Jacob and Marko open up today's emergency episode with a sobering reflection on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, part of a disturbing rise in U.S. political violence. They urge caution against rushing to assign motives before facts emerge, warning that both left and right are exploiting the tragedy for division. From there, the episode dives into another series of crises from Russian drones in Poland to Israeli strikes in Qatar, underscoring how geopolitics often blurs lines between theater and real escalation.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:23) - Assassination of Charlie Kirk

(02:22) - Political Violence in the US

(07:32) - Social Media's Role in Political Discourse

(17:29) - Poland and Russia Tensions

(33:13) - Israel's Attack on Qatar

(38:47) - Nation Building and Israeli Politics

(39:47) - Israel's Shift from Plausible Deniability

(40:20) - Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

(40:52) - The Hubris of Israeli Strategy

(44:07) - The Impact on Israel's Brand

(50:16) - Nepal's Gen Z Uprising

(52:14) - Indonesia and South Asian Instability

(59:04) - Argentina's Economic Challenges

(01:09:07) - Trump's Tariffs and Legal Battles

(01:17:17) - Conclusion and Future Topics

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Geopolitical Cousins is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com

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Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today’s volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.

Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.com

Jacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416

Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShap

Jacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe

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Marko Papic is a macro and geopolitical expert at BCA Research, a global investment research firm. He provides in-depth analysis that combines geopolitics and markets in a framework called GeoMacro. He is also the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future.

Marko’s Book & Newsletter: www.geopoliticalalpha.com/marko-papic

Marko’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-papic-geopolitics/

Marko’s Twitter: https://x.com/Geo_papic

Marko’s Macro & Geopolitical Research at BCA: https://www.bcaresearch.com/marketing/geomacro