✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/desmond-shum/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

#149 - After climbing the peak of China's Elite, Desmond Shum had to flee his country of birth out of fear of being disappeared.
 
He was on the inside of the political apparatus along with his former wife, a multi billionaire who would later go on to be disappeared, and together, but in the years before they built their empire of the backs of being cosy with the most powerful elites right up the tippy top of the CCP mountains-cape. 

These relationships coupled with an incredible ambition and nouse for business led Desmond to multiple business deals that were not only extremely lucrative, but also interesting as a case study into the tide lifting all boats phenomenon that was a booming china ins the early 2000’s.

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 05:13 - Dealing With Abuse & The Chinese Caste System
• 16:39 - Status, Vanity, Social Awareness & How Desmond Used It To His Advantage
• 31:13 - Navigating China's Politics & Attention To Detail
• 37:19 - Corruption & Guanxi
• 49:13 - Desmond's Lifestyle When He Was At The Top
• 53:48 - Dynastic Wealth & Desmond's Relationship With Whitney & His Son
• 58:58 - Whitney's Disappearance
• 1:04:13 - Whitney's Elite Guanxi
• 1:12:18 - Desmonds Biggest Deals & The Tide That Lifts All Boats
• 1:26:13 - Whitney's Disappearance
• 1:29:28 - How Rich Chinese Hide Their Money  
• 1:38:03 - Does Desmond Still Feared Being Disappeared?
• 1:39:23 - Fallout After Publishing Book & Discussing Jack Ma
• 1:45:43 - China's Future
• 1:47:23 - 'I Signed My Life Away When I Decided To Publish The Book'

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Geoff Raby

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/scott-patterson/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

#148 - Scott Patterson writes for the WSJ and is author of The Quants, DarkPools and Chaos Kings. 

Anyone who has listened to this podcast for a while will be familiar with my affinity for Nassim Taleb and know just how influential he has been on shaping my worldview…

Just a few of the characters profiled in this book include Bill Ackman, who runs the famous Pershing Square hedge fund, and made one of the greatest trades in recorded history at the beginning of Covid, Nassim Taleb and Mark Spitznagel who together have made billions via their unusual hedge fund, Universa and as well, Didier Sornet, a fascinatingly interesting french mathematician and academic who believes opposite to Taleb, that Black Swans can be predicted.

In this podcast with Scott Patterson, you can expect to hear about the core of the chaos kings worldview, a lot about Nassim Taleb, serendipity and as well anecdotes for days that give you a deep insight into Scott as both a journalist and author.

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:30 – How The Chaos Kings Have Effected Scott’s Worldview
• 10:10 – Taleb’s Hedge Fund Antifragile Trading Strategy
• 12:40 – Scott’s Introduction To Taleb & Spitznagel
• 21:50 – What Principles Enabled Taleb & Spitznagel To Endure Loss Day After Day
• 28:55 – Why Do These Masters Of Risk Expose Themselves To Such Physical Risk
• 34:15 – The Core Of The Chaos Kings Worldview
• 47:47 – Taleb Or Sornet?
• 48:06 – Nassim Taleb Biography?
• 48:23 – Chamath Palihapatya
• 49:36 – How Does A Journalist Optimise For Tail Risk + Extremistan Explained For Authors
• 54:29 – How Will Scott Teach His Son To Optimise For Serendipity
• 55:55 – What Country Is Scott Bullish On

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Nassim Taleb & Incerto Podcast

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/tim-butcher-chasing-the-devil/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

#147 - Tim Butcher returns to the podcast with another incredible journey through an African nation.

The first time Tim appeared he spoke about his adventures through the Congo, weaving a story of an incredibly rich and beautiful country that is nonetheless un-developing. 

It remains easily one of my favourite episodes I’ve ever had the privilege to record. 

Tim, this time around takes us through his month long journey through Liberia and Sierre Leone. He wrote a book about it called Chasing The Devil, and as the title alludes, a big part of the journey was trying to come to terms with the voodoo, black magic and devil worship that he encounters along the way. 

Much like his Congo trip, Tim again is journeying in the footsteps of a great writer who had gone before him. In the case of Liberia it is the famous author and journalists, Graham Greene.

