley Reflects On Changing Media Landscape1:13:50 - Mecca & Medina1:15:10 - Misunderstood Parts Of Saudi & Emirates

Youtube - https://youtu.be/TQVWUdFibC8 The Profiteers - https://www.amazon.com/Profiteers-Business-Privatizes-Profits-Socializes/dp/1541703529Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeChristopher Marquis spent 10 years as a professor at the Harvard Business School, he's also worked as a professor at Cornell, the Harvard Kennedy School and is currently a professor at the Judge Business School in Cambridge, where I was lucky enough to record this in person with him. It was quite a neat experience actually, after we did the interview, Christopher treated me to a lunch in one of the Cambrdige college halls where in proper Friday British fashion, a perfect Fish and Chips was served. Christopher has authored three books, but the subject of this interview was his latest… Profiteers, How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Cost.Some of you may have noticed a recurring question around ‘negative externalities' in several of my interviews this year… particularly with Johan Norberg most recently. Well, Adam Lantz, who listens to this podcast reached out to me in response to the JOhan interview and said. If you really wanty to talk externalities, than you've got to talk to this guy.Johan Norberg Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ujVUlq3BbhTDBhBFnaR5S?si=46b8333b866341da Johan Norberg Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/johan-norberg-does-capitalism-fail-to-price-in-negative/id1540424160?i=1000671395087 And so I wrote to Christopher immediately, read his book, booked the flight and was greeted with so much generosity and hospitality it was a bit of a pinch myself moment, because even though this podcast creates 0 dollars in revenue, it's instead introducing me to a wealth of experience.This episode with Christopher is negative externalities all the way down… with specific attention to plastics, agriculture and clothing.00:00 - Christopher Marquis02:27 - The Externality Iceberg07:57 - The Plastic Iceberg14:47 - Can A Free Market Price These Negative Externalities?26:04 - Agriculture Iceberg41:07 - We Consume Via Our Means Not Our Morals42:41 - Clothing Iceberg52:33 - Egregious Cases Of Greenwashing54:39 - Zoom & Netflix? Externality?1:07:22 - The Jevons Paradox1:08:43 - Just Speed Bumps On The Way To Prosperity?1:12:35 - Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, What Are The Right Questions?1:16:57 - Serendipity In Christopher's Life

https://freegubad.com/Zhala X - https://x.com/BayramovaZhalaZhala Bayramova is a human rights lawyer and child of political prisoner and human rights defender Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu. I met Zhala recently at Bill Browders, Magnitsky Awards, where Zhala won youth activist of the year. Her legal status is that of a political refugee in Sweden, having been horrifically beaten during protests in Azerbaijan, a country she is afraid she will never be able to return to.Her father was repeatedly arrested for investigating corruption within the oil industry of Azerbaijan, until In the autumn of 2023 he decided to take the risk and visit his seriously ill mother in Baku, upon arrival, he was beaten by local police, as was his wife and Zhala's mother. Then Gubad was arrested under trumped up charges of money laundering and subsequently thrown into pre-trial detention. His case was later postponed indefinitely, but he remains under house arrest and is being denied critical medical attention which in any other circumstance might save his lfie. Zhala, together with her brothers and mother, are leading a global campaign for his release.Zhala is an absolute force, and it is my privilege to have her as a guest on this podcast.

James Robinson is winning the Nobel Prize for Economics this year alongside his co-author Daron Acemoglu and fellow economist, Simon Johnson.This is obviously extremely exciting for him, but as well selfishly, rather exciting for me… because in episode 24, James Robinson was one of the first people I ever interviewed for this podcast. James co-wrote an outrageously successful book in 2012 called - ‘Why Nations Fail' - which is the work for which James has won the Nobel Prize and as well, was the subject of this interview. Why Nations Fail introduces an extractive versus inclusive institutions framework that does an unreasonable amount of heavy lifting to explain the distributed economic prosperity between countries.And just fair warning, it is one of the first interviews I ever did, so it may feel quite a bit different to those more recently - but bare with me and endure my enthusiasm as James reveals where the catalyst for the inclusive/extractive framework comes from, a very hot take on corruption, James's work as a developmental economist and a whole lot more. It's also been a while since Ive made a general appeal for pumping that good juice. But if a Nobel Prize winner isn't a reason why, then there aren't any left. The ability for me to get the guests I want, and grow the show as I ambition, is all downstream of how many followers on Apple and Spotify I have, but as well, how many reviews on Apple and Spotify I have. So I ask, hat in hand, to please bring that Christmas cheer and pump a 5 star review into whichever platform it is that you listen on.

