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The Geopolitics & Power Podcast

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Mar 30, 2025 • 50min

Marcel Dirsus | How Tyrant's Fall

Curious Worldview Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Zs20Bl4ftN4XPHtxnVAVB?si=hJCvtqvMR-iFq-HLdYt7RgYoutube - https://youtu.be/MntDK3kWRekCurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeThe following is with German political scientist, former beer brewer in the Congo, and author of How Tyrants Fall - Marcel DirsusMarcel interviewed coup leaders, dissidents and soldiers to write about the workings and malfunctions of tyrants. Because while the individual personas, eccentricities and reputations might make them all distinct from one another, there are more threads that draw disparate dictator's together than don’t.I think this excerpt from the book sums up the essence of Marcel’s work and as well, the themes in todays podcast.“The most powerful tyrants on earth are condemned to live their life in fear. They can make their enemies disappear with a snap of their fingers. They, their families, and their acolytes may control entire countries from the luxury of their palace, but they also have to spend their every waking hour plagued by the fear of losing everything. No matter how powerful they become, they cannot pay for or order that fear to disappear. If such tyrants make one wrong move, they will fall.”So the interview is about the workings of various tyrants around the world, both living and dead. I ask Marcel about applying a prisoners of geography lens to this topic, china and the case for dictators not being all bad all the time, marcel’s rogues gallery of tyrants and as well, Marcel offers a raw reflection of the potential future of authoritarianism in the USA particularly because of the astounding moves made so far under trump. This was recorded the day after the US inauguration.🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhoggFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg
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Mar 21, 2025 • 34min

Robert D. Kaplan | Veteran Geopolitical Analyst On The Current Moment

Curious Worldview Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FiugCTBQaobrZfhz3NDOR?si=c1soXluYQ4SJ6THNvxG7twYoutube - https://youtu.be/G6EIYURdSOACurious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeRobert Kaplan has been sighted as one of the most influential geopolitical thinkers of the modern era. The Revenge Of Geography, Surrender or Starve, Balkan Ghosts, Asias Cauldron, The Tragic Mind, and so on, I counted 18 books so far with his most recent being - Waste Land: A World In Permanent Crisis.I’ve listened to many of his books at this point, I found Revenge Of Geography a few years ago whilst preparing for my interviews with Tim Marshall. 🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhoggFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg
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Mar 17, 2025 • 46min

Kerry Brown | "The Greatest Geopolitical Question Of The 21st Century"

Curious Worlview Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/26jGHMsGGMuBuBtbB2u2Gw?si=j3bKCO6jQi6ftj6jM3UwoQYoutube - https://youtu.be/4MWFzPXQPY8Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeTaiwan is the greatest geopolitical question of the 21st century says Kerry Brown,  sinologist, and former Diplomat to the British Embassy in Beijing. He is, I am thrilled to say the guest on todays podcast. A sinologist is a scholar and expert of China, its language, history, politics, and culture - and the theme today is top to bottom the myriad questions looming over one of the largest political issues for China… Taiwan. Kerry published a book last year called The Taiwan Story: How a Small Island Will Dictate the Global Future. It is marvelous, and my hope was to do as much justice to the various questions which Kerry approaches Taiwan with as possible in a brief podcast.The big questions being, the economy, given Taiwan’s semi conductor supremacy with its home grown TSMC, the perplexing idea that Xi would view Taiwanese reunification as the most significant achievement to his legacy, how a more fractured, less unified global order creates lots of wiggle room, Taiwan’s history, and that despite having 95% Han ethnicity, what is it about Taiwan which makes them a distinctly different culture to China, Kerrys feeling for the inevitability of an attempt at reunification and lots more between those cracks. 🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhoggFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg
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Jan 16, 2025 • 50min

Bradley Hope | The Story Of MBS & Saudi Arabia

Curious Worldview - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bradley-hope-blood-oil-the-story-of-mohammed-bin-salman/id1540424160?i=1000681834477 Youtube - https://youtu.be/EF-yONBmGa8Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribeBradley Hope returns to the podcast.Some of the things that stand out from this episode that I would encourage you to stay around for include…  the Shiek Down, this brazen transference of power and wealth which MBS oversaw. Bradley’s take on the supposed sports-washing this region has been all over the news for, specifically here, referring to football and golf. The US/Saudi relationship NEOM And in between all of that a sense for MBS as told through the reporting and journalism of one of the best. 00:00 - Introduction02:30 - The Region - Oil, Religion, History06:45 - Sovereign Wealth Funds08:50 - Religious Divide Between Gulf Nations010:41 - Saudi Arabia Young Country13:40 - Understanding MBS19:40 - The Shiek Down27:35 - MBS & Risk30:58 - MBZ - UAE33:40 - Bradley’s Contrarian Take On Sportswashing43:07 - Geopolitical Significance Of The Region51:10 - Consultancies (McKinsey, etc) In Saudi55:23 - NEOM1:00:10 - Journalist Craft1:05:15 - Has MBS Read Bradley’s Work & Does Bradley Still Love Journalism?1:08:30 - Bradley Reflects On Changing Media Landscape1:13:50 - Mecca & Medina1:15:10 - Misunderstood Parts Of Saudi & Emirates🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhoggFollow me on Instagram – @ryanfhogg
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Oct 3, 2024 • 43min

