The Atlantic Current

After a harrowing weekend and ahead of a major deadline, Tull and Vince focus on Donald Trump’s ability to keep prosecuting the war in Iran. That ability rests on his base; Vince highlights how the perception of MAGA supporters is diametrically opposed to that of essentially the entire rest of the world.

This episode wasn’t supposed to be about Tull’s predictions playing out — but there’s no other choice. Whether it’s energy prices, the global economy, turmoil in the White House, or crazy trading in prediction markets, the pessimistic view gained steam this week. With no shortage of (often dark) humor, Tull and Vince discuss how it happened and where the US and world can go from here.

For the 30th episode, Tull and Vince tackle guns. In Ireland and Europe, they are tools used for hunting and occasional police work; in the US, they carry intense cultural, political, and even emotional weight. Vince tries desperately to explain how and why a nation with 45,000 gun deaths annually seemingly can do so little to solve the problem.

The TACO acronym returns as Donald Trump looks for an off-ramp in Iran — yet none looks viable. At home, the Administration deals with an epidemic of insider trading and an increasingly agitated electorate. Vince fights the conventional wisdom about Congressional corruption, while Tull offers a glorious rant about the staggering sums paid to Irish civil servants.

Tull and Vince lean on years of experience to tackle the disparate views of the stock market and investing in the US, Ireland, and Europe. The episode moves on to the history of American-driven financial crashes, cracks in the credit market, the joy and horror of crypto, and the increasingly blurry line between investing and gambling, with some well-timed acronym humor thrown in.

Tull and Vince circle the globe. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin pulls off a high-risk meeting with Trump, while a stunning visit from the Japanese prime minister to DC proves one of Vince’s long-held theories. Soaring energy prices are pressuring Europe and Asia, and show a lack of preparation for the effects of the attacks. Denmark incredibly prepares for war with the U.S., Americans have a gambling problem, and Gerry Adams faces a court.

Vince and Tull (mostly) depart from global politics for a special episode on St. Patrick’s Day, delivered a day earlier than usual. No better way to prepare for a global holiday than a crackling conversation between an Irishman and an American.

On St. Patrick himself, the risk facing Micheál Martin during his traditional visit to the White House, and the most offensive and downright silly Irish-American traditions for the day.

Tull and Vince start in Ireland, where both President Catherine Connolly and Sinn Fein are in the news for the wrong reasons. Vince highlights the growing belief on the American right about rigged elections, and predicts trouble ahead in November, while Tull details one of the funnier voter fraud cases of the century, and closes by wondering whether the war in Iran will change the Middle East for good.

The war in Iran spikes energy prices in Europe, and raises questions about the American endgame. Meanwhile, the White House makes war into a meme, and Tull and Vince debate whether anyone wants to listen to anything about COVID.

After five days of strikes in Iran by the US and Israel, Tull and Vince take stock. Comments from Donald Trump suggest a massive, and permanent, change in America’s relation to the world. Europe walks a tightrope, and the two battle over petrol and gasoline.