Jack Weatherford returns to the pod which marks a pretty sentimental moment for me (links are at the bottom of this email, before the transcript snippet).Jack's first appearance was #19 of the podcast. To this day, it's my favourite podcast I've ever recorded. These are links to the first appearance. Jack Weatherford #19 on SpotifyJack Weatherford #19 on AppleJack Weatherford #19 on YoutubeBut four years ago, when I had just started this podcast, I had written to Jack telling how I was listening to the final chapters of his book while walking across sand dunes in Merghouza, (a desolate slice of the Sahara in south west Morocco). The chapter was making the case for how the plagues viral spread was downstream of the Mongols connectivity of the modern world. I wrote that I was keen to interview him for this podcast that I had just started. There were lots of rejection for a while in the first few years and I had no expectations he would even get back to me. But to my surprise he did, and it was an emphatic yes. We corresponded a bit over email, recorded a 4 hour discussion, of which 3 where published And it was as much a dedication to Mongolia as it was Genghis Khan and the Mongols. And I've waited in the years since to see him appear on Rogan, Fridman, Tim Ferriss or even a Dan Carlin addendum, since these are all blokes who have openly praised and spoken about Jack's work many times. But so far, nothing, although it looks like one of them may correct this, which Jack may or may not give away at the end.But onto this episode today. Jack has just published his final instalment on the Mongols, his fourth book on the topic. It's called Emperor Of The Seas and it's about Genghis's grandson, Kublai Khan, who expanded the Mongol territory beyond the dominion his grandfather conquered 50 years before him. Kublai folded into the Khan empire the fertile agricultural lands of south China, repurposed that fleet and the expertise along with and expanded the Khan empire beyond the oceans. Mongols sitting on horseback, atop goat skins, riding wooden ships. Jack Weatherford #190 Of The Curious Worldview Podcast on YoutubeEmperor Of The Seas - Jack Weatherford

Nat Eliason is an absolute legend. I've been subscribed to his newsletter, following his tweets, and listening to his interviews for what feels like years now.He's a prolific online writer who recently published his debut book, a memoir of a crypto side quest he spiralled deep down into which is serves as revelatory for the sheer insanity that is crypto. It's meme coins, making loads of money, losing it, secret discord servers, exit liquidity and all the rest that foreshadows the same stuff happening now. Crypto is back in the news, and therefore so is Nat's book - Crypto Confidential - which is a must read if you want to get a sense for, or contribute to, the mania.However, writing is Nat's circulatory system, so we ended up speaking half about books and half about crypto. When you check out the episode, navigate the timestamps if you wanna skip the writing stuff and go straight to crypto.Before I leave you with Nat, he's got this tremendous call to action on his Substack that I wanted to share here…“Among my strongest life goals is to write something worthy of outliving me”Subscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterNat Eliason Substack----00:00 - Who Is Nat Eliason?01:08 - Serendipitous Anecdote 02:58 - CRYPTO: Crypto Mania12:23 - Writing18:05 - AI Helping Writers (Great Metaphor)24:48 - Great Story Telling Less Great Writing34:08 - Taleb's Influence41:08 - Book Publishing Market (VC Metaphor)1:00:33 - CRYPTO: Crypto From All Sides. Crazy Stories. Current Market, Ideological? The Future.

Levison Wood is an author, journalist, tv star, photographer, film producer, script writer, fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and as well to top it all off… former Officer in the British Army's Parachute Regiment.If you've never heard of Levison Wood, he's written books that have taken us all across the world. He was propelled into fame with his debut 'Walking The Nile' back in 2015 which serendipitously parlayed into a documentary, and then the momentum took and he's never looked back. Lev is for me the archetypal guest that I look for with this podcast. That delicate combination of writer and adventurer. The discipline to take a big risk, and then return with clean prose. I'd group this interview right alongside my high watermark for the show which was #169 with Jon Lee Anderson, #66 with Tim Butcher way back and any of the Tim Marshall appearances as well. Youtube - https://youtu.be/jP2HR443Pb0Subscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterLevison Wood Website----00:00 - Levison Wood01:040 - Jocko Willink04:25 - All Explorers Seem British?06:08 - Luck & Serendipity21:43 - The Surprise Success & Big Decade33:00 - Rough Times For Lev38:08 - Opportunity Cost: Family Vs Career44:40 - Lev's Mount Rushmore Of GOAT Explorers55:40 - Romanticising Indiana Jones & Thoughts On Graham Hancock59:20 - Rory Stewart1:02:23 - Great Current Explorers1:10:30 - Lev Having An Incredible Decade1:14:10 - Thinking About Risk1:22:55 - Milling - Wild Hazing In Parachute Regiment1:30:10 - How Has The Nature Of Travel Changed?1:43:25 - What Great Expedition From History Would Lev Join?

David De Jong First Appearance On The Pod - Nazi Billionaires, #127 - AppleDavid De Jong First Appearance On The Pod - Nazi Billionaires, #127 - SpotifyDavid De Jong is a Dutch historian and investigative journalist.Early in his career, he found himself in New York reporting for Bloomberg on hidden fortunes and the power of family offices all across the world - it was during this job he discovered a nondescript €18,000,000,000 German family office…David eventually pulled that thread all the way back to the upper echelons of the Nazi partyThis led him to move to Berlin and embark down a 4 year investigation into the dark and dusty vaults of Germanys corporate pst.What he uncovered was Nazi wealth that has endured to this day which has its tentacles wrapped around many companies that you and I consume or interact with on a daily basis.Today, we recorded a brief addendum to the story, David published in Vanity Fair recently a story of Kuehne + Nagel, one of the worlds largest freight forwarding companies, that is listed on the Swiss exchange, but a very German company indeed.The podcast is about the central role Kuehne + Nagel played in the Third Reich. The politics of memory in Germany and the son of Kuehne + Nagel founder, Klaus-Michael Kuehne who is germanys richest man, the largest shareholder of Kuehne + Nagel and until today, still denying the companies dark origins. Link To Nazi Billionaires BookLink To Vanity Fair Article

