Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Hidden Forces
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When Empires Stop Building: The Iran War and the End of American Soft Power | Bruno Maçães | 09 Mar 2026 | 00:43:20 | |
In Episode 467 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Bruno Maçães — geopolitical strategist, former Minister of European Affairs for Portugal, and author of World Builders — about the Iran War, what it reveals about the Trump administration's strategic logic, and how the decision to initiate what may prove to be the most expansive American-led war in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq is reshaping the global order. Kofinas and Maçães examine the competing explanations for why the campaign was launched when it was — from the argument that Washington was drawn into the conflict by Israel, to the question of whether Trump's own instincts and political calculations were the decisive factor — including a close reading of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's public comments about the role Israel played in precipitating American military involvement. They also discuss what Washington and Tel Aviv's strategic visions may be for the post-conflict order, the fractures emerging within Trump's own political base, and how early battlefield developments are already complicating the administration's attempts to construct a coherent narrative around the war. The conversation closes with a broader assessment of where this conflict fits within Bruno's framework of world building and American decline — how the United States appears to be abandoning soft power in favor of unbridled military force, what that shift signals to capitals around the world, and why Beijing may be the most important audience of all for everything that is now unfolding. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 03/04/2026 | |||
| The Iran War and the Limits of American Power | Joshua Landis | 05 Mar 2026 | 00:45:00 | |
In Episode 466 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joshua Landis, professor of Middle East Studies and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, about the US-Israel war against Iran, what it reveals about American strategy in the region, and why the absence of a clear theory of victory raises the specter of yet another catastrophic regime-change war in the Middle East. Kofinas and Landis examine the competing narratives surrounding the conflict — from the argument that the Trump administration was dragged into war by Israel, to the theory that Washington concluded Iran would never voluntarily relinquish its nuclear program, to speculation that the campaign is part of a broader grand strategy aimed at neutralizing a Chinese forward base in the Middle East ahead of Trump's summit with Xi Jinping. They also discuss why Iran's regime is far more institutionalized and resilient than the Arab governments the United States has previously sought to topple, the historical lessons of America's last four regime-change wars — Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya — and why the pattern of civil war, refugee crises, and strategic blowback that followed each of those interventions is likely to repeat itself in a country of over 90 million people. The conversation closes with an examination of the broader regional realignment now underway, including the emerging Turkey-Saudi axis taking shape in response to Israeli dominance, the dangerous irony of simultaneously abandoning the Syrian Kurds while attempting to arm the Kurds of northern Iran, and the most plausible optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for how this conflict ultimately resolves. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 03/04/2026 | |||
| The Mattering Instinct: Our Desperate Need to Find Meaning | Rebecca Goldstein | 12 Jan 2026 | 00:53:22 | |
In Episode 457 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with philosopher Rebecca Goldstein about her latest book, "The Mattering Instinct," which explores our fundamental human longing to feel that our lives matter—that we didn't just come and go and that it was all for nothing. Rebecca and I spend the first hour exploring the origins of her fascination with the question of mattering, how this instinct manifests differently from our biological drive for self-preservation, and why we long not just to matter to ourselves but to feel that we matter objectively. We discuss the critical role played by attention and deservingness in our sense of mattering, the distinction between happiness and fulfillment, and how parenting and early family dynamics shape our relationship with this fundamental human longing. The second hour is devoted to a more in-depth exploration of Rebecca's concept of the "mattering map," which identifies four distinct archetypes: heroic strivers, socializers, competitors, and transcenders. We examine the relationship between depression and our longing to matter, the role of social media in shaping how contemporary generations experience their own search for validation, and how some approaches to mattering are objectively better than others. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 01/05/2025
