RANE Podcast Series

What Data from China can be trusted and what does it really tell us? In 2007, then-Secretary General of Liaoning Province, Li Keqiang (kuh-chung), told the United States Ambassador that China's gross domestic product (GDP) numbers were "man-made" and that they were for "reference only." Now, as China's second-in-command after General Secretary Xi Jinping, and as Xi's handpicked coordinator of China's COVID-19 response, Li is in charge of informing the world of China's coronavirus infection tally. The tally, much like China's GDP numbers, have raised questions about whether they can be trusted. Official Chinese government numbers have been suspect for years, with China-focused economists preferring to refer to other measures, such as pollution levels, instead of relying on government GDP numbers. With the global outbreak of COVID-19 and its response reliant upon government numbers, their untrustworthiness has been cast into stark relief. In this RANE podcast, RANE Network experts dive into how businesses can parse the government data to get an accurate view of China, what other methods they should rely on, and how they can best build in the assumption of faulty data into their China-centered businesses. Subscribe to RANE Worldview for full insights into the U.S. - China Relationship. Find out how RANE can help you navigate the geopolitical, intelligence, compliance and other risk of COVID-19 and more business issues at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

Many companies have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing or banning corporate travel and by asking some or all of their employees to work from home. While having employees work from home will help reduce transmission of the virus in the workplace, it also brings with it some additional risks. As the disruptions from responses to COVID-19 mount, it is important to consider the second- and third-order impacts of the extreme efforts being put in place to curb the spread. In this podcast, RANE Founder and former Associate General Counsel and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, David Lawrence, sits down with FBI Special Agent Brad Carpenter and former FBI Deputy Director and current President and CEO of Consortium Networks Tim Murphy to discuss best practices for remote work and ways that companies can protect their systems and data in the coming months. Learn how RANE can help you navigate security, intelligence, compliance and other risks with COVID-19 and other business needs here: https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Essential Geopolitics podcast, Host Fred Burton speaks to Thomas Abi-Hanna, a global security analyst for RANE. As anyone in the U.S. who was alive in the 1990's might tell you, the case of convicted spy Aldrich Ames shook Washington and all of its intelligence agencies. Ames worked as a double agent for the USSR and Russia for more than a decade and his treachery led to the deaths of intelligence assets. Subscribers of RANE Worldview can read about Ames and the espionage tactics that continue to this day. Start your subscription today at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Pen and Sword podcast with Fred Burton, a conversation with Dan Gabriel. Dan Gabriel was just out of college when the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001 spurred him to action. He didn't join the military, though. He joined the CIA where he worked in  counter-terrorism. And he traveled to Mosul and Afghanistan during both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, conflicts in many U.S. minds forever known as the ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He returned to Mosul, as a journalist and filmmaker, just as a coalition of anti-ISIS forces, from governments to individuals were fighting to take back the city from ISIS. Gabriel's film is nerve-wracking but compelling, violent yet deeply sensitive. Subscribers to RANE Worldview can access deep libraries of information and forecasting on topics ranging from terrorism to risk to military capabilities to the fifth domain. Join today at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Essential Geopolitics podcast, host Fred Burton speaks to RANE analyst Ryan Bohl about Israel's new unity government. As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps Israel, the state’s squabbling political factions have settled into a new government but still must work together to work to address ongoing issues such as Gaza, annexation and its relationship with its Arab neighbors. Subscribers to RANE Worldview get access to RANE's deep library of content on Israel and the Middle East. Subscribe today at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Essential Geopolitics podcast, Fred Burton speaks with Greg Priddy. Priddy directs RANE's Global Energy and Middle East  Analysis. Today they go deep on why West Texas Intermediate, Intermediate, the main US crude oil benchmark, fell to negative prices Monday afternoon and why the OPEC+ agreement didn't prevent this. You can stay ahead of the economic and geopolitical impacts of the current oil crisis with a subscription to RANE Worldview. Get started today at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Pen and Sword podcast, host Fred Burton speaks with Alexander White, the V.P. of Cyber at Prescient, a global risk management and intelligence firm. Like RANE, Prescient is monitoring an increase in criminal cyber attacks against companies and home offices. Common sense, White says, is always a good first step in keeping bad actors away from your network's back - or front - door. But smart threat management and awareness is always necessary.

In this episode of RANE's Pen and Sword podcast with host Fred Burton, a conversation with Daron K. Roberts. Roberts is the author of Call An Audible. It is the story of Roberts' last minute pivot away from a career in law and a lifelong ambition to become the Governor of Texas by the age of 40 into an NFL coach. These days, Roberts coaches students in a class about Sports Leadership at The University of Texas at Austin, and serves as a "transition coach" to many. In this interview, Roberts shares his story and thoughts on how to take the enforced time away from the office to try to hone skills that will help you meet goals after the COVID-19 crisis is a thing of the past. 

In this episode of RANE's Pen and Sword podcast, host Fred Burton speaks to serial entrepreneur, Brett Hurt. Hurt's latest startup is data.world, a Public Benefit Corporation focused on data and analysis that also includes the world's largest collaborative public data catalog. Data.world is using its platform to help fight the COVID-19 virus, collecting and sharing data from sources like Johns Hopkins, Harvard Global Health Institute, WHO, and individuals. In this conversation, the topics range from how anyone can benefit from and contribute to the COVID-19 data hub to how to weather the nation's biggest downturn in nearly a century. Subscribe to RANE Worldview today for the latest intelligence on the coronavirus at https://www.ranenetwork.com/worldview-subscribe. 

In this episode of RANE's Essential Geopolitics podcast, a look at Ramadan during unprecedented times. host Fred Burton speaks to Global Security Analyst Ben West about how during the COVID-19 outbreak, nations and religious pilgrims may encounter unusual security constraints.