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/patrick-watts/The following is with Patrick Watts who is one hell of an interesting fella and in this podcast we discuss the various outcomes and implications of the 2024 US election contra Trump & Harris.The End Of The American Empire – UK AmazonThe End Of The American Empire – US Amazon

Stephanie Baker is a journalist whose been writing between the intersection of business and politics for almost 30 years with Bloomberg. Stephanie's just published her first book and it is just amazing and the consequence of covering these topics for a lifetime. The network, the knowledge, the weird language of sanctions of financial opacity. It's a book about the global economic war with Russia post Ukrainian invasion. The fallout of the sanctions, why it has and hasn't crippled the Russian economy as intended, and everything in and around Russian capital flight, Russian sanctions and the global economic war underwriting Russia's physical threat. We start with Stephanies experience covering Russia from Moscow in the 90s, her stumbling across a murder scene and then between that and the book, Stephanie working as Christopher Hitchens fact checker at The Nation, the details behind putting a book like this together then the details about western businesses who withdrew substantial Russian operations, the oil markets chicanery to skirt sanctions, Oligarchs, Minigarchs, Euroclear and frozen Russian capital, what the sanctions did where they've been effective and where they haven't and a whole lot more.Subscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterStephanie Baker - Punishing PutinEpisodes Similar To This- Bill Browder- Oliver Bullough- Nicholas Shaxson----00:00 - Who Is Stephanie Baker03:21 - Moscow In The 90s & Fact Checking Christopher Hitchens09:01 - How Oligarchs Were Created17:07 - Hermitage Capital & Bill Browder19:00 - Debut Book After 30 Years Of Journalism27:46 - Economic Chaos From Sanctions31:21 - Commodity Markets & Oil Chicanery36:26 - Cannibalising Goods For Repurposing As Weapons38:45 - McDonalds, Renault & Unilever Huge Russian Operations54:50 - Euroclear's Role1:00:11 - Capital Flight, Offshore Plumbing & Financial Opacity1:20:16 - Liquid wealth of Putin1:21:36 - The Role Of Serendipity In Stephanies Life

Opus Dei are a predatory catholic cult that started in Spain in the early 20th century and grew and grew over the years into a global organisation that set out with the singular vision to re-christianise the entire world. Gareth Gore stumbled into this story when researching and writing the collapse of one of Spains largest financial institutions, Banco Popular, which turns out was the bottomless kitty financing Opus Dei's international ambitions. It's a story of money laundering, fraud and financial opacity that made possible the scale of one of if not the most influential and pernicious and influential catholic organisations int he world. But it's not just a benign organisation that creates a welcoming community for catholics the world over, it is an organisation which has been accused of 100's if not thousands of incidents of human trafficking, sexual abuse and drug abuse and are attempting to influence their worldview through the rewriting of legal systems. A worldview that reflects the most conservative and man made fundamentalist interpretations of the bible. This book by Gareth Gore is an immense achievement that proves an otherwise held conspiracy, of financial fraud at the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars, political corruption and a secret society exerting their influence on the halls of power that you and I are subject to. Youtube - https://youtu.be/C5DBS-vr3OUSubscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterGareth Gore - OPUS (Amazon)----00:00 - What Is Opus Dei?02:30 - How Did This Story Get On Gareth's Radar?09:30 - What Is Opus Dei In Gareth's Words24:47 - Josemaria Escriva... The Founder Of Opus Dei33:40 - 1000's Of Victims Of Human Trafficking, Sexual Abuse & Drug Abuse.46:15 - The Structure Of Opus59:05 - Banco Popular1:16:10 - Secret Societies1:18:10 - Peter Thiel & Michael Sugrue1:22:35 - Counter Messaging Campaign From Opus Dei1:27:00 - How Co-Operative Were Opus Dei?1:31:10 - Physical Threats?1:32:30 - Have We Seen The Height Of Opus?1:37:25 - Changing Media Landscape Over Next 25 Years?1:42:12 - Serendipity In Gareth's Life

Youtube - https://youtu.be/iCNiZfMASNs Subscribe To The Curious Worldview Newsletter----Johan Norberg is a prolific author and academic, he's one of the most notable members of the Cato Institute and as well someone who has recently bronzed in the blinding spotlight of both Javier Milei and Elon Musk. Johan is a staunch defender of globalisation and author of‘ The Capitalist Manifesto' which was boosted into the stratosphere earlier this year with an overwhelming endorsement by Elon Musk when he wrote that the book is an excellent explanation of why capitalism is not just successful, but morally right. 00:00 - Johan Norberg01:35 - Johan's Worldview Influences09:07 - Johan's Rand-ian Fictional Tale10:35 - Johan Know Being A Role Model To Others14:35 - The Elon Musk Effect19:05 - Serendipity24:05 - Will AI Destroy The Labour Market?41:50 - Capitalism Failure To Price In Negative Externality1:02:45 - Globalisation Homogenising Culture1:15:40 - Anxious Generation1:23:55 - Nassim Taleb Influence

Subscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeOffshore Finance Starter Pack 'Curious Worldview Podcast' EpisodesFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg----Just how cancerous and pernicious to culture, politics and a globalised world is offshore finance and financial opacity?Few if any people in the world are better suited to answer this question than John Christensen, who co-founded the Tax Justice Network and is a prolific author, journalist and documentary producer, probably best known for producing ‘the spiders web' which millions and millions of views later looks into the weird and devastating influence of the City Of London (of which we expand deeply in the podcast)I recorded this in person with John earlier this year and props to Jim Henry, who was an early guest on this pod who introduced us. This is by far the most in depth podcast interview John Christensen has ever participated in.This is an extensive interview which flows up the sides, but never spills out of the river which is the downstream and disastrous effects of offshore finance. There is lots of attention paid to the UK, the lawyers, tax havens, culture, real estate, kleptocrats, foreign aid and a hell of a lot more as well.