RSS Description (Libsyn/Supercast): In Episode 457 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with philosopher Rebecca Goldstein about her latest book, "The Mattering Instinct," which explores our fundamental human longing to feel that our lives matter—that we didn't just come and go and that it was all for nothing. Rebecca and I spend the first hour exploring the origins of her fascination with the question of mattering, how this instinct manifests differently from our biological drive for self-preservation, and why we long not just to matter to ourselves but to feel that we matter objectively. We discuss the critical role played by attention and deservingness in our sense of mattering, the distinction between happiness and fulfillment, and how parenting and early family dynamics shape our relationship with this fundamental human longing. The second hour is devoted to a more in-depth exploration of Rebecca's concept of the "mattering map," which identifies four distinct archetypes: heroic strivers, socializers, competitors, and transcenders. We examine the relationship between depression and our longing to matter, the role of social media in shaping how contemporary generations experience their own search for validation, and how some approaches to mattering are objectively better than others. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 01/05/2025 | |||
| How to Remake the Electric Grid for AI | Brian Janous | 24 Jun 2024 | 00:50:50 | |
In Episode 368 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Brian Janous. Brian is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Cloverleaf Infrastructure. With over 20 years of experience in the electricity and data center industries, Brian is the perfect person to talk to about the growth in electricity demand being forecasted by North American grid planners as they try to get ahead of several converging trends in the energy space, including the rapid buildout of AI data centers, the onshoring of new industrial capacity, and the introduction of more intermittent sources of energy like wind and solar onto the grid. The first hour begins with a conversation about electric power and what we mean when we talk about "The Grid." What are the important pieces—both in terms of operating concerns, like private utilities and regulatory bodies, as well as physical systems like power stations, electrical substations, and transmission lines—that comprise the electric grid? How do all of these pieces come together to support the functioning of a modern economy and what are the challenges inherent in trying to update and expand such a complex and interconnected system? In the second part of their conversation, Kofinas and Janous discuss what the planning and procurement process for new data centers looks like from the perspective of tech companies and what sorts of opportunities may exist to invest around this anticipated boom in data center development and operations. We also discuss how a precipitous rise in electricity demand driven by a boom in data center usage without a concurrent increase in new capacity to service it could lead to substantial cost increases for households and a series of hard choices for policymakers and politicians facing angry constituents in the years to come. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 06/17/2024 You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 06/17/2024 | |||
| The Return of Meme Stock Investing | Spencer Jakab & Andrew Left | 17 Jun 2024 | 00:49:31 | |
In Episode 367 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Spencer Jakab and Andrew Left. Jakab is an award-winning financial journalist who edits the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column. He is also the author of "The Revolution That Wasn't," a book about the meme stock craze that overtook the video game retailer GameStop in 2021 and the heroes and villains, like activist short-seller Andrew Left, who made that story so captivating and powerful. As the founder of Citron Research, Andrew famously bet against GameStop during the mania of 2021, only to get squeezed out of his position as the stock rallied to the unimaginable heights of $483 per share. Last week, amidst the excitement and uproar of Keith Gill's anticipated return as 'Roaring Kitty,' the hero of Wall Street Bets and the face of the GameStop meme craze, Andrew announced that he was at it again, taking a new short position in the video game retailer, albeit at a significantly reduced size from the one he was forced to close three years ago. Demetri devotes the episode's first hour to recapping the GameStop meme craze and how it relates to the concept of Financial Nihilism that he developed in 2019 and about which he began publishing episodes in early 2020. He, Andrew, and Spencer discuss the role of narrative investing, the characters that make up a good financial story, and how those character archetypes come together to generate interest and excitement around a given company's stock or crypto token in the hopes that it could lead to life-changing profits, a communal sense of belonging, and a whole lot of fun. In the second hour, Demetri asks Andrew and Spencer if they think that this latest resurgence in the price of GameStop is a late aftershock to the 2021 meme stock mania or if it is a sign of things to come as liquidity ramps higher ahead of the 2024 election. Kofinas also asks Left about how this investment philosophy of financial nihilism has impacted the ability of activist short-sellers like him to operate, what he thinks explains this change in attitude towards the stock market among Millennials and Zoomers, and how the forces driving it are impacting our politics and society at large. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 06/12/2024 | |||
| Finding Meaning and Purpose in a Solved World | Nick Bostrom | 03 Jun 2024 | 01:09:17 | |
