RANE Podcast Series

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about migration. Stratfor's Emily Hawthorne discusses the global and geopolitical phenomenon of human migration. She speaks with Dohra Ahmad, who pulled together The Penguin Book of Migration Literature. The collection of poems, short stories and other writings spanning more than a century and the entire globe tells the stories of migration in their many different - and similar - details. The book was inspired by a class Ms. Ahmed teaches at St. John’s University in Queens and the powerful conversations about migration and immigration it has prompted. You may find yourself asking as you read questions like: What distinguishes a migrant from an immigrant? Is not one, both? What prompts a person or people to leave one place for another? How do differing politics affect the perceived value of a migrant or immigrant? Listen to hear Ahmad's conversation with Stratfor.

Drug cartels wreak havoc and terror across Mexico, and have done for years. In a recent article for Stratfor Worldview, VP of Tactical Analysis, Scott Stewart, discussed how, despite the cartels' vast differences from terrorist organizations, "the Mexican government and its U.S. ally have pursued the "war" on cartels using many of the same tools that we normally associate with the 'global war on terror.'" Scott Stewart writes, "in some ways, it is only when it comes to end goals that the Islamic State and Mexican cartels differ: Whereas the jihadist group wants to control territory for political power, cartels wish to do so for profit."

What does it take to spot a spy? Not the old trench-coat-wearing cloak-and-dagger caricature of a Cold War-era secret agent. But the modern spy - the insider, perhaps - who can take down a business or betray a government with a digital weapon. We hear a lot about how global corporations and modern governments are vulnerable to intrusion, even from their own employees. But what does a spy look like and how can he - or she - be caught? In TO CATCH A SPY, James Olson, the former chief of CIA counterintelligence, calls on the US needs to do a better job stopping threats from Chinese, Russian, and Cuban spy services. Olson shared some of his own spy secrets with Stratfor’s Chief Security Officer Fred Burton.

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about who pays for the coastal damage done by climate change. The 2019 hurricane season is likely to go down in history books as one of the most costly of the decade in loss of life, loss of infrastructure, loss of property and loss of coastal land. It may take longer than a decade for the Bahamas to recover from Hurricane Dorian. Houston is reeling from major flooding caused by Tropical Storm Imelda. Puerto Rico, still not recovered from 2017's Hurricane Maria, is facing flooding from Tropical Storm Karen. As climate change precipitates more powerful storms, coastal areas of the world are expected to bear the brunt of the damage. As Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and avid surfer, Gilbert M. Gaul, writes in his new book, "The Geography of Risk: Epic Storms, Rising Seas and the Costs of America's Coasts," areas of the United States, with its long coastlines, have been ground zero for some of the worst storms in the past two decades. But, he asks, who is actually paying the financial costs for these monster storms? 

How likely is the United States to be laid low by a cyber attack? What can you do to protect your company from a devastating ransomware or hack? In this episode of the Stratfor "Pen and Sword" podcast with Fred Burton, Robert Knake, co-author of The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats. In the book, Knake and fellow author Richard A. Clarke acknowledge that cyberspace is the battlefield of the future. But along with sobering admissions and predictions as to how ready the United States is, the authors argue that there is hope. But urgent action is needed by individuals, companies and governments to transition to secure systems with encryption and data storage to overcome cyberattacks. The book contains a plan for "cyber resilience." Listen to the Stratfor podcast to hear more. 

Mat Best was an Army Ranger. He’s an entrepreneur. He’s a passionate advocate for veterans. He’s a YouTube phenomenon. And he’s now a best selling author. Best’s memoir, “Thank you for My Service,” is a no-holds barred, highly irreverent and oftentimes inappropriate recounting of his experiences during 5 combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thank You for My Service is a compelling read and continues Best’s advocacy for vets and his businesses. Best is a staunch supporter of veterans. He is the also co-founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, not only roasts and sells specialty coffee, but hires veterans and shares a portion of its profits with vets, first responders, and law enforcement. Best chatted with Stratfor’s Chief Security Officer, Fred Burton about his book, his advocacy and his businesses for the Pen and Sword podcast from Stratfor.

When Sean Parnell returned from fighting for the US in Afghanistan, he wanted to honor the efforts of his platoon. So he wrote a book. He called it Outlaw Platoon. That book was a runaway bestseller. The next book he wrote, Man of War, jumped from memoir to fiction, but his mission was the same: to honor his comrades. In his latest thriller, All Out War,  book, Eric Steele addresses two fundamental questions: first, is the mission he's been given worth it? And second, is he free or is he a slave? Parnell caught up with Stratfor's Chief Security officer and host of Stratfor's "Pen and Sword" podcast, Fred Burton.

Fans who have already binge watched Season Two of Nextflix's series, Mindhunter can still get their dose of solving true crime with a new book from the real life Mindhunter, former FBI criminal profiler, John Douglas. The new book, "The Killer Across the Table" digs into four cases from the Mindhunter's case files. Co-author, Mark Oleshaker says each crime in the new book is notably different from the other and each is completely different from Douglas' famous cases involving serial killers. Oleshaker and Douglas share details of The Killer Across the Table and Douglas' signature true crime investigating and criminal profiling with Stratfor's Chief Security Officer Fred Burton. This podcast is a must listen for fans of true crime and the series, Mindhunter!

When James Grady wrote, "Six Days of the Condor" in 1973, he had no idea his work of spy fiction would see repetition in the real world. But from an international assassination to a complete government-run espionage department, that's what happened. More than 40 years after the book was first published. with a TV series and several sequels to boot behind him, Grady says, his hero is still human. "One thing that has changed completely," he says," is that society is so much more complex and individuals are more...isolated than we were in the 1970's. The digital revolution has made it harder to separate fact from theory from propaganda from downright manipulation, which is the opposite of what people would have said at the dawn of the information age. But also, there are more and different kinds of ...bad actors now than there ever have been... in part due to fragmentation of society." And that makes today's world infinitely more vexing when it comes to security, geopolitics and diplomacy than the bad old days of the Cold War.

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, we hear from Zahra Hankir, a journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, about a collection of essays she has compiled. The essays are a unique - and unprecedented - look into the lives of 19 women journalists who report for western media from and about the Middle Eastern and Arab world. From breaking with traditional female roles to reporting on civil war and its aftermath, these essays provide a remarkable glimpse into an often misunderstood world.