After battling several rounds of pneumonia, Jacob Shapiro rejoins the fray with Marko and tackles the whole month of missed content. The two spar over vaccine mandates and the cultural recycling of movies before turning to the economic disruptions posed by artificial intelligence. From there, the discussion moves to geopolitics: a hot-mic exchange between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on longevity, the emergence of a multipolar world, India’s shifting diplomatic posture, and the Trump administration’s approach to Venezuela and trade. Welcome back!!!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introduction and Welcome Back

(00:11) - Jacob's Health and Listener Comments

(02:17) - Vaccine Mandates and Public Health

(04:03) - Florida and Personal Anecdotes

(05:09) - Podcasting and Media Industry Insights

(07:20) - AI's Impact on Talent and Content Creation

(11:14) - Political Landscape and Aging Leaders

(17:30) - Geopolitical Dynamics and Multipolarity

(30:44) - China's Foreign Policy and Taiwan

(33:02) - US-India Relations and Recent Developments

(40:37) - Venezuela and US Military Actions

(45:16) - Debating Regime Change in Venezuela

(46:33) - Historical Examples of Regime Change

(48:10) - Trump's Approach to Foreign Policy

(50:28) - Analyzing Trump's Popularity by Issue

(53:56) - Economic Indicators and Future Predictions

(01:00:54) - The Impact of Tariffs and Trade Policies

(01:05:07) - The Role of AI in Rising Electricity Costs

(01:08:02) - Political Landscape and Future Elections

(01:21:10) - EuroBasket and Basketball Insights

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Referenced in the Show:

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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