Bruce Ladebu | Rescuing Children From Slavery

The Curious Worldview Podcast SpotifyThe Curious Worldview Podcast Apple Relating Interview's To Slavery On The Curious Worldview Matthew Freidman -Human Trafficking Lisa Kristine - Photographing Modern Slavery Lisa Kristine Ted Talk Follow me on Instagram – @ryanfhoggOut Of The Slave Fields - Bruce Ladebu (Book)The Children's Rescue Initiative (Donate)----At this very moment there are over 40,000,000 people around the world trapped in slavery. This is a number larger than at any point before in history… and perniciously, a figure that grows everyday. Millions among them are children. And then millions of those are living in the most devastating conditions imaginable. Bruce Ladebu runs an initiative called Children's Rescue where he and his team identify and then extract those very children living in the most destitute environments.To date, the Children's Rescue initiative have rescued over 2,400 children.Share this podcast with someone. The better informed we are about this reality, at the very least, the more discerning we can be in our consumption that feeds this industry. 
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Jul 30, 2024 • 2h 4min

Ash Bhardwaj | Great Explorers, Cultural Differences & 'Why We Travel'

✍︎: The Curious Worldview Newsletter - the ultimate compliment to the podcast...Jon Lee AndersonCharlie WalkerFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWhy We Travel - Ash BhardwajAsh Bhardwaj is an author, journalist, film-maker and former british army who amongst his many expeditions has ventured the likes of journeying 8500km along the Russian European border. Retraced secret missions of WW2 through Albania. Walked 800km through India and The Himalayas, meeting the Dalai Lama on the way. Walked 1...
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May 29, 2024 • 58min

Samo Burja | Why Organisations Thrive & Fall - Wallenberg Family Of Sweden & Sulzberger Family Of NYT

Samo Burja, founder of Bismarck Analysis, delves into the rise and fall of organizations, revealing how leadership impacts long-term success. He critiques management techniques using Boeing and Twitter as examples, while discussing succession and corruption within power dynamics. Burja explores the prominent Wallenberg family's influence in Sweden’s economy and the challenges of interpreting societal issues through statistics. He also shares a bullish outlook on Poland's economic growth, poised to outpace Germany.
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Apr 30, 2024 • 60min

Michael Hilliard | Ghostwriting Geopolitics In Kazakhstan To Creating 'The Red Line Podcast'

🎙️: https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/shareCurious Worldview Podcast - #172 w/ Michael Hilliard On AppleCurious Worldview Podcast - #172 w/ Michael Hilliard On SpotifyFollow me on Instagram - @ryanfhoggWatch on Youtube - https://youtu.be/ZzsFPOUzlHgMicheal Hilliard is a geopolitical analyst host and creator of 'The Red Line Podcast'… and! a fellow Aussie coming to us today from Australia’s glorious West coast capital, Perth.Micheal and his team with the 'Red Line' take a deep fortnightl...
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Mar 19, 2024 • 54min

Ernest Scheyder | Mining The Cobalt, Lithium, Copper & Rare Earths To Electrify The Economy

Exploring the ethical dilemmas of mining essential minerals like copper, lithium, and rare earths for electrifying the economy. Discussing the trade-offs between environmental preservation, indigenous rights, and industrial progress. Emphasizing the need for ethical considerations, sustainable practices, and industry accountability in the mining sector.
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Feb 21, 2024 • 23min

Patrick Watts | The End Of The American Empire

🎙️: https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/shareCurious Worldview Podcast - #168 w/ Patrick Watts On AppleCurious Worldview Podcast - #168 w/ Patrick Watts On Spotify✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribehttps://atlasgeographica.com/patrick-watts/The following is with Patrick Watts who is one hell of an interesting fella, this was a really fun episode to record!The podcast is about the themes from his debut book, The End Of The American Empire. The End Of The American Empire...

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