RANE Podcast Series

In this episode, Stratfor analysts Fred Burton and Matthew Bey discuss the worsening relationship between the U.S. and Iran and what to expect in 2020. 

In this episode of Stratfor's Pen and Sword Podcast, Fred Burton speaks to Brad Taylor, best-selling author of 13 novels. In his latest, a Pike Logan thriller, Hunter Killer, takes place in the area where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. Logan encounters Russian assassins, corrupt politics and the fight is on to protect his team, and fertile oil fields at risk. In this wide-ranging conversation Burton and Taylor discuss the role of Army Special Forces, the US military machine, Taylor's history with Delta Force and tips for upcoming writers. 

The group built quickly, claiming space left behind by the Syrian civil war and the chaos in the wake of the long US war in Iraq. By mid-2014, the group known to many countries as "Daesh" had declared a caliphate. Within a year it had claimed larges swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, gained affiliates and inspired followers in more than a dozen other countries -- and begun a reign of terror for any who did not conform to its rigid, violent interpretation of Sharia law. In late 2015, the self-titled Islamic State, aka ISIS, became the focus of international military action that included airstrikes, weapons deliveries and eventually, bloody, costly door-to-door combat in Iraq and Syria. The manhunt was on for affiliates in other countries. In Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate, Mike Giglio tells the story of the rise of the caliphate and "the ramshackle coalition -- aided by secretive Western troops and American airstrikes -- that was assembled to break it down village by village, district by district." Giglio spoke to Stratfor's Fred Burton for the Pen and Sword podcast.

In this episode of the Stratfor Pen and Sword podcast, host Fred Burton speaks to career CIA protector, Thomas Pecora. Pecora has written a memoir of his more than two decades with the Agency, entitled, "The Guardian: Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA's War on Terror." Pecora developed a protective force within the CIA to protect The United State's spies, in other words, it was his job to ensure the safety of all CIA personnel in high threat environments. And after 9/11, Pecora says, all the old spy rules went out the window. In this wide-ranging conversation, Tom Pecora and Fred Burton discuss everything from living life in secret to preferred side arms to heavier weaponry, spy training and even secret service bars. 

In this episode of the Stratfor Pen and Sword Podcast, Fred Burton speaks with filmmaker, writer and podcaster, Chris Carr. Carr says he was fascinated with espionage and spies from a young age. His film, The Dry Cleaner (2019) is about a British intelligence officer named George. Set amid current events, George tries to convince Lydia to gather information about a revolutionary group. Carr is now penning a TV series based on the film.

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a discussion of the relationship between Russia and China amid a global power competition that includes the United States.  Our guest is Artyom Lukin, an associate professor at the School of Regional and International Studies, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. Lukin has authored numerous chapters, papers and commentaries, in Russian and English, on Asia-Pacific international politics and Russia's engagement with Asia. His latest book (co-authored with Rensselaer Lee) is Russia's Far East: New Dynamics in Asia Pacific and Beyond (2015). Lukin is a regular contributor to Stratfor Worldview, and discusses the rapidly evolving geopolitical relationship between China and Russia, from weapons sales to Arctic cooperation to strategic agreements.

Clint Emerson is crazy, by his own admission. But the ex-Navy SEAL believes he’s the right kind of crazy. Emerson focused his entire military career on being the best he can be and that meant, during 20 years working for special ops and the National Security Agency, he did what he had to do to keep America safe. Emerson memoir of those years, “The Right Kind of Crazy: My Life as a Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell” focuses on explaining “doing what you have to do” means for a special operative. As he tells Fred Burton in this episode of the Stratfor podcast, he followed two maxims: “If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying,” and “It’s only illegal if you get caught.”

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about Turkey. Domestic challenges from politics to the economy are pulling at the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Relations between the United States and Turkey spiraled to such a nadir after Ankara launched an offensive into northeastern Syria, that Congress called for sanctions. Meantime, Turkey's relationship with the European Union appears to be fraying at the edges. All of this raises the question: will Turkey turn its sights on Russia? Stratfor's Emily Hawthorne speaks with Sinan Ciddi, Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies.

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about military weapons, secret missions and a life lived in a company town, where every employee was a civil servant of the US government. Piper describes a happy childhood, in a home amid the striking vistas of California's mountains, the desert nearby, playing with her sister to round up rattlesnakes and practicing her skills as a sleuth. Her father, a navy veteran from WWII, worked at Boeing in Seattle until the company laid off a large portion of its workforce. The family packed up the car when her dad got a job offer, and they moved - lock, stock, and barrel - to China Lake, the nation’s largest weapons facility, to build missiles. 

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, Fred Burton speaks to his old friend Jim Markel, the CEO of Redoxx. Redoxx is based in Billings, Montana and builds and sells unique bags for railroad workers, business and adventure travelers as well as everyday bags for families.  Markel started life on the drop zones of various military bases. He joined the Marines very young, and when he finished, after a failed attempt at college, he tried his hand at making military-grade products for civilians. He settled in Billings, Montana, and built a company and helped revive a town. Along his journey, he took to heart the ideas that business is built from the bootstraps up, and that no success comes without service. So he spends parts of every year abroad, helping communities where he can be of service, and returning to the town that he loves.