The heat is on Iran. Its economy is faltering. The currency is falling. The people are protesting. The government is threatening to close down the Strait of Hormuz. Renewed U.S. sanctions didn’t directly cause all these problems, of course, but they sure didn’t help. And they wouldn’t be an issue had U.S. stayed party to the Iran nuclear agreement. Is this the end of the reconciliation, or just a minor setback? If the deal is forever dead, will Iran now go nuclear? Would doing so achieve its reg...
Aug 11, 2018•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast The U.S. and Turkey have a lot of big mutual problems (Iran, the Islamic State, Bashar Assad) yet seem to be preoccupied by much smaller ones (pastors and alleged deep state operatives). To help explain why this is so, this week’s episode checks in on the status of U.S.-Turkey relations. Also, what’s with the stories about Rex Tillerson preventing a Saudi invasion of Qatar? Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Aug 02, 2018•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is populism an ideology? Is it a political tool? A political weapon? The term has been bastardized over the years, so much so that it is nearly devoid of any meaning, and yet it is invoked nearly every day, levied against politicians of every political persuasion in every region of the world. In this week’s episode, the team digs into what it means to be populist and applies it to Mexico’s newly elected president. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Jul 26, 2018•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, the head of NATO wrote a column politely reminding everyone about the use of the military alliance. Can NATO continue to meet the needs of all its members? Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Jun 23, 2018•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast GPF Director Jacob Shapiro welcomes special guest Dario Fabbri, Senior Analyst at Limes, to talk about Italy's view of Europe. Along the way, they touch on Italy's relationship with the U.S., Germany's lack of strategy and France's double-edged demographic advantage. Intro music: Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No. 1 In E major, performed by John Harrison (violin) with Robert Turizziani conducting the Wichita State University Chamber Players. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: http...
Jun 18, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The unprecedented meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un raises an important question: So what? Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Jun 15, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jacob and Cole stitch together a few separate recordings that were made throughout the week. We have George Friedman with a special guest on war games, Phillip Orchard on Malaysia’s political drama, and Xander Snyder on the so-called Libya model. Also, basketball. Music credit for this week's podcast: Paul Cantrell playing Frédéric Chopin's Prelude Op. 28, No. 4, and "Off to The Shaman For Ancient Medicines" by The Koreatown. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: http...
May 31, 2018•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this bonus episode, GPF Chairman George Friedman sits down for a short conversation with Limes magazine director Lucio Caracciolo in Genoa, Italy. George and Lucio discuss Italy's perspective on U.S. foreign policy in Europe, Germany's true nature, and the future of the European Union. Exit music is a recording of Italian baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto grosso, Op. 6, No. 4, graciously provided by the Advent Chamber Orchestra. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go her...
May 11, 2018•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast After two weeks off, it’s time to catch up on the world’s events – perfect timing, considering this week may prove to be such a geopolitically consequential one. Jacob and Cole discuss Putin’s continued tenure in Russia, Israel’s combat readiness, Xi’s Marxist beliefs, the Iran deal and more. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
May 08, 2018•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia and the United States have been convenient strawmen for each other for some time. It makes sense for two powerful countries to be a little adversarial, but are they in the throes of another Cold War? The answer to that question requires a top-to-bottom understanding of Russia. Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom explain why. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Apr 24, 2018•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Domestic politics always play a role in international affairs. But do they do so now more than other times? After previewing the week ahead, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom take discuss how Iran's potential instability shapes its behavior abroad. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/GbC7yB
Apr 17, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast GPF Podcast returns after a week off to address what promises to be a busy few days ahead. Plus, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom pore over GPF's new special reports on The Geopolitics of London and The Geopolitics of Dune. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Apr 10, 2018•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast With so much drama in the Middle East, it’s nearly irresponsible to focus on just one actor – emphasis on nearly. At GPF, we’ve long maintained that Turkey was a country on the rise, and the things we see it doing today are exactly the things a country on the rise would do. Time will tell if it will reach its full potential, so in the meantime, Jacob Shapiro, Xander Snyder and Cole Altom take a step back and reflect on how it’s faring right now. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go h...
