Curious Worldview

Youtube - https://youtu.be/EF-yONBmGa8

Bradley's #51 Curious Worldview Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cHyTyId6UbBrBM1nbDt9q?si=faZKIDlQRGCH8iQW4k2uwQ
 
Bradley's #51 Curious Worldview Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/51-bradley-hope-billion-dollar-whale-blood-oil-project/id1540424160?i=1000539362238&l=en-GB

Whale Hunting Podcast (Highly Recommend) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whale-hunting/id1718751733

Curious Worldview Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Bradley Hope returns to the podcast.

By far the highest production value I’ve ever done. We recorded this together in Bradley’s studio in London. It’s TV quality stuff so refer to youtube for this one. 

And the podcast was as much in 90 minutes that we could possibly do around his book, Blood and Oil. 

The co-author of which, Justin Scheck has also been a previous guests on this podcast. 

Blood and Oil is the story of MBS, Mohammed bin Salman, who is the crown prince and most powerful person in Saudi Arabia, he is as well, the singular vision responsible for most of the good but as well, most of the bad that Saudi Arabia has been responsible for since about 2017.

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 - Bradley Hope
02:30 - The Region - Oil, Religion, History
06:45 - Sovereign Wealth Funds
08:50 - Religious Divide Between Gulf Nations
010:41 - Saudi Arabia Young Country
13:40 - Understanding MBS
19:40 - The Shiek Down
27:35 - MBS & Risk
30:58 - MBZ - UAE
33:40 - Bradley’s Contrarian Take On Sportswashing
43:07 - Geopolitical Significance Of The Region
51:10 - Consultancies (McKinsey, etc) In Saudi
55:23 - NEOM
1:00:10 - Journalist Craft
1:05:15 - Has MBS Read Bradley’s Work & Does Bradley Still Love Journalism?
1:08:30 - Bradley Reflects On Changing Media Landscape
1:13:50 - Mecca & Medina
1:15:10 - Misunderstood Parts Of Saudi & Emirates

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Youtube - https://youtu.be/TQVWUdFibC8

The Profiteers - https://www.amazon.com/Profiteers-Business-Privatizes-Profits-Socializes/dp/1541703529

Newsletter - https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Christopher Marquis spent 10 years as a professor at the Harvard Business School, he’s also worked as a professor at Cornell, the Harvard Kennedy School and is currently a professor at the Judge Business School in Cambridge, where I was lucky enough to record this in person with him.

It was quite a neat experience actually, after we did the interview, Christopher treated me to a lunch in one of the Cambrdige college halls where in proper Friday British fashion, a perfect Fish and Chips was served.

Christopher has authored three books, but the subject of this interview was his latest… Profiteers, How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Cost.

Some of you may have noticed a recurring question around ‘negative externalities’ in several of my interviews this year… particularly with Johan Norberg most recently. Well, Adam Lantz, who listens to this podcast reached out to me in response to the JOhan interview and said. If you really wanty to talk externalities, than you’ve got to talk to this guy.

Johan Norberg Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ujVUlq3BbhTDBhBFnaR5S?si=46b8333b866341da
Johan Norberg Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/johan-norberg-does-capitalism-fail-to-price-in-negative/id1540424160?i=1000671395087

And so I wrote to Christopher immediately, read his book, booked the flight and was greeted with so much generosity and hospitality it was a bit of a pinch myself moment, because even though this podcast creates 0 dollars in revenue, it’s instead introducing me to a wealth of experience.

This episode with Christopher is negative externalities all the way down… with specific attention to plastics, agriculture and clothing.

00:00 - Christopher Marquis
02:27 - The Externality Iceberg
07:57 - The Plastic Iceberg
14:47 - Can A Free Market Price These Negative Externalities?
26:04 - Agriculture Iceberg
41:07 - We Consume Via Our Means Not Our Morals
42:41 - Clothing Iceberg
52:33 - Egregious Cases Of Greenwashing
54:39 - Zoom & Netflix? Externality?
1:07:22 - The Jevons Paradox
1:08:43 - Just Speed Bumps On The Way To Prosperity?
1:12:35 - Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, What Are The Right Questions?
1:16:57 - Serendipity In Christopher's Life

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https://freegubad.com/
Zhala X - https://x.com/BayramovaZhala

Zhala Bayramova is a human rights lawyer and child of political prisoner and human rights defender Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu. 

I met Zhala recently at Bill Browders, Magnitsky Awards, where Zhala won youth activist of the year. 

Her legal status is that of a political refugee in Sweden, having been horrifically beaten during protests in Azerbaijan, a country she is afraid she will never be able to return to.

Her father was repeatedly arrested for investigating corruption within the oil industry of Azerbaijan, until In the autumn of 2023 he decided to take the risk and visit his seriously ill mother in Baku, upon arrival, he was beaten by local police, as was his wife and Zhala’s mother. Then Gubad was arrested under trumped up charges of money laundering and subsequently thrown into pre-trial detention. His case was later postponed indefinitely, but he remains under house arrest and is being denied critical medical attention which in any other circumstance might save his lfie. Zhala, together with her brothers and mother, are leading a global campaign for his release.