Subscribe To The Curious Worldview NewsletterCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeMatthew Freidman -Human TraffickingLisa Kristine - Photographing Modern SlaveryLisa Kristine Ted TalkFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhoggOut Of The Slave Fields - Bruce Ladebu (Book)The Children's Rescue Initiative (Donate)----At this very moment there are over 40,000,000 people around the world trapped in slavery. This is a number larger than at any point before in history… and perniciously, a figure that grows everyday. Millions among them are children. And then millions of those are living in the most devastating conditions imaginable. Bruce Ladebu runs an initiative called Children's Rescue where he and his team identify and then extract those very children living in the most destitute environments.To date, the Children's Rescue initiative have rescued over 2,400 children.Share this podcast with someone. The better informed we are about this reality, at the very least, the more discerning we can be in our consumption that feeds this industry. 00:00 – The Problem Of Modern Slavery04:09 - How Bruce Got Into This Line Of Work06:12 - 40,000,000 Slaves12:40 - Slavery Growing As An Industry23:43 - How Someone Ends Up A Slave30:55 - Bruce's Team & Children's Rescue Initiative34:22 - The Extraction Process38:50 - Bruce's Trauma From Exposure To This42:35 - De-Escelate Communication With Slave Owners46:21 - Poisoned 48:25 - Camera More Powerful Than The Gun50:30 - Work At The Institutional Level53:47 - Amsterdam55:20 - How Trauma Effects Different Children1:02:15 - Slavery In The Everyday Things We Consume1:06:07 - How Well Known Is Modern Slavery?1:18:15 - The Sound Of Freedom1:10:21 - Country Bruce Wants To Add To His Operations1:11:05 - Final Words From Bruce (Affecting Starfish Metaphor)

Subscribe To The Curious Worldview Newsletter Never Split The Difference Book Review (Things To Know If You Do Sales)Curious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeChristopher Turner – 25 Year CIA Veteran, Lessons In EspionageSam Leith – It's Rhetoric All The Way DownNever Split The Difference Book Review (Things To Know If You Do Sales)Follow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg* Chris Voss 'The Edge' Newsletter *----Never Split The Difference deserves its place as one of the best selling negotiation books of all time.It's co-authored by the brilliant writer Tahl Raz, who turned Chris Voss's life and lessons into the most readable and actionable prescription for good communication.I'm stoked today to get to feature Chris Voss on this podcast, the force behind ‘Never Split The Difference' which is a series of highest stakes negotiations broken down into their parts for examination. Chris was the FBI's lead negotiator.Hostage negotiation in Haiti? Terrorism in the Philippines? Egos, money and conflicting interests in a boardroom? Even walking a bank robber from the ledge. What are the phrases and psychology Chris uses in his communication to get the outcome he wants? And where could it be relevant to you?The podcast here touches on Nassim Taleb and Khaneman's influence on Chris's worldview. The line between manipulation and persuasion, serendipity, traits of good communicators and a hell of a lot more.00:00 – Who Is Chris Voss03:05 - When Chris First Paid Attention To How People Communicate12:05 - Nassim Taleb & Communication Over Time22:20 - Serendipity In Chris's Life29:39 - Never Split The Difference & How Chris Unlocked A New Style Of Negotiation36:05 - Khaneman & Tvesky's Influence On Chris43:20 - Gut Instinct48:20 - Line Between Manipulation & Persuasion 50:05 - Consistent Traits In Good Communicators56:05 - Oprah Is The GOAT58:21 - Traits Of The Best Interviewers

