Geopolitical Cousins

Geopolitical Cousins

Author: Jacob Shapiro & Marko Papic Language: English Episodes: 50
There’s a certain kind of conversation that happens when two deeply knowledgeable friends, who also happen to be professional geopolitical analysts, get together without a script. That’s the space Geopolitical Cousins occupies. Hosts Jacob Shapiro and Marko Papic bring their distinct perspectives-often aligned, sometimes clashing-to dissect the forces shaping our world, from market-moving policies to underlying cultural shifts. You won’t find dry, academic lectures here. Instead, each episode feels like you’re overhearing a lively, sometimes comedic debate between two cousins at a family gathering, if that family was obsessed with the intersection of power, philosophy, and investment. The analysis is rigorous and in-depth, yet delivered with a relatable ease that can pivot from a serious interview with an expert to an off-the-wall observation about societal quirks. This podcast digs into the "why" behind the headlines, exploring how business, culture, and human nature collide on the global stage. By weaving together categories that are often kept separate-society, investing, comedy, philosophy-Shapiro and Papic create a uniquely holistic listen. Tune in for a perspective that is as intellectually substantial as it is unpredictably engaging.
Episodes
Flies to Poop [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:03
The Houthis have an email address. You send them your ship's name, your transponder number, and they send you back a bank account. It's all very cultured. And the Iranians could have taken oil to $200 back in March but..…
The Fourth Reich [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:34
AfD won 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, and the Twittersphere (x-sphere just doesn't hit, sorry) immediately projected Panzer divisions massing on the Polish border. Is AfD kinda scary right-wing populist? For sure. But every righ…
Rabies-infested beavers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:58
Rabies-infested beavers. Not an insult - a fiscal strategy. Canadians have stopped buying bourbon, started flying maple leaf flags in grocery stores, and ~ most importantly ~ handed Mark Carney the political cover to bui…
Scotty Doesn't Know [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:25
Scott Bessent says he doesn't understand why oil prices are spiking. The guy standing between America and the River Styx is confused :) The cousins crack open a few cold ones this week and break down why the 30-year just…
The King of Israel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:42
It's been a minute. Marko and Jacob are back after a long gap, and not much has changed: the Hormuz standoff drags on, the war in Ukraine grinds forward, and the stock market shrugged it all off. Marko argues freedom of…
Lessons Learned [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:33
Round two. Same four analysts, a lot more whiskey, and a lot less structure. Peter Zeihan, Marko Papic, and Matt Gertken sit back down with Jacob - a man who cut his teeth pestering all three of them for their pieces as…
This Is The Way The World Ends (w/ Zeihan & Gertken) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40:44
Sixteen years after last sharing a table together, four Stratfor alumni reunite for a wide-ranging conversation on the decade ahead. Jacob and Marko are joined by Peter Zeihan, and Matt Gertken to tackle three questions:…
What We Got Wrong About The World Cup (A LOT) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:22
The cousins reconvene with the BCA brain trust - Juan Correa, Robert Tipper, and Jeremie Peloso - for the World Cup post-mortem. The model called all four semifinalists but missed champion Spain, so the crew litigates wh…
Operation Fun Run [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:53
Iran again. Yes, again :( nobody's thrilled, but that's the content. The cousins break down a week of tanker attacks, retaliations to retaliations, and a 20% toll that became "great investments" in 24 hours. Marko's pitc…
A Little Belgium Cherub Gets to Pee in Trump's Pool [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:34
Iran, Hormuz, another tanker on fire - sure, fine, but the real question is: what's actually driving the behavior here, and it's not the diplomacy everyone keeps quoting. Marko and Jacob argue it out: chokepoint tolls, t…