In Episode 366 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Nick Bostrom, the founding director of the Future of Humanity Institute and Principal Researcher at the Macrostrategy Research Initiative. Nick Bostrom is also the author of Superintelligence, which was the book that ignited a global conversation about what might happen if AI development goes wrong. In his latest book, Deep Utopia, Bostrom attempts to answer the opposite question – what happens if things go right? At such a point of technological maturity driven by further and further advancements in artificial intelligence, humanity will confront challenges that are philosophical and spiritual in nature. In such a "solved world," as Nick Bostrom describes it, what will be the point of human existence? What will give life meaning? How should we spend our days if we no longer need to work, exercise, or make political choices? And is such a world consistent with human agency and freedom? These are all questions that Kofinas explores in this expansive and thought-provoking conversation. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/27/2024 | |||
| The Fight Over Elon Musk's $56 Billion Pay Package | Lawrence Fossi | 27 May 2024 | 00:49:42 | |
In Episode 365 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Lawrence Fossi; Lawrence worked as a commercial trial attorney until 2011 and as the portfolio manager for a family office until 2020. He has written extensively about the automotive company Tesla at Seeking Alpha under the pseudonym "Montana Skeptic" and now publishes at montanaskeptic.substack.com. It's been three years since we last devoted an episode to the electric car company Telsa and its superstar CEO, Elon Musk. Given the progress that's been made in EVs in the years since, as well as the recent turmoil at Tesla, Demetri thought it would be a good time to check in on how things are going at America's largest electric car manufacturer. Demetri's conversation with Lawrence revolves around a recent ruling in a 2018 shareholder lawsuit brought against Musk and members of the Tesla board over a pay package worth up to $56 billion. While the details of the lawsuit are especially relevant to Tesla shareholders—and you may be one of them if you're invested in one of the many index funds that own Tesla shares—the spectacle of egregiously excessive executive compensation and the failure of captured boards to exercise fiduciary oversight is part of an alarming trend of corporate corruption that concerns everyone. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/21/2024 | |||
| China & the American Imperial Economy | Louis-Vincent Gave | 20 May 2024 | 00:41:19 | |
In Episode 364 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Gavekal CEO Louis-Vincent Gave about de-dollarization, U.S. re-industrialization, and his case for a Chinese "deflationary boom" and revaluation of the renminbi. In the first hour of their conversation, Demetri asks Louis-Vincent Gave about the most important trends set to define the investment landscape in the years ahead. Gave argues that the U.S. and Europe are set to undergo a long period of structurally high inflation while China's economy is set to experience a "deflationary boom" partly driven by rapid advancements in key industries like semiconductor manufacturing and electric vehicles. In the second hour, Gave explains why he believes that the American imperial model of dollar recycling is unsustainable and why de-dollarization is a prerequisite for the re-industrialization of the United States. They also discuss whether or not America needs an industrial policy to reverse the multi-decade financialization of the U.S. economy that has driven up asset prices relative to their underlying income streams, exacerbating the wealth divide while destabilizing the country's political system. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/14/2024 | |||
| How to Invest in an Inflationary Recession | Paulo Macro & Le Shrub | 13 May 2024 | 00:58:51 | |
In Episode 363 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with investors Paulo Macro and Le Shrub about their investment ideas, frameworks, and processes for identifying investment opportunities and managing risk. In the first hour, Demetri asks Paulo and Le Shrub about some of their respective frameworks, including the EM-ification of developed economies, the need to understand the incentives of policymakers, and how these frameworks can help inform your expectations about interest rates, inflation, credit rationing, and much more. In the second hour, Paulo Macro and Le Shrub discuss how the contemporary strain on the international system and on American military and financial hegemony could amplify some of the budgetary and political headwinds facing developed economies in the years ahead. They discuss the conundrum facing policymakers in China, the investment opportunity in commodities, the search for a new safe asset in a world of worsening fiscal balance sheets, and what it feels like to be "financially gaslighted" during an inflationary recession where prices rise as one's living standard declines. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/07/2024 | |||
| How I Grew My Brain With Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy | Scott Sherr | 06 May 2024 | 01:03:23 | |