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...I am stoked to welcome back one of the most out there and interesting writers, thinkers and speakers, Rory Sutherland.He founded the behavioural science team at the Ogilvy group, he is one of Europe's most powerful advertising executives and author many many books and articles, his most recent book, Alchemy, coming highly recommended and is a treatise on how great marketing ideas are built around the profoundly irrational… Rory appeared once before on this podcast in episode 115.And today, for his second appearance I was lucky enough to do this with Rory in person, I got the train out of London to Rory's hometown and we settled up in the courtyard of a beautiful little cafe in the sun. And so, you get the ambience of birds and wind to frame the conversation.There are no timestamps on this podcast today, because with Rory's erudition there is unseen flow from one thought to another that makes a narrow subject timestamp non suitable, rather, consume this one in full, we open with Salman Rushdie and his days as a copywriter to Rory reflecting on his recent notoriety, a powerful insight that the best marketing is in fact fat tailed, behind the scenes of his Rick Rubin interview all the way to me asking Rory whether he's ever done a floaty.Other episode of the podcast that suit this episode...Rory Sutherland – First Appearance #115Scott Patterson – Chaos KingsNassim Taleb & Incerto PodcastFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Other episode of the podcast that suit this episode...Brian Klaas – Fluke & RandomnessRuss Roberts – EconTalkLuca Dellanna – Ergodicity All The Way DownScott Patterson – Chaos KingsNassim Taleb & Incerto PodcastFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhoggEverything Is Predictable – Tom ChiversTom Chivers is a prolific science writer whose written for Buzzfeed, The Telegraph, Unherd, published books, written for loads of other publications as well and now writes for Semafor's daily flagship email (something I read everyday)… but here Tom is today to discuss his book about Bayes called… EVERYTHING IS PREDICTABLE: How Bayes' Remarkable Theorem Explains the World and, the lead is not buried in this case, it is a book about Bayes Throerom which to put it simply… is an equation to calculate probability.Now, my Talebian listeners will recognise a contradiction to our worldview in the title here… everything is predictable? how often has Taleb's quotes, how can we predict a future of infinite possibilities based off a finite experience of the past appeared on this podcast? We get into Chivers differences with that Talebian worldview, but as well, there is top to bottom what is Bayes theorem, why does it matter, the role of this theorem at the foundation of all of these LLM's and therefore much of AI. a neat little anecdote of Chivers family member, Sir John Maynard Keynes and plenty more as well!00:00 – Who Is Tom Chivers01:34 – Great Great Uncle John Maynard Keynes08:44 – What's The Point Of Bayes?19:14 – What Is Bayes Theorem?39:34 – Disagreeing With Nassim Taleb 52:24 – Counterintuitive Aspects Of Bayes56:28 – Bayes & LLM's & AI1:15:12 – Serendipity In Tom's Life

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Jon Lee AndersonCharlie WalkerFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWhy We Travel - Ash BhardwajAsh Bhardwaj is an author, journalist, film-maker and former british army who amongst his many expeditions has ventured the likes of journeying 8500km along the Russian European border. Retraced secret missions of WW2 through Albania. Walked 800km through India and The Himalayas, meeting the Dalai Lama on the way. Walked 1100km through Uganda and Sudan with Levison Wood which included the first summer crossing of the Bayuda Desert. Trekked the Mt Everest Base Camp with wounded soldiers. Worked on earthquake recovery in the Philippines. Trekked through the Jebel of Dhofar in the footsteps of the SAS, and really he's done a hell of a lot more as well. He recently published his first book titled Why We Travel, and in discussion of his life and worldview I was privileged to have gotten to sit down with him in his home in London to record this very episode - there is a video available on youtube if you are keen.Ash really is my dream style of guest. He is a wonderful speaker, incredibly open and curious and has achieved many of the types of things, I wish to one day emulate. I am very grateful to have gotten to spend this time with him.00:00 - Who Is Ash Bhardwaj03:55 - Great Explorers From History15:13 - Differences Between Australian & New Zealand Culture 35:57 - Adventure & Travel43:44 - Ash's Most Consequential Journalism & Ukraine54:08 - Why We Travel59:53 - What Makes Great Travel Writing?1:13:43 - Publishing Market For Travel Books & Why We Travel1:29:36 - What Eat Pray Love & Cultural Phenomenon Did For Travel + (New Unexplored Paradise?)1:39:43 - Is The World Becoming More Dangerous?1:42:43 - Changing Demographics Of Travel & Getting Deep Into Why We Travel1:59:50 - Country Ash Is Bullish On

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Bill BrowderNassim TalebFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggThis is an interview with Victor Haghani who is among many other things… the Co-Founder of LTCM (long term capital management), the Founder of Elm Wealth and the author of Missing Billionaires.In this interview we focused on Victor himself... his experiences at Solomon in the 80s and a brush with Bill Browder (who by the way was recently knighted), comments on Jim Simons and Nassim Taleb, an incredible moment of serendipity that would have changed his life forever and ultimately an exploration of Victor's worldview...00:00 – Who Is Victor Haghani01:40 - 1997 Nobel Prize & Stockholm07:47 - Solomon Brothers & Bill Browder Anecdote16:15 - 10 Year Sabbatical24:42 - Jim Simons30:49 - Missing Billionaires & Ergodicity52:40 - Baggage We Are Carrying Around From Our Evolutionary Past1:00:40 - Nassim Taleb1:04:40 - Potentially A Confrontational Question1:11:40 - Michael Burry Index Bubble Theory1:18:26 - An Incredible Moment Of Serendipity & Why Victor's Bullish On UK

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Russ Roberts – Taleb & HitchensScott Patterson – Taleb & Chaos KingsMagnus Ranstorp – Terrorism & Political ViolenceJames Robinson – Why Nations FailFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggSamo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, of which Bismarck Brief has spun off, which is a consulting and research firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. I've listened to and read hundreds of hours of Samo Burja. He's prolific both in writing and talking, and applies an academic analysis to express his interests. His interests are those which overlap with mine, and as such, should as well overlap with yours since you have selected this podcast. He's been on my list of dream guests ever since this podcast began, and so it was a huge thrill to get a chance to finally record something with him. 00:00 – Who Is Samo Burja01:47 – Central Thread Of Samo's Work – Why Groups Thrive & Fail16:57 – 80/20 Principle In Organisations & New York Times Family Ownership22:17 – Solving For Nepotism25:53 – The Wallenberg Family of Sweden47:13 – Nassim Taleb Informed Your Worldview & Others51:17 – The Role Of Serendipity & Country You're Bullish On

