Geopolitical Cousins

Jacob Shapiro & Marko Papic•geopolitical-cousins.captivate.fm

Geopolitical Cousins throws together analysts Jacob Shapiro and Marko Papic for some of the most in-depth, off-the-wall geopolitical analysis in the world.

Last refreshed: June 22nd, 2026 at 9:08 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

A Jew and a Nihilist Talk About The Pope

After a whirlwind of parenting, flights, and failed schedules, the cousins are back with overreactions and the U.S. dollar’s free fall. They riff on Chinese tech breakthroughs... but Marko's still not buying BYD over a German car. Europe? Left for dead, so maybe it’s time to buy? Jacob freaks out over India-Pakistan tensions, while Marko tries to keep us from launching WWIII. They also touch on Trump’s Nobel dreams, Pope predictions, and why Japan just became the spiciest trade negotiator in the...

May 05, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 7

The Tip of a Peninsula with a Bunch of Crazy People

Marko unloads on the myth that austerity worked in Greece, calling out lazy linear thinking, Eurozone nerds with Excel models, and Paul Krugman’s fantasy economics. He explains how Greece’s turnaround was real - but not for the reasons anyone thinks - and why Syriza’s U-turn was political heroism, not betrayal. The conversation pivots to India, where Modi is playing the U.S., China, and Europe against each other with tariff diplomacy. Plus: Ottoman nostalgia, Donbas deadlock, and why even ISIS p...

Apr 15, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Let Them Drink Bleach

Trump's tariff chaos isn’t strategy - it’s a policy car crash in slow motion. Jacob Shapiro and Marko Papic walk listeners through how we got here: tariffs based on 6th grade math, no off-ramps, and the U.S. launching a trade war… against everyone. Meanwhile, the rest of the world’s like, cool, we’ll just trade with each other. This isn’t about toaster prices—it’s about the U.S. exporting its own recession. If April 9th isn’t the pivot, buckle up. Come for the analysis; stay for Marko’s tortured...

Apr 08, 2025•50 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Riding on the Hog of a Fiscal Orgy

Jacob and Marko convene an emergency episode to discuss Liberation Day. Afterwards, they speak to fellow cousin Matt Gertken about President Trump’s comments that he might serve a third presidential term. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Introduction and Episode Overview (01:46) - Discussion on Tariffs and Trade Deficit (02:58) - Reciprocal Tariffs and Economic Reactions (04:56) - Market Reactions and Negotiation Strategies (07:02) - Uncertainty and Global Trade Dynamics (07:45) - Historical Context and...

Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Get Off Our Lawn!

Jacob and Marko make a cousins episode happen even as Jacob is moving into a new office and Marko is on the road – at one point he was literally recording from a bathroom at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale because that is the only place he could get WiFi. What other podcast hosts have that kind of dedication? None! This week the cousins tackle Trump’s latest bevy of tariff threats, discuss the improvement in India/China relations, and close with some lessons to learn from the ongoing protests in Serb...

Mar 28, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Will the U.S. go to War with Iran?

Jacob and Marko run down the most important issues of the week: Will the U.S. go to war with Iran? Why did President Erdogan arrest his top rival? Is Indonesia helping or hurting itself by courting its military? And is Chinese consumption really happening? From there, they turn to the kind of geopolitical sports analysis that only they can offer, drafting teams of 7 for the top geopolitical sports moments in history. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:00) - Iran (31:00) - Turkey (46:00) – Indonesia...

Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 58 min•Season 1Ep. 2

F*cking Around and Finding Out

The inaugural episode of the Geopolitical Cousins podcast sees Marko and Jacob wax philosophical about net assessments, debate where the Trump administration thinks the world is multipolar, and interrogate what the future of Canada, Europe, and inflation look like in a land of all sticks and no carrots. -- (00:00) - Intro (00:50) - Approach and Precepts (11:00) – Net Assessments (18:44) – Multipolarity (34:19) – US Exceptionalism, China, and US Fiscal Policy (42:44) - Canada-US Trade Tensions (4...

Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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