In Episode 362 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Dr. Scott Sherr, an expert in hyperbaric oxygen therapy, about how this transformative therapeutic can reverse aging, improve cardiovascular health, regrow brain tissue, and extend the length and quality of your life in ways that are truly extraordinary. Demetri's inspiration for this episode results from a personal journey that he's been on for the last several months. In December of last year, he shared a story with his newsletter subscribers about his decision to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help regrow his brain and reverse possible symptoms from brain radiation treatment. For those of you who don't know, Demetri is a brain tumor survivor and has written and spoken about it extensively. What you're going to learn about in today's conversation with Dr. Scott Sherr is not just how that experience went and how it helped Demetri reverse the symptoms he was experiencing but whether or not it can help you and how extraordinary hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a non-pharmacological therapeutic with remarkably broad health benefits. As usual, this conversation is broken into two parts, the first of which is meant to help you understand more precisely what hyperbaric oxygen therapy is, how it works, and the various protocols associated with it, including the different types of chambers, pressures, and durations available for those interested in pursuing treatment. In the second hour, Dr. Scott Sherr and Demetri explore the wide range of potential health benefits and use cases associated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, including general anti-aging benefits, improvement in cardiovascular health, the treatment of neurological conditions, rehabilitation from strokes, the reversal of long-covid symptoms, and much more. They also discuss treatments that can be used in parallel to HBOT, such as Senolytic therapy, stem cell therapy, targeted supplementation, and various fasting protocols, to name a few. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 04/30/2024 | |||
| A World On The Brink of Total War | Dmitri Alperovitch | 29 Apr 2024 | 00:55:29 | |
In Episode 361 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Dmitri Alperovitch, the co-founder and executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, the co-founder and fmr. CTO of leading cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, and the author of the soon-to-be-released book "World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century." Dmitri Alperovitch makes the case that we are already in the midst of a new Cold War with China and that Taiwan is the strategic flashpoint that risks triggering a devastating conflict between two nuclear powers in a way that West Berlin nearly played during America's last Cold War with the Soviet Union. He and Kofinas discuss the similarities and differences between Cold Wars I and II, including the role played by the USSR as a liberator in Europe and the strong appeal of communism as a competing ideology in the early decades of the First Cold War. They also discuss how America lost an opportunity to build a sustainable peace with post-Soviet Russia and how this has made the new Cold War with China all the more challenging and dangerous. The episode's second hour begins with a discussion about the importance of Taiwan and a thought experiment about what would happen in the event of an uncontested Chinese takeover of the island. Alperovitch and Kofinas discuss the philosophical underpinnings of American supremacy and arguments for its preservation, the need to build national unity by addressing legitimate domestic grievances, military-industrial reform, immigration, and what it will take to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan that Dmitri believes could happen before the end of this decade. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 04/19/2024 | |||
| Where Are All the Billionaires? | Victor Haghani | 22 Apr 2024 | 00:52:26 | |
In Episode 360 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Victor Haghani about his book "The Missing Billionaires" and what a growing body of literature has to say about sensible wealth management and how to invest for the long term. Haghani started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1984, where he became a Managing Director in the bond-arbitrage group, and in 1993, he was a co-founding partner of Long-Term Capital Management. He founded Elm Wealth in 2011 to help clients, including his own family, manage and preserve their wealth with a thoughtful, research-based, and cost-effective approach that covers not just investment management but also broader decisions about wealth and finances. In the episode's first hour, Haghani explains his investment philosophy and his firm's approach to portfolio construction and management, including core financial concepts central to his framework, like expected utility, lift vs. drag, standard deviation as a measure of risk, variance, the shape of return distributions, and how to optimize position sizing and manage portfolio risk in a manner that is both rational and appropriate to your personal objectives and risk preferences. In the second hour, Victor explains Elm Wealth's process for onboarding new investors, including how they measure personal risk preferences, their advice on how to approach investing and spending in older age, how to take into account one's primary income stream when making investment decisions, tax-loss harvesting, and much more. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 04/16/2024 | |||
| America's National Savings and Debt Crisis | Lacy Hunt | 01 Apr 2024 | 00:47:59 | |
In Episode 359 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Economist Lacy Hunt about America's national savings and debt crisis. Dr. Hunt is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist of Hoisington Investment Management Company. He previously served as Chief U.S. Economist for the HSBC Group, as Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at Fidelity Bank, and as Senior Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas during the course of a 55-year career studying markets and the economy. In the first hour, Lacy Hunt shares his broad assessment of how the global economy is doing and the monetary and cyclical economic indicators he relies on to make that assessment. He and Demetri discuss the increased role of the US Treasury as an economic policy actor in the post-pandemic period and the concerning decline in the net national savings rate. They