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Jos Benschop – SVP Science ASML - Episode #56Chris Miller – Chip War - Episode #81ASML Bloody Good BusinessFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWatch on youtube - https://youtu.be/Kxmf6P-JHa8ASML is certainly among the most critical businesses to the modern economy. They make the machines that make the microchips which makes modernity go round. You've likely heard of TSMC, the Taiwanese behemoth at the centre of Chinese geopolitics and how these are in fact the guys that make these amazing microchips. That is true! But they make them on ASML machines, and that's the critical point to take home. The insane complexity of ASML's EUV machine is impossible to fully appreciate. Jos Benschop, ASMLS senior vice president of Technology he makes the claim that ASML's EUV machine is the most complex machine ever made by man.When words are overused they lose their meaning, but truly ASML's EUV machine is by definition, unbelievable.The CTO Martin Van De Brink has recently retired from ASML – and his cultural legacy really forms the narrative for Marc's Book – with plenty of fun anecdotes.Marc Hijink is the guest on this episode, he is a Dutch journalist and tech reporter for Handelsblad and recently went down a three year journey with unparalleled access to ASML and produced a wonderful history of this phenomenal company. 00:00 – Who Is Marc Hijink & ASML02:38 – Writing ‘Focus' A Dream Project07:38 – ASML Origins & Culture17:23 – Culture & Martin Van De Brink24:35 – The Geopolitics Of ASML26:58 – Complexity Of The EUV Machine & ASML's Appetite For Risk44:55 – What About The Software? + Recruitment Against Meta, Google, OpenAI50:13 – Growing At 800 Employees A Month55:28 – Fragility Of ASML's Client Base57:17 – Focus58:38 – Serendipity In ASML & Marc's Life

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWatch on Youtube - https://youtu.be/Kx8N66hK8kISam Leith is the literary editor for the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world, an organisation which started publication in 1828 which means… the magazine for which he is the literary editor of, The Spectator, are on the doorstep of a famous double century in just 4 years time!While also contributing a monthly column on gaming, over the course of 30 years Sam has written 100's of book reviews, authored multiple books himself, but as well, Sam hosts one of my favourite podcasts titled ‘Book Club' where… in a similar fashion to this very show but with much better execution, Sam talks with interesting authors about their books.  Sam's also got a new book, scheduled for release later this year and available for per order – The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading – and although we don't discuss it in this podcast, if you like the way Sam talks and thinks then you might be keen on checking this one out as well.But in this podcast we non exclusively discussed Sam's 5th book – You Talkin' to Me? Which is a book on Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama…And so as you can imagine, I brought up Christopher Hitchens immediately as a reference for good rhetoric but in the podcast you can also expect a break down of Ethos Pathos Logos, what makes some of the great speakers great, and references to Obama, Churchill, Martin Luther King and more for what made specific things they said stick so deeply. 00:00 – Who Is Sam Leith01:43 – Who Are The Best Communicators Alive Right Now?07:23 – Sam's Great Theory on US Presidents (Rhetoric v Anti-Rhetoric) + Obama V Trump20:04 – Good Speech… Writing or Delivery?26:03 – Christopher Hitchens (+ a bit of Peter)37:45 – How Media Is Consumed & How Media Changes (Introducing Socrates)1:03:23 – Ethos Pathos Logos1:20:23 – Story & Rhetoric (Martin Luther King)1:26:58 – Best Of Churchill1:28:53 – Speeches Lost To History1:30:25 – Podcasting & Rhetoric1:39:46 – Visit One Speech In History1:44:24 – Serendipity & Country You're Bullish OnCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeMatthew Dicks – StoryworthyBen Burgis – Christopher HitchensEthos Pathos Logos

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWatch on Youtube - https://youtu.be/ZzsFPOUzlHgMicheal Hilliard is a geopolitical analyst host and creator of 'The Red Line Podcast'… and! a fellow Aussie coming to us today from Australia's glorious West coast capital, Perth.Micheal and his team with the 'Red Line' take a deep fortnightly dive into a eclectic mix of narrow geopolitical topics … everything from the second hand market for nuclear weapons to the growth of Chinese private military groups...And so therefore, and needless to say, the 'Red Line'  is brilliant and if you have anything geopolitical populating your new episodes feed you'd be smart to too add the red line to your subscriptions. This is michael's second appearance on the pod… in his first appearance he hinted a time in his life when he was living in Kazakstan ghostwriting geopolitical analysis and this tidbit has been on my mind ever since.Therefore this pod we do Michael Hilliard…Touring as a bass player in a rock n roll bandTid bits on TurkmenistanTop to bottom the world of geopolitics ghostwritingIndonesia from Australia's perspectiveSerendipity… and much more00:00 – Who Is Michael Hilliard03:15 – Michael's Early Story (Touring As A Base Player)17:05 – Turning Geopolitical 19:15 – Turkmenistan Is Worse Than North Korea29:31 – Transitioning From Rock n Roll To Journalism32:35 – Geopolitical Ghostwriting (Top To Bottom)47:05 – 'The Red Line Podcast'1:00:32 – Indonesia's Geopolitics1:16:06 – Who Are The Journalist's You Most Admire1:19:59 - The Business Of The Red Line1:23:55 - Podcasting Landscape In Australia1:30:45 – Final 3 Questions… Serendipity, Fictional Character, Country Bullish OnCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeGeopolitics Starter PackMichael Hilliard First Appearance