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:10 – What Is Good Writing & What Is Good Speaking?
• 34:13 – Graham Greene & Liberia
• 54:10 – Charles Taylor & The Devil Worship Of West Africa
• 1:16:58 – The Journey Through Liberia
• 1:37:45 – Geographical Determinism
• 1:51:27 – The Kleptocracy Of Liberia & Africa More Broadly
• 2:11:54 – Country You Are Most Bullish On
• 2:17:31 – Cricket Chat

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Tim Marshall
• Tim Butcher – Blood River Through The Congo
• James Robinson – Why Nations Fail

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

The fella who features here has been working with different divisions of Swedish law enforcement for over 20 years and this includes over 10 years with Piketen - Sweden’s equivalent of SWAT.

Piketen says their work is ‘particularly dangerous and complex situations’ and  this includes hostage situations, high risk search warrants, etc. Only 8% of people manage to complete the various psychological and physical tests that are required to make it into Piketen and it was on one of his first jobs with this division that the guest on this episode was involved in an incident that will remain with him for the rest of his life.

This is a deeply personal podcast going from his beginning to now, the full journey of a fella from northern Sweden who wanted to be policeman ever since he he could understand what it meant.

Now, I would love to give a bit of a broader context on the current issues around law enforcement that are being discussed in Sweden, but I am afraid I would not do it justice at all, so let’s leave it at if you are Swedish, I am sure you’re already informed, and if you aren't, than many of the issues are likely mirrored in your own country.

Lower trust in police, more scepticism, lower wages, less applicants, lower standards, more mistakes, harsher critics, negative media attention, and more and more and more context which paints policing overall in a negative light… which in my opinion is a losing strategy because even though everyone of us might have our own example of bad police, imagine if they weren't around, or on average, just as unskilled and as undisciplined as the rest of us.

That's a grim picture. Everything is as nice as it is, because there are people who enforce the law.

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/tim-marshall/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

The following is with friend of the show and one of the most popular guests from this podcasts history.

This is his third appearance – he is the king of geography writing, he is the great and powerful Tim Marshall.

This interview covers everything from Tim on what makes good writing, the success of prisoners of geography, a prisoners of geography observation of Sweden, the long term effects of immigration in Europe, and of course… the future of geography… space all the way down.

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:35 – Tim Riding On A Tank With Tim Butcher
• 03:33 – Why Writing For TV Is A Good Discipline
• 06:25 – The Enormous Success Of Prisoners Of Geography
• 10:18 – Sweden Through A Prisoners Of Geography Lens
• 30:32 – The Geography Of Space All The Way Down
• 45:05 – The Privatisation Of Space
• 53:35 – A Prediction For Space For 2050
• 59:25 – Indonesia – A Country Tim Marshall Is Bullish On

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Tim Marshall Prisoners Of Geography
• Tim Marshall Power Of Geography

✍︎: https://curiousworldview.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/ed-conway/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

The following is with Ed Conway, who has written one of the most intensely curious books, it is called Material World and looks at some of these raw ingredients that have shaped the world we live in.

Namely, these materials are sand, salt, copper, oil, iron and lithium. 

Nothing will give you a greater appreciation for globalisation and the wondrous efficiency of global trade than this book will. It is kind of a miracle that things cost as cheaply as they do, and  are as ubiquitous as they are.

Time Stamps For Ed Conway

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:22 – Appreciation For Globalisation?
• 19:02 – ASML, Sand & Microchips
• 42:54 – Waste, Oil, Demographics & Recycling
• 1:01:42 – I Bring Up A Bizarre Anecdote
• 1:06:57 – Gina Reinhardt, Robert Friedland (crazy Steve Jobs anecdote) & Copper
• 1:25:22 – Serendipity
• 1:31:36 – Country You Are Bullish On
• 1:31:56 – Conversation Between Two People Of History

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Jos Benschop
• Vince Beiser

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/chris-williamson-interview/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

This was first published in early 2021 on this podcast.

Chris Williamson is the host of the Modern Wisdom podcast, one of Europe's and quite frankly - the worlds - fastest growing and most exciting podcasts for the inquisitive mind.

Chris has created something, in Modern Wisdom, that I quietly emulate and admire from afar. The prospect of getting the opportunity to speak with whoever you want around the world who interests you most is the absolute final motivation for why I started this podcast. Chris recently had on JBP Jordan Peterson, which marked for him this high watermark and realisation of this absolute motivation. 

We spoke about much. Stereotypes, being pigeonholed, stifling ones potential, imposter syndrome and not enough about cricket. 

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/norman-ohler/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

Norman Ohler is a German screenwriter, author and journalist.

Norman is most widely known as the author of Blitzed, an incredible book that documents the role of Pervatin (methamphetamine) and drugs during Nazi Germany and WWII.

In this podcast with Norman, you can expect to hear about…

• The moment of serendipity that lead to writing blitzed in the first place.
• A bit about the crazy debauchery of Berlin pre WWII.
• A brief history on drug synthesis including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and even Aspirin.
• The prevalence of meth in the nazi army and as well Hitlers codependency on his doctor.
• Norman addresses some of the criticism of the book.
• + as well he speaks about what the overall lesson is he hopes people take away from reading the book.

Time Stamps For Norman Ohler

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:30 – Wim Wenders & Normans Eclectic Nature
• 11:58 – The Moment Of Serendipity That Lead To Blitzed
• 17:37 – Criticism Of The Book
• 19:35 – History Of Debauchery In Berlin, Methamphetamines & Hypocrisy Of Nazi Puritans
• 34:52 – Bayer Developed Heroin, Merk Developed Cocaine & Germans Invented Most Drugs
• 43:10 – Methamphetamines In The Nazi Army + Hitler & His Codependency With Morel
• 1:09:00 – What Lesson Does Norman Ohler Want People To Read From The Book?
• 1:15:02 – Surprised By The Success Of The Book?
• 1:18:12 – Serendipity & Conversation Between Any Two People Of History

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• David De Jong

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/mitchell-prothero/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

Gateway By Project Brazen - Listen Now

Mitchell Prothero is a war correspondent and two time bureau chief in Iraq for both UPI and McClathcy Newspapper’s. He is a senior writer at VICE news, has written for Buzzfeed, and is now, the host of gateway, Project Brazen’s latest series which is guns, cocaine and dirty money in Europe.

This is truly one of the most fascinating and important stories happening in northern Europe at the moment. As Europe as a continent  is set too, apparently, overtake the USA as the gross largest consumer of cocaine in the world. And along with the increase in consumption comes the requisite increase in violence, corruption, money laundering and other criminal networks that the scale and money behind cocaine enables.

Time Stamps For Mitchell Prothero

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:54 – From Covering ISIS To Cocaine
• 05:49 – Anecdotes With Christopher Hitchens
• 12:05 – Deep Diving Into The Cocaine Wars Of Europe – Mafia, Violence & Narco States?
• 36:59 – The Role Of Globalisation In All Of This + The Question Of Legalisation
• 1:00:34 – The Stigma Around Cocaine
• 1:08:08 – More On Cocaine In Europe + Who Are The Keyser Söze’s?
• 1:29:12 – Who Is Mitchell Prothero & What Is This Project (Where To Find Him)

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Bradley Hope
• Nicky Woolf
• Christopher Turner
• Justin Scheck
• Gateway By Project Brazen

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/kevin-kelly/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryanfhogg/

The following podcast is with Kevin Kelly.

He’s an eclectic fella with a broad array of experiences and interests, but most notably, he is the co-founder of Wired magazine, an og futurist, the photographer behind vanishing Asia, author of many many books… but most importantly to me, he wrote of one of the most viral blog posts of all time, ‘1000 true fans’.

Plus, he just published Excellent Advice For Living – a wonderful book of aphorisms.

Kevin Kelly has done at this stage probably 100’s of podcasts, I feel like I’ve listened to most of them, but while I cannot confirm this to be 100% true, I think this podcast can exist as evergreen material Kevin has not spoken publicly about before. 

We go top to bottom the role of serendipity in Kevins life. I ask him point blank what Tim Ferriss has done for him. Kevin opens up and then digs deep on the importance of communication and I even get Kevin to react to a Norm Macdonald quote at the end.

-----

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:37 – Serendipity In Kevins Life & Travel Experiences
• 24:52 – ‘Be A Good Ancestor’ – Kevin Kelly
• 28:15 – What’s It Like Being Famous In China?
• 34:02 – What Has Tim Ferriss Done For You?
• 42:32 – Kevins Favourite Aphorism From The Book
• 46:32 – Kevins Advice On Elite Communication + Behind The Scenes On The Podcast Tour
• 57:22 – Kevin Reacting To A Norm Macdonald Quote + Reflecting On Mortality

🍻☕: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ryanhogg

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Unsolicited Advice From Kevin Kelly
• Nassim Taleb
• Bed Of Procrustes
• Tim Ferriss
• Thomas Erikson On Communication