Mar 26, 2018•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast The United States has always had a peculiar relationship with just about every country in the Western Hemisphere that isn’t Canada. The reasons for this go back as far as the Monroe Doctrine, of course, but the Cold War – and the associated coups and insurgencies etc. – left an indelible mark on the ways these countries interact with one another. After Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom take a look at the week ahead, Allison Fedirka stops by to discuss why this is the case. Sign up for free updates on...
Mar 19, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula tend to overshadow Southeast Asia, a geographically confounding region that was, until very recently, also home to our very own Phillip Orchard. Now that he’s back, he, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom will discuss this oft-overlooked area. But first, they address the elephant in the room: the meeting in May between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Mar 12, 2018•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Now that Germany has finally formed a new government, the de facto leader of the EU can get back to being the de facto leader of the EU. But Italy has just elected into power parties that are less-than-friendly to Germany's agenda. Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom discuss how this peculiar era of nationalism is just one chapter in a much longer story about Europe.Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Mar 05, 2018•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Syria is a mess. New alliances form as quickly as they fall apart. Cease-fires are agreed to and summarily ignored. Russians, Turks, Americans, Iranians, Kurds, Lebanese, Saudis and, of course, Syrians all have vested interests in outcome of the war. Jacob, Cole and Xander lay out what those interests are and catch up on what proved to be a very eventful week in northern Syria. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx...
Feb 26, 2018•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The accuracy of a media narrative depends on the motives of the agency that spins it. After previewing the week ahead, Jacob L. Shapiro and Cole Altom dissect Chinese media to get a sense of China’s military ambitions – and explain why Beijing has a lot of work to do before it can supplant Washington as the world’s leading power. Sign up for free updates on topics like these. Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Feb 19, 2018•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why do we write about Romania but not Rwanda? Why don’t we cover the successes and failures of SpaceX? Director of Analysis Jacob Shapiro and Managing Editor Cole Altom return to talk about the things that don’t quite make it into our analytic framework. Sign up for free updates on topics like these. Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Feb 12, 2018•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Director of Analysis Jacob Shapiro and Managing Editor Cole Altom discuss the rise and fall of one of the more brutal jihadist groups the Middle East has ever seen. Sign up for free updates on topics like these. Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Feb 05, 2018•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jacob Shapiro and Xander Snyder discuss the short and long-term strategic implications of Turkey's invasion. To see a map of the region being discussed click here: https://geopoliticalfutures.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/syria.jpg Sign up for free updates on topics like these. Go here: https://goo.gl/zt6tzx
Jan 29, 2018•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jacob Shapiro, director of analysis, and Xander Snyder answer your questions about the world. Sign up here for free updates on topics like these.
Jan 22, 2018•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Allison Fedirka and Xander Snyder discuss the evolution of the most recent protests in Iran. Sign up here for free updates on topics like this.
Jan 08, 2018•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kamran Bokhari and Xander Snyder discuss the Islamic State’s presence in Afghanistan and its implications for South and Central Asia. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/j7gFyE
Jan 02, 2018•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, GPF released our 2017 Report Card, complete with results on our forecasts from across the globe. Xander Snyder and Jacob L. Shapiro dive in to review our hits and our misses. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/j7gFyE
Dec 22, 2017•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Xander Snyder and Kamran Bokhari explain how traditional rivalries are returning now that the Islamic State is in decline. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/j7gFyE
Dec 18, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jacob L. Shapiro and Kamran Bokhari discuss why the Trump administration is moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and the implications for the Middle East. To see maps of the region discussed, click or tap here: https://geopoliticalfutures.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/middle-east.jpg and here: https://geopoliticalfutures.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/israel.jpg . Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: https://goo.gl/j7gFyE...
Dec 08, 2017•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Allison Fedirka and Xander Snyder explain the importance of this often overlooked region. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: http://goo.gl/j7gFyE .
Nov 30, 2017•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jacob Shapiro and Xander Snyder discuss the frenzy of developments in Saudi Arabia. Later, they explain why a tiny region in Georgia is back in the news. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: http://goo.gl/j7gFyE .
Nov 16, 2017•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jacob Shapiro and Xander Snyder review three political theories being discussed in the media, and what to look for when making historical analogies. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here: goo.gl/j7gFyE
Nov 10, 2017•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