also discuss whether the neutral rate of interest, a hotly debated topic among economists, is moving lower, and what this means for trend growth, interest rates, and inflation. In the second hour, Dr. Hunt explains why he believes that the Fed has been able to raise interest rates by more than 500 basis points in less than two years without inducing a recession. Is this because other causal factors have remained more accommodative, or have the lags just grown longer and more variable, and if so, why? What does this tell us about the business cycle and the effectiveness of monetary policy? He and Demetri also discuss the chronically high fiscal deficits and the implications of trying to reduce them in an environment where the economy is becoming more dependent on government spending to boost economic growth, support critical national investments in energy and defense, and contribute to the private savings of the economy. Finally, Lacy Hunt explains why he believes that demographics are destiny and how trends in population growth, fertility rates, and family formation in many developed countries will impact growth and inflation in the years to come. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 03/26/2024 | |||
| Trump's New Strategy for Latin America: Venezuela, Cuba, & the 'Donroe Doctrine' | Brian Winter | 08 Jan 2026 | 01:28:40 | |
Episode 456 is the eleventh installment in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, Brian Winter. He's an expert on Latin America, having lived and worked in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, and possesses a deep understanding of the region's politics, economics, and security dynamics. The three of them begin their conversation discussing the Trump administration's almost cinematic removal of Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela. They speculate about who is currently in charge of the country, the implications of Maduro's exit for Venezuela's economy and the region's geopolitics, the rising tide of right-wing political movements across Latin America, and how this operation fits into the Trump administration's broader initiatives as they have been conveyed in the new National Security Strategy. They also explore the rising tide of right-wing political movements across Latin America, the role of organized crime in driving political change, how demographic shifts and artificial intelligence might reshape the region's future, and the unique role that Trump's National security adviser and secretary of state Marco Rubio has played in shaping US foreign policy in Latin America and whether Cuba and its communist government is next on the administration's list of seemingly every-expanding targets. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 01/07/2025 | |||
| What Comes After the Chinese Economic Miracle? | Anne Stevenson-Yang | 26 Mar 2024 | 00:51:49 | |
In Episode 358 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Anne Stevenson-Yang, the founder of J Capital Research, which publishes highly diligenced research reports on over-valued, publicly traded companies, with a particular focus on China. Anne is also the author of several books on China and the Chinese political economy, including "Hello Kitty" and "Wild Ride: A Short History of the Opening and Closing of the Chinese Economy." The first hour of this episode is a conversation about the history of the Chinese economic miracle, as seen through the eyes of someone who experienced those changes firsthand. Anne recounts the early phases of China's liberalization in the 1980s, the post-Tiananmen political crackdown and subsequent rapid growth of the 1990s, and how the Asian Financial crisis at the end of that decade set the scene for the go-go years of the early 2000s, culminating in the Beijing summer Olympics and the 2008 financial crisis, which was in many ways a crisis enabled by the trade and capital imbalances of China's export-driven growth model and rapid economic integration into the global economy. In the second hour, Anne and Demetri explore the China that has emerged under the leadership of Xi Jinping and why Anne believes that this represents a dark turn for the country. They discuss the enduring impact of COVID-19 on China's economy, on the psychology of its people, and how the communist party's response to the pandemic showcased the country's systems of surveillance, including its social credit system, which has its own analog in the form of Western social media and surveillance companies. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 03/19/2024 | |||
| Are Gold and Bitcoin Signaling the Return of Money Printing? | Michael Howell | 18 Mar 2024 | 00:46:35 | |
In Episode 357 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with the CEO of CrossBorder Capital, Michael Howell, about the run-up in gold and bitcoin prices and whether this signals the return of "money printing" driven by overwhelming government debt and deficit payments. Michael Howell has had the most accurate economic and financial forecasts of any analyst Kofinas has spoken with in the last several years. Demetri asked him back on the podcast to help explain why risk assets continue to outperform despite higher interest rates and what new all-time highs in gold and Bitcoin signal about global liquidity and investor confidence in the integrity of fiat currencies as reliable stores of value amid skyrocketing government debt and deficits. In the first hour, Michael breaks down the indicators he relies on to make his forecasts and why he expects economic growth and inflation to reaccelerate this year and into 2025. In the second hour, Howell forecasts which assets and asset classes he thinks will outperform, the direction of interest rates, the steepening of the yield curve, and how the expiration of the bank-term funding program (BTFP), the draw-down in the reverse repo facility (RRP), and a temporary decline in liquidity from tax payments could create buying opportunities for investors over the next several months. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 03/13/2024 | |||
| A New Era for China's Semiconductor Industry | Paul Triolo | 11 Mar 2024 | 00:48:10 | |
In Episode 356 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Paul Triolo, Senior Vice President for China and Technology Policy Lead at Albright Stonebridge Group, where he advises clients in technology, financial services, and other sectors as they navigate complex political and regulatory matters around the world. This episode was inspired by an article Paul recently published for American Affairs titled "A New Era for the Chinese Semiconductor Industry." In it, he examines how semiconductor export controls levied by the US Commerce Department have been received in Beijing and how China's domestic semiconductor ecosystem has responded. Paul and Demetri spend the first hour of the episode assessing the state of the Biden administration's strategic competition with China in the area of semiconductors. Specifically, they ask (1) what are the administration's goals, (2) are those goals clear to Western companies that have depended on selling into the Chinese market for a large share of their revenues, (3) and is the administration itself clear on what it wants to accomplish with these efforts? In the second hour, they examine the fallout from the 2022 and 2023 semiconductor export controls, including some of the unintended consequences that could adversely impact major players in the Western semiconductor ecosystem over the long term. They discuss the Chips Act and whether more needs to be done to support America's domestic semiconductor industry. They also do a deep dive into China's response to these measures, including a new top-down approach to industrial policy and fully supporting open-sourced hardware architectures as a way to protect their companies from further restrictions. Lastly, they examine China's success in electric vehicles and whether this is a harbinger of what could happen in other sectors if American policymakers are not careful. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. For a 50% discount to American Affairs, use the code "HIDDENFORCES24" during checkout. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 03/05//2024 | |||
| What Myths Can Teach Us About the AI Arms Race | Joshua Schrei | 04 Mar 2024 | 00:57:03 | |
In Episode 355 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with mythologist and storyteller Joshua Schrei about the cultural, social, and political consequences of the rise of Artificial Intelligence. According to Joshua, humanity is entering an era whose only corollary is the stuff of fairy tales and myths. Powers that used to be reserved for magicians and sorcerers are no longer metaphorical, and it's unclear if humanity has the tools and initiatory frameworks to use them responsibly. What's at stake is our civilization, something that was obvious to the creators of the atom bomb but which seems less salient today, even though the risk of societal collapse stemming from the proliferation of AI and its associated technologies is arguably much greater. In the first hour of their conversation, Josh and Demetri discuss the role of magic, the desire for animacy, the burden of the Anthropocene, and why we keep gravitating toward powers that might kill us. In the second hour, they examine what life in a post-scientific era could be like, whether mass hysteria and a collective unmooring from reality are symptoms of the "AI moment," and whether what we are living through today is really a spiritual crisis that cannot be solved through technological innovation, medication, or the endless pacification of media and entertainment You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. You can listen to The Emerald Podcast here and support the work Joshua is doing through Patreon here. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 02/28/2024 | |||
| Exposing the New American Surveillance State | Byron Tau | 26 Feb 2024 | 00:59:30 | |
In Episode 354 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with investigative journalist Byron Tau, who specializes in law, courts, and national security, about how a hidden alliance between technology companies and the government is creating a new American surveillance state. Many of you are probably thinking, "Yeah, I know this. We all have cell phones. They have GPS trackers, and my phone calls are being monitored. Tell me something I don't know." Yet, the truth is that our smartphones, wearable devices, networked homes, credit cards, and even the tires we drive on emit an overwhelming amount of data revealing details about our lives, daily habits, and most intimate behaviors that would astonish you. That data is being captured and available for sale, and the U.S. government is its biggest customer. In the first hour of this conversation, you will learn that in the years after 9/11, the U.S. government, working with scores of anonymous companies, built a foreign and domestic surveillance apparatus that can peer into the lives of nearly everyone on the planet. This cottage industry of data brokers and government bureaucrats has one directive—"Get everything. Get it all." The result is something resembling a sci-fi dystopia, like an episode out of Black Mirror, and the public knows virtually nothing about it. In the second hour, Byron and Demetri discuss the near-term implications of this surveillance state for American democracy, personhood, and freedom. They discuss the role of TikTok and other foreign companies and actors that are able to access this same data marketplace. They discuss the role of agent provocateurs and how location-based applications can be used to foment riots and manipulate people into mobs and other forms of collective action. They also discuss the role of prominent voices on the American right and what they leave out when discussing censorship in media. Most importantly, they discuss what can be done through legislation and regulation to restrain government agencies and private companies operating in the surveillance economy and what you can do on a personal level to mitigate these entities' and actors' access to your private life. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 02/20/2024 | |||
| What Makes Someone a Supercommunicator? | Charles Duhigg | 19 Feb 2024 | 01:11:39 | |
In Episode 353 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Charles Duhigg. Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author whose latest book, Supercommunicators, examines how we can all learn to become better at hearing one another and forge more meaningful and authentic connections with the people around us. This episode will provide you with a framework for understanding the three different types of conversations we all engage in, whether we're aware of it or not, and how this understanding can help improve your life and make you a supercommunicator. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 02/12/2024 | |||
| The Coming Paradigm Shift in the Stock Market | Daniel Peris | 12 Feb 2024 | 00:54:03 | |
In Episode 352 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Daniel Peris. Daniel is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Federated Investors, overseeing the firm's dividend-focused products. He's also the author of four books on investing, including his most recent: "The Ownership Dividend: The Coming Paradigm Shift in the Stock Market." Daniel and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the relevant history that explains how the stock market went from a mostly cash-based system where all or almost all companies if they weren't in distress, paid dividends to a public investment landscape driven entirely or almost entirely by near-term share price movements. The second hour provides listeners with more actionable information about how to position oneself to profit from a paradigm shift in markets that Daniel argues is already underway. They discuss the pros and cons of dividend investing, how Daniel approaches portfolio construction regarding dividend-yielding stocks, and how the changes he forecasts will alter the investment landscape and economic opportunities for businesses and workers alike. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 02/05/2024 | |||
| Superhumans and the Race for AI Supremacy | Stephen Hsu | 05 Feb 2024 | 00:57:22 | |
In Episode 351 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Stephen Hsu, a Professor of Theoretical Physics and Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Stephen is also the co-founder of multiple companies, including Genomic Prediction, which provides preimplantation genetic screening services for human embryos, and SuperFocus.ai, which builds large language models for narrow enterprise use cases. This is a conversation about some of the most important advancements and trends in genomic science and artificial intelligence, including the social and ethical dilemmas arising from implementing these technologies at scale. Stephen and I discuss the competitive landscapes in both industries, how America's geostrategic competition with China is driving tradeoffs between innovation and safety, the risks and opportunities that these revolutionary technologies pose, and how the world's largest companies, economies, and military powers can work together to reap the benefits of this revolution while averting some of their most disastrous potential consequences. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 01/31/2024 | |||
| You Will Be Assimilated: China's Plan For Global Domination | David Goldman | 22 Jan 2024 | 00:59:00 | |
In Episode 350 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with the Deputy Editor of Asia Times, David Goldman. In his previous life, David served in the Defense Department's Office of Net Assessment for the National Security Council as head of fixed-income research at Bank of America and as head of credit strategy at Credit Suisse. His books include How Civilizations Die and You Will Be Assimilated: China's Plan to Sino-Form the World. David Goldman's perspective is unique among American analysts and reflects the breadth and depth of his knowledge and experience working in national security, international finance, and a journalist writing about China. In the first hour of today's episode, Kofinas and Goldman discuss China's history, its economy, and its strategic vision for global hegemony, as well as what it will mean for American and European citizens if China comes to dominate the key technologies of the 21st century. In the second hour, they look at where our leadership in the United States has come up short and why we have failed to adopt an industrial policy that will restore our economic power and help consolidate domestic support for a multi-decade strategic competition with the People's Republic of China. David and Demetri discuss what Washington can do differently, including when it comes to key technologies like semiconductors, the urgency with which we must adapt our policies to this challenge, and who in Washington we can look to for leadership in this extraordinarily perilous time for the country. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 01/16/2024 | |||
| AI, Transhumanism, and