Zhala is an absolute force, and it is my privilege to have her as a guest on this podcast.

James Robinson is winning the Nobel Prize for Economics this year alongside his co-author Daron Acemoglu and fellow economist, Simon Johnson.

This is obviously extremely exciting for him, but as well selfishly, rather exciting for me… because in episode 24, James Robinson was one of the first people I ever interviewed for this podcast. 

James co-wrote an outrageously successful book in 2012 called - ‘Why Nations Fail’ - which is the work for which James has won the Nobel Prize and as well, was the subject of this interview. 

Why Nations Fail introduces an extractive versus inclusive institutions framework that does an unreasonable amount of heavy lifting to explain the distributed economic prosperity between countries.

And just fair warning, it is one of the first interviews I ever did, so it may feel quite a bit different to those more recently - but bare with me and endure my enthusiasm as James reveals where the catalyst for the inclusive/extractive framework comes from, a very hot take on corruption, James’s work as a developmental economist and a whole lot more. 

It’s also been a while since Ive made a general appeal for pumping that good juice. But if a Nobel Prize winner isn’t a reason why, then there aren't any left. The ability for me to get the guests I want, and grow the show as I ambition, is all downstream of how many followers on Apple and Spotify I have, but as well, how many reviews on Apple and Spotify I have. So I ask, hat in hand, to please bring that Christmas cheer and pump a 5 star review into whichever platform it is that you listen on.

Jack Weatherford returns to the pod which marks a pretty sentimental moment for me (links are at the bottom of this email, before the transcript snippet).

Jack’s first appearance was #19 of the podcast. To this day, it’s my favourite podcast I’ve ever recorded. These are links to the first appearance. 

Jack Weatherford #19 on Spotify

Jack Weatherford #19 on Apple

Jack Weatherford #19 on Youtube

But four years ago, when I had just started this podcast, I had written to Jack telling how I was listening to the final chapters of his book while walking across sand dunes in Merghouza, (a desolate slice of the Sahara in south west Morocco). The chapter was making the case for how the plagues viral spread was downstream of the Mongols connectivity of the modern world. 

I wrote that I was keen to interview him for this podcast that I had just started. 

There were lots of rejection for a while in the first few years and I had no expectations he would even get back to me. But to my surprise he did, and it was an emphatic yes. 

We corresponded a bit over email, recorded a 4 hour discussion, of which 3 where published And it was as much a dedication to Mongolia as it was Genghis Khan and the Mongols. 

And I’ve waited in the years since to see him appear on Rogan, Fridman, Tim Ferriss or even a Dan Carlin addendum, since these are all blokes who have openly praised and spoken about Jack’s work many times. 

But so far, nothing, although it looks like one of them may correct this, which Jack may or may not give away at the end.

But onto this episode today. 

Jack has just published his final instalment on the Mongols, his fourth book on the topic. It’s called Emperor Of The Seas and it’s about Genghis’s grandson, Kublai Khan, who expanded the Mongol territory beyond the dominion his grandfather conquered 50 years before him. Kublai folded into the Khan empire the fertile agricultural lands of south China, repurposed that fleet and the expertise along with and expanded the Khan empire beyond the oceans. Mongols sitting on horseback, atop goat skins, riding wooden ships. 

Jack Weatherford #190 Of The Curious Worldview Podcast on Youtube

Emperor Of The Seas - Jack Weatherford

Nat Eliason is an absolute legend. 

I’ve been subscribed to his newsletter, following his tweets, and listening to his interviews for what feels like years now.

He’s a prolific online writer who recently published his debut book, a memoir of a crypto side quest he spiralled deep down into which is serves as revelatory for the sheer insanity that is crypto. It’s meme coins, making loads of money, losing it, secret discord servers, exit liquidity and all the rest that foreshadows the same stuff happening now. 

Crypto is back in the news, and therefore so is Nat’s book - Crypto Confidential - which is a must read if you want to get a sense for, or contribute to, the mania.

However, writing is Nat’s circulatory system, so we ended up speaking half about books and half about crypto. When you check out the episode, navigate the timestamps if you wanna skip the writing stuff and go straight to crypto.

Before I leave you with Nat, he’s got this tremendous call to action on his Substack that I wanted to share here…

“Among my strongest life goals is to write something worthy of outliving me”

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Nat Eliason Substack

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00:00 - Who Is Nat Eliason?
01:08 - Serendipitous Anecdote
02:58 - CRYPTO: Crypto Mania
12:23 - Writing
18:05 - AI Helping Writers (Great Metaphor)
24:48 - Great Story Telling Less Great Writing
34:08 - Taleb's Influence
41:08 - Book Publishing Market (VC Metaphor)
1:00:33 - CRYPTO: Crypto From All Sides. Crazy Stories. Current Market, Ideological? The Future.