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeLink to example of clip I am looking for - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibLyjkpYY_ELink to example of infographic I am looking for (halfway down) - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/p/update-1Write to me at ryan@atlasgeographica.com

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/ernest-scheyder/Ernest Scheyder runs directly towards the impossible trade-offs of mining in the ‘War Below'...The electrification of the economy is on the one hand very good. It means we can move away from consuming the carbon rich oil into our atmosphere… but it also means that we are going to need way more other stuff from the under the ground than we currently even know about. It will require mining 100's of more sacred sites and 100's of more beautiful vistas. Copper, lithium, cobalt and literally 100's of other rare earths are all necessary components of batteries, electric cars, trucks, boats, even leaf-blowers… and this for a scale for 8 billion, soon to be 9 billion people…If a sacred religious sight is built atop enough copper to secure your domestic supply… should you mine it?If thousands of tonnes of lithium is built under a unique flower, almost certain to go extinct if you extract… should you do it?And if you decide to play by environmental rules while everyone doesn't… are you doing what's right in the short term at the cost of whats best in the long?These questions consume the book, and as well, this conversation.So here is a veteran energy journalist for Rueters, and author of the War Below… Ernest Scheyder.War Below – Ernest Scheyder00:00 – Understanding Ernest Scheyder's ‘War Below'02:54 – Daniel Yergin & Geothermal Energy05:21 – It's Trade-Off's All The Way Down (Mining, Policy Hypocrisy)28:08 – Ernest's Hesitation To Offer His Opinion36:10 – Waste, Death & Bi-Products Of Mining54:19 – Greenwashing & Child Labour1:06:16 – Appreciation For The Miners1:08:58 – Economic Protectionism1:11:18 – Robert Friedland1:12:36 – Final 3 Questions… Serendipity, Fictional Character, Country Bullish OnCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeGeothermal Starter PackErik Townsend – Energy TransitionInvestigative Journalist Starter PackInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/jon-lee-anderson/I once responded to a question in a grant application that the people I admired most were great adventurers, great writers and great journalists… the kicker naturally being, that the best was a combination of all three!Well, in Jon Lee Anderson we have an exemplar for all three of those labels.Listens past 10 minutes and you will see the adventurer, listen to the details of how he put together Che's biography and you will understand the journalist but then to top it all off, read anything Jon Lee's written and you will understand the great writer. This was a mighty moment for the podcast. I managed to hide my nerves behind a facade of professionalism… but Jon and I ended up spending more than 4 hours together as we inhabited a closed, cold, empty drinkers club on a January London morning. Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker Staff WriterChe: A Revolutionary Life00:00 – Who Is Jon Lee Anderson02:20 – On The Same Stage Julian Assange Launched Wikileaks.05:50 – 13 Year Old Runaway Vagabond In East Africa.22:15 – Is Risk Necessary For It To Be An Adventure?26:03 – Discovering A Part Of The World For The First Time.32:44 – Serendipity & Jon Lee On Religion & Evil.40:20 – First Bi-Line At The Lima Times.47:37 – Jon Lee Reflects On His Upbringing & How He Thinks About Being A Father.53:54 – Che Guevara.1:24:00 – There's No More Revolutionaries, Only Narcos…1:32:45 – Haiti.1:35:48 – What Does Jon Lee Admire Most & Least About Che Guevara?1:45:48 – What Doors Do The New Yorker Open?1:46:47 – Christopher Hitchens.1:51:50 – Next Generation Of Journalists & Media Landscape They Inherit.1:58:07 – Jon Lee Anderson Autobiography.2:00:24 – Country Jon Lee Is Bullish On.Curious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeJournalist Starter Pack – All Journalists Who Have Appeared On The PodcastExplorers Starter Pack – All Explorers Who Have Appeared On The PodcastDavid Grann – Lost City Of Z, New YorkerInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/patrick-watts/The following is with Patrick Watts who is one hell of an interesting fella, this was a really fun episode to record!The podcast is about the themes from his debut book, The End Of The American Empire. The End Of The American Empire – UK AmazonThe End Of The American Empire – US AmazonIt's just come out in US and UK markets, so don't hesitate a second to go and get it. Amazon link is in the description… this is a self published book from Patrick, so my hope is that the curious worldview audience will really make a difference in moving the needle here.00:00 – Who Is Patrick Watts01:23 – US Politics (Biden, Culture & Trump)11:23 – Theory Of Rhetoric13:49 – Patrick Watts… Self Confessed Americanophile17:54 – Distinction Between An Empire & State21:33 – Behind The Scenes Self Publishing47:58 – John Perkins & Confessions Of An Economic Hitman54:25 – Why Empires Have Fallen Throughout History1:16:49 – 50% Of Pregnancies In The US Are Unplanned1:19:13 – US Is The Most Mediciated Citizenry On Earth1:20:13 – What Does A Collapse Of The American Empire Look Like?1:33:30 – Serendipity In Patrick's Life1:45:35 – Favourite Fictional Character & Country Particularly Bullish OnCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeGeopolitics Starter PackJohn Perkins & Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/bill-browder-russia/Bill Browder is back for his #2 appearance on the pod!This was recorded in his London offices, and builds upon the themes from our first conversation.Bill discusses the very real threat of assassination by both Putin and China. He lays out his Rouges Gallery of both nations and individuals and offers what is a rather desolate and grim picture of the Russian culture and economy.Bill Browder is the author of Red Notice & Freezing Order.Red Notice is one of my favourite autobiographies. It is an incredible story from how Bill went from the descendent of one of America's most famous communists to becoming one of the most famous capitalists in Russia. At Hermitage Capital's peak (Bill's investment firm) he was the largest source of Western Capital in Post-Soviet Russia… his experiences around the voucher system alone make the book a must read. Or podcast a must listen ;)00:00 - Safety & Threat Of Assassination08:00 - Long Term Impact On Russian Culture17:22 - Current State Of The Russian Economy?21:46 - The Global Magnitzky Act26:46 - Bill Browder's Rouges Gallery & Anti Rouges Gallery34:44 - Bill's Public Profile38:24 - What Is The Function Of Hermitage Capital40:18 - Bills Son & Entrepreneurship45:29 - Country Bill Is Most Bullish OnCurious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeJim Henry – Blood BankersDesmond Shum - Red RouletteJohn Perkins – Confessions Of An Economic HitmanNic Shaxson – The Tools Of The Offshore AccountantBradley Hope – Jho Low & 1MDB Financial FraudNathan Lynch – Money Laundering In AustraliaOliver Bullough – MoneylandPodcast Starter Pack – Offshore Finance

