The Arctic is warming and it will have lasting implications. The planet’s northern polar region recorded its second hottest 12-month period up to September 2020. This has led to declining ice, rising water, fires in Siberia, and a new sea. It has also redefined geopolitics. In this episode, Drew and Alex look at how a new geopolitical battle over the Arctic is growing. From the Bering Strait to Greenland to the Faroe Islands, everyone from China to Russia to the United States and Europe want to control the final frontier due to its locations, resources, and more. What will happen? How will countries react?

Democracy has died in Venezuela. Yesterday, President Nicolás Maduro won control of Venezuela's National Assembly. This was the only branch of government that actually opposed Maduro. The government said turnout was 31 percent and many members of opposition parties opted out of the election. Among them were Juan Guaidó, the leader of the National Assembly and someone who many western nations had labeled as the interim president of Venezuela. Now it looks like President Maduro should be renamed “Dictator Maduro” as he has become entrenched and still maintains military support. In this episode, Alex talks about how this is the nail in the coffin for Venezuelan democracy. He also looks into how Venezuela almost has two governments, the Maduro regime which controls the country, and Guaidó’s support which is mainly only legitimate in international circles. Should the world have recognized Guaidó when he had no legitimacy?

In this "Catching Up" segment, Alex looks into the statement Trump made during the earlier days of his campaign in which he said that he would lose billions of dollars by being president and that he was only running out of the altruism of his heart. Alex looks into the new reports that show that Trump's election fraud fund has gained $170 million dollars from small donors since the election. He looks at how Trump could end up being able to use this money for some personal matters. Then Alex looks into the reports of an investigation into a "pay-to-pardon" scheme in the White House. He finishes by discussing potential pardons on Rudy Giuliani and the Trump family... He poses the main question: has Trump drained the swamp or has he found a bipartisan amount of swamp creatures?

In simple terms, the "Democratic Peace Theory" is the idea that democracies are less likely to engage in armed conflict or war with other countries that also identify as democracies. This originated from Emmanuel Kant who said that "If consent of the citizens is required to decide whether or not war is to be declared, it is very natural that they will have great hesitation in embarking on such a dangerous an enterprise." In this episode, Drew and Alex debate and break down this theory. They have one question in mind: does the theory hold true? Or are things changing? They look at the theory through the lens of globalization and the idea that capitalism could be a driver in peace as well. They also look into the realist and constructivist counterarguments.

In this episode, Drew and Alex look into the death of Iran's leading nuclear  scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. He was killed in a mysterious attack on a road outside the capital Tehran and all signs say that the Israeli group Mossad did the job. Drew and Alex talk about the fragile dynamics of the Middle East, how this could muddle peace talks, and how it is very likely that Israel and the US could be making grave decisions in the region.

With the 2020 election results being finalized, the balance of power in the Senate falls upon two Georgia runoff races. Can democrats mobilize their base in Atlanta to keep GA blue or will Republicans maintain a likely victory in what used to be safe red state? In this episode, Drew, who is working on campaigns in Georgia, breaks down what he thinks is happening.

Since Drew and Alex did their "Quarantine Quagmire" episode during the onset of the pandemic back in March, a lot has changed. During that time, both took a somewhat optimistic approach on how a crisis can positively change the trajectory of society. The crisis seemed like a good time to come together, look at the small things, and maybe fix some serious issues in society. Unfortunately, nine months in, things have spiraled into chaos. It seems like this pandemic has not only gotten worse, but  the United States has become politicized on the severity of the pandemic, President Trump has given up, hospitals are more full than ever, and a vaccine may still be a long time off. In this episode, they reflect on what they got right and wrong back in March.

In this episode, Drew and Alex look into Trump's brash yet potentially good decision to pull all troops out of Afghanistan. They both agree that the "conflict" in Afghanistan needs to be ended, but they question the motives of Trump. Could it be a political motive to place pressure on Biden? They also look into Trump's reported desire to escalate pressure on Iran and his building anger towards China for the "China Virus."

After a pretty intense election cycle, Drew and Alex lighten things up (or at least try to) with an episode looking into some of the worst and funniest political blunders and gaffes of all time. Some of the blunders and goofs are funny, others may have led to tragedy, and even some led to the fall of an empire.

Peru had three different presidents in the last week. This was after ex-President Martin Vizcarra was impeached last week by his opposition in congress. He was replaced by his vocal opponent, Manuel Merino. People took to the streets after this decision and several protesters were killed by the police. Congress cited corruption as the reason for Vizcarra's impeachment but many supporters of the president think it was motivated by politics. Others think this was a coup. Now the third president is a centrist who hopes to unite the nation. In this episode, Alex talks about how corruption has always been linked to leadership in a lot of South America and Peru. He talks about past scandals that have plagued Peruvian presidents, why using Article 113 to impeach a president sets up a dangerous precedent, and why Democracy may be flailing in Latin America.