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Levison Wood is an author, journalist, tv star, photographer, film producer, script writer, fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and as well to top it all off… former Officer in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.

If you’ve never heard of Levison Wood, he’s written books that have taken us all across the world. He was propelled into fame with his debut 'Walking The Nile' back in 2015 which serendipitously parlayed into a documentary, and then the momentum took and he’s never looked back.

Lev is for me the archetypal guest that I look for with this podcast. That delicate combination of writer and adventurer. The discipline to take a big risk, and then return with clean prose.

I’d group this interview right alongside my high watermark for the show which was #169 with Jon Lee Anderson, #66 with Tim Butcher way back and any of the Tim Marshall appearances as well. 

Youtube - https://youtu.be/jP2HR443Pb0

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Levison Wood Website

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00:00 - Levison Wood
01:040 - Jocko Willink
04:25 - All Explorers Seem British?
06:08 - Luck & Serendipity
21:43 - The Surprise Success & Big Decade
33:00 - Rough Times For Lev
38:08 - Opportunity Cost: Family Vs Career
44:40 - Lev's Mount Rushmore Of GOAT Explorers
55:40 - Romanticising Indiana Jones & Thoughts On Graham Hancock
59:20 - Rory Stewart
1:02:23 - Great Current Explorers
1:10:30 - Lev Having An Incredible Decade
1:14:10 - Thinking About Risk
1:22:55 - Milling - Wild Hazing In Parachute Regiment
1:30:10 - How Has The Nature Of Travel Changed?
1:43:25 - What Great Expedition From History Would Lev Join?

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David De Jong First Appearance On The Pod - Nazi Billionaires, #127 - Apple

David De Jong First Appearance On The Pod - Nazi Billionaires, #127 - Spotify

David De Jong is a Dutch historian and investigative journalist.
Early in his career, he found himself in New York reporting for Bloomberg on hidden fortunes and the power of family offices all across the world - it was during this job he discovered a nondescript €18,000,000,000 German family office…

David eventually pulled that thread all the way back to the upper echelons of the Nazi party

This led him to move to Berlin and embark down a 4 year investigation into the dark and dusty vaults of Germanys corporate pst.

What he uncovered was Nazi wealth that has endured to this day which has its tentacles wrapped around many companies that you and I consume or interact with on a daily basis.

Today, we recorded a brief addendum to the story, David published in Vanity Fair recently a story of Kuehne + Nagel, one of the worlds largest freight forwarding companies, that is listed on the Swiss exchange, but a very German company indeed.
The podcast is about the central role Kuehne + Nagel played in the Third Reich. The politics of memory in Germany and the son of Kuehne + Nagel founder, Klaus-Michael Kuehne who is germanys richest man, the largest shareholder of Kuehne + Nagel and until today, still denying the companies dark origins.

Link To Nazi Billionaires Book
Link To Vanity Fair Article

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https://atlasgeographica.com/patrick-watts/

The following is with Patrick Watts who is one hell of an interesting fella and in this podcast we discuss the various outcomes and implications of the 2024 US election contra Trump & Harris.

The End Of The American Empire – UK Amazon

The End Of The American Empire – US Amazon

Stephanie Baker is a journalist whose been writing between the intersection of business and politics for almost 30 years with Bloomberg. 

Stephanie's just published her first book and it is just amazing and the consequence of covering these topics for a lifetime. The network, the knowledge, the weird language of sanctions of financial opacity. 

It’s a book about the global economic war with Russia post Ukrainian invasion. The fallout of the sanctions, why it has and hasn’t crippled the Russian economy as intended, and everything in and around Russian capital flight, Russian sanctions and the global economic war underwriting Russia's physical threat. 

We start with Stephanies experience covering Russia from Moscow in the 90s, her stumbling across a murder scene and then between that and the book, Stephanie working as Christopher Hitchens fact checker at The Nation, the details behind putting a book like this together then the details about western businesses who withdrew substantial Russian operations, the oil markets chicanery to skirt sanctions, Oligarchs, Minigarchs, Euroclear and frozen Russian capital, what the sanctions did where they've been effective and where they haven’t and a whole lot more.

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Stephanie Baker - Punishing Putin

Episodes Similar To This

- Bill Browder
- Oliver Bullough
- Nicholas Shaxson

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00:00 - Who Is Stephanie Baker
03:21 - Moscow In The 90s & Fact Checking Christopher Hitchens
09:01 - How Oligarchs Were Created
17:07 - Hermitage Capital & Bill Browder
19:00 - Debut Book After 30 Years Of Journalism
27:46 - Economic Chaos From Sanctions
31:21 - Commodity Markets & Oil Chicanery
36:26 - Cannibalising Goods For Repurposing As Weapons
38:45 - McDonalds, Renault & Unilever Huge Russian Operations
54:50 - Euroclear's Role
1:00:11 - Capital Flight, Offshore Plumbing & Financial Opacity
1:20:16 - Liquid wealth of Putin
1:21:36 - The Role Of Serendipity In Stephanies Life

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