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/brian-klaas/Brian Klaas is an associate professor in global politics at University College London, author of several books, host of a really good podcast, creator of a huge substack and someone who has created a life for himself for which I wish to emulate many parts…We recorded this in person!… Brian and I sat down together in his Winchester kitchen and spoke about randomness, chance, Nassim Taleb, Flukes and why all these things are worth thinking about…If you like Taleb, then Brian's new book, Fluke which just came out… is right up your alley. Brian's research is wonderful.00:00 – Who Is Brian Klaas?01:00 – Life Can Be Understood Backwards, But It Must Be Lived Forwards.11:55 – Does Brian Feel Like He Has More Or Less Agency?20:51 – Taleb's Blindfold Metaphor & The Problems Of Prediction.35:20 – How Nassim Taleb Effected Brian's Worldview.44:55 – Why Experimentation Is Wise.50:55 – Why The Minority Rule Is Relevant To Politics.53:20 – Extremistan V Mediocristan1:03:00 – The Idea Of Lock-In.1:07:30 – Serendipity In Brian's Life & The Media Landscape In The Next 20 Years.1:22:00 – Brian's Favourite Authors.1:24:30 – An Ode To Madagascar & Explanation OF Geographical Determinism.Curious Things Mentioned During The EpisodeScott Patterson – Chaos KingsRuss Roberts – Reflecting on 15 Years Of EconTalkLuca Dellana – ErgodicityMe Being Interviewed For The Profile On Nassim TalebNassim Taleb Incerto PodcastNassim Taleb Incerto Book Reviews

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeChristopher Neijd is a police lieutenant for Southern Stockholm, he's been in the force for more than 14 years, and is a close mates of Rhino who was episode #146 as a member of Sweden's SWAT force, called Piketen. This is an interview about Christopher's experiences on the police force, how Sweden has or hasn't changed over time, a microscope on the events of the Easter Riots of 2022 plus plenty more of course…00:00 - Who Is Cristopher Neijd01:05 - Early Life & Formative Experiences21:45 - Why People Want To Join Police & What Policing Is Like These Days31:25 - Shootings In Stockholm41:21 - 2022 Easter Riots1:05:45 - How Crime Has Gotten More Violent In Sweden1:21:05 - Why Being Police Is A Great JobCurious Things Mentioned During The Episode46: Arne Andersson | Three Tours In Afghanistan Through The Eyes Of The Swedish Military146: The Life & Lessons Of An Elite Swedish 'Piketen' Police Officer113: Diamant Salihu | Gang Violence, Drugs, Immigration & Integration In Sweden

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter!! https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeThe podcast's year in review!Check out stats of the podcast, reflection on best. episodes of the year, dreams and ambitions for the future. Pump the good juice! And see you next year mate ;)

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter!! https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeMarlene Laruelle is a Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University in Washington DC. She is an expert on the culture and anthropology of Russia and many of the Stan central asian countries. She's written 10 books on these subjects and was just the most incredible guest to have had on the show.The podcast starts in Kyrgyzstan and then moves onto religion and what Marlene thinks is a global wave of de-secularisation… we then move up into Murmansk and the frozen tundra cities of Siberia's north to then Marlene's thoughts on Russian demographics and finally she lays out the current state of affairs in the Russian-Ukraine war. 00:00 – Who Is Marlene Laruelle?01:33 - Kyrgyzstan & Countries That Punch Above Their Weight.04:59 - Religion & Global Wave Of De-Secularisation.18:08 - Murmansk & Russian Arctic Cities.21:35 - Russian Demographics.29:23 - Bullish & Bearish Case For Russia.34:05 - Russia-Ukraine War... Where Are We Now?41:14 - Serendipity In Marlene's Life.44:30 - Country Marlene Is Particularly Bullish On.Curious Things Mentioned During The Episodehttps://marlene-laruelle.com/https://www.illiberalism.org/https://therussiaprogram.org/

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe