Geopolitics

International affairs, defense, intelligence, and regional conflicts

845 episodes Page 2 of 43

#3879: What the Moon Actually Smells Like

Twelve humans have walked on the Moon. Here's what it actually felt, smelled, and sounded like—and why we stopped going.

geopoliticsmilitary-strategynational-security

#3861: How a Tiny Gulf State Became Indispensable to Israel-Hamas Mediation

Why does a country with 380,000 citizens hold the keys to the Middle East's biggest conflict?

israelgeopolitical-strategyinternational-relations

#3860: Qatar's Gift Plane: Air Force One Security Risk?

A foreign government gave the U.S. a Boeing 747 for Air Force One. Is it a generous gift or a security nightmare?

supply-chain-securityaviation-technologynational-security

#3857: Reincarnation Across World Religions: What Actually Comes Back?

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — who actually believes in coming back?

political-historyphilosophical-mappingcultural-bias

#3856: Does Economic Peace Actually Work?

Decades of theory, billions spent—yet extremism rose. What the data actually shows.

israelgeopolitical-strategyinternational-relations

#3851: When "Let's Discuss" Means Very Different Things

How the same email gets decoded three different ways in Berlin, Tokyo, and São Paulo.

cultural-biasprofessional-communicationremote-work

#3845: Telegram’s Espionage Pipeline: How the IRGC Recruits Israelis

One Israeli spotted an IRGC recruitment channel on Telegram. He reported it. Then nothing.

telecommunicationssocial-engineeringespionage

#3844: Front Companies vs Shell Companies: What's the Real Difference?

Front companies have real employees and offices. Shell companies are just paper. Here's how to tell them apart.

front-companiesespionageisrael

#3843: Tracing the Grey Economy's Hidden Pipes

How journalists trace fraud from Tel Aviv boiler rooms to trafficking networks using public records and patience.

financial-fraudosintsupply-chain-security

#3842: The Moving Scam That Holds Your Belongings Hostage

How a Tel Aviv call center runs interstate moving scams on Americans — and why it's still happening.

logisticssupply-chain-securitysocial-engineering

#3834: How Celebrities Hide Their Phone Numbers

The three-layer system of tech, legal, and social defenses that keeps celebrity phone numbers private.

privacydigital-privacysocial-engineering

#3830: How a Jewish Newswire Became a Media Combatant

JNS is explicit about fighting an information war. How this newswire differs from the century-old JTA.

israelmedia-biasjournalism

#3805: How to Read a Poll Like a Pro

A deep dive into polling mechanics, margins of error, and why 3,000 respondents can represent 10 million people.

israeliranmisinformation

#3784: The Caliphate's Paper Trail: How ISIS Built a State

Beyond the violence, ISIS built a functioning bureaucracy with tax forms, ministries, and municipal services. This is how.

military-strategygeopoliticsurban-planning

#3780: How Open-Source Satellites Spot Missile Launches

Thermal satellite data you can access for free can detect missile plumes. Here's what that tells us about classified military capabilities.

satellite-imageryballistic-missilesopen-source-intelligence

#3779: How Consulting Became Spycraft's Perfect Cover

Why intelligence agencies love consulting and import-export as covers—and what it means for legitimate professionals.

espionagefront-companiesiran

#3778: How Ukraine's Trophy Lab Crowdsources Enemy Hardware Analysis

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence publishes full engineering data of captured Russian equipment online. No registration required.

open-source-intelligencedefense-technologymilitary-strategy

#3777: Social Engineering Before Cybersecurity

Ancient Greeks, Cold War spies, and con artists all used social engineering long before Kevin Mitnick.

social-engineeringhuman-intelligenceespionage

#3774: Smuggling Drones Into Iran: The IKEA Approach

How Israel reportedly built a covert drone base inside Iran using flat-pack components and front companies.

iransupply-chainlogistics

#3773: Mossad's Secret Influence Branch: 11-Year Photo Trap

A secret Mossad unit uses AI personas and decade-old photos to undermine Iran from within. One photograph took down a minister.

israeliransocial-engineering