On the Fringe

Hey all! In this episode we welcomed back Joe Barnes, a friend of the podcast and Russia hand. In February 2022, Joe set off on a trip on a trip through the former USSR and visited each one of the fifteen countries, then wrote a fascinating book about his experiences.

In our hour-long chat (it’s a record) we dive into what is happening on the ground in each country, including the cultural and historical dynamics that have shaped the last three decades in each country. In the wide ranging chat, Joe peels back the regional dynamics at play in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia and shares his deep insight into the vastly different cultural dynamics at play from experiencing these countries on the ground.

After listening, you’ll come away with a much deeper understanding of the former USSR today and why throwing these countries into a single basket (as was done before) makes for a misguided or lopsided view of some of the world’s least understood—and most important places.

Joe’s book is available here and we both wholeheartedly recommend it (and make no commission on this link):

https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Russia-Journey-Through-Former/dp/B0GPNJXB5B/

If you enjoyed the episode, please do us a quick favor and subscribe, leave us a star rating, and a comment. Or send us an email at [email protected].

We always love hearing from our growing On the Fringe community.

All the best from both of us,

Dave + Gav

Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. (Sorry, made a mistake 15 seconds in!) And, the local government (as it has done in the past to stop Singaporeans from doom scrolling) came up with a plan to play matchmaker + provide more financial incentives to couples to have kids.

In the episode, Dave + Gav analyze the new policy, and spot an important piece of the puzzle that government is really missing.

If you enjoyed it or learned something, subscribe and shoot us an email: [email protected]

Thanks as always to our growing On the Fringe community!

All the best from both of us,

Dave + Gav

Here’s another example of Singapore’s novel policies in motion

This a quick bonus episode/update about the current war between Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan has signed on to the Makkah Accord, along with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to come to one another’s mutual defense. Will this agreement do anything to resolve the tit-for-tat conflict? Here’s our take.

In this episode, we dive into what the three countries that have signed on the Makkah Agreement (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan) have to offer one another, and why on paper this looks like an effective deterrence against a group like the Houthis or the Taliban. We also dive into why access does not equal utilization. Essentially, why the Saudis are largely left fending for themselves despite having a brand new alliance that looks increasingly more like a paper Megazord.

Thanks, as always, for listening and all the best from both of us!

Dave + Gav

According to CSIS, Intellectual property losses cost the U.S. economy between $225—$600 billion per year. These come from losing trade secrets, illegal technology transfers, and copyright infringement to name a few.

It was recently reported that critical parts to the F-35 fighter jet were shipped commercially between Australia and the U.S. and routed through Hong Kong. Then, China took possession of them.

In this quick bonus episode, Dave and Gavin theorize why and how this happened, and the potential damage to U.S. national security as a rival power now possesses military technology the U.S. has fiercely protected.

If you enjoyed the episode, give us a star rating, leave us a comment, or shoot us an email! [email protected]

Thanks for listening and all the best,

Dave + Gav

Recently, there’s been much talk of the events occurring around Yemen, but less talk about the group at the center of it all, Ansar Allah, generally referred to as the Houthis. In this episode, Gav and Dave talk about the origins of the group, and what makes them exceptional and dangerous….and such a potentially existential threat to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The boys talk about the Houthis' background, their motivation, and some of the remarkable feats they have managed to pull off on the battlefield while growing over tenfold during a brutal war of attrition that has lasted over a decade.

If you enjoyed the episode or learned something, share, subscribe, and let us know. We always love hearing from our growing On the Fringe community.

All the best from both of us,

Dave + Gav

Our hearts go out to the Yemeni civilians who have been displaced after a decade of war.

In this episode, we're shining a light on the growing humanitarian crisis on both sides of Gulf of Aden. To really understand what is happening in Yemen, you also have to look at the ongoing refugee crisis that is too big to no longer be ignored. The impact of the Houthis siezing more terrain and control of Yemen will spillover into an entire region that is currently on edge, and critically, doesn't have the resources to potentially aid thousands (or more) of Yemeni refugees showing up at their doorstep. (And hot flash, the UN doesn't either).

If you learned something from the episode, share it with your friends and let us know! [email protected]

All the best from both of us,

Dave and Gav

On this bonus episode, the boys talk about Singapore’s interesting solution to the problem of constant electronic stimulation...paying people to read books. The country is trialling a program where people will be fiscally rewarded for their reading efforts, another entry in a long history of money-based social engineering out of the island state.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to On the Fringe for more.

All the best from both of us,

Dave + Gav

While working on another episode, Gavin and Dave ran into a sadly familiar problem, lamenting the absence of a once constant companion, that old fan favorite, the CIA World Factbook.

Back in high school, we took the CIA World Factbook for granted diving into world flags, populations, and obscure info like how many airports does Ukraine have. Little did we know that there would come a day when it would disappear, and we were stuck with old numbers to understand a current situation.

Now that it’s gone, is the next best source of info Gemini, Chat GPT, and other AI Bots? We don’t know. We just know that we both genuinely miss the world's best repository at our fingertips.

Shoot us an email, and leave us a star rating or a comment. We always love hearing from our growing On the Fringe Community: [email protected]

All the best from both of us,

Dave + Gav

Here’s our initial reaction:

https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/p/bonus-the-world-factbook-has-been?r=52ogc9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

In this episode, On the Fringe analyzes the implications of the growing geopolitical crisis in the Gulf and a potential crisis for oil markets due to Houthi forces exposing key terrain...and it miles away from the coast, in brains in Riyadh.

On September 3rd, an attempt by the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia to launch an offensive against the Houthi forces that control the majority of Yemen’s populated area quickly went awry. As of publication, Houthi forces have overwhelmed government positions and seized control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including islands located in the Red Sea and the strategically important port own of Al-Mokha. This is disastrous for the opposition to the Houthis, but it is also disastrous for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has seen several cities and economically critical pipelines and oil facilities attacked by ballistic missiles and drones.

The Kingdom has had to shut down the East-West pipeline, after it was hit by ballistic missiles originating from somewhere in Iraq. The East-West pipeline was keeping the Red Sea ports supplied with oil from the Eastern oil-fields that had otherwise been cut off from oil markets by the war around the Strait of Hormuz; the Saudis are now counting the barrels it still has located in the Red Sea port of Yanbu that are destined for export to the Sumed pipeline that traverses Egypt.

There is every possibility that the Houthis may have cut off all Saudi oil exports to the world…this is 4% of all the oil currently on the market, and while that may seem like a small number, it could lead to one of the most geopolitically important capitulations of the 21st century.

If you enjoyed the episode, shoot us a message, share it with your friends, and subscribe. We always love hearing from our growing On the Fringe community.

All the best from both of us,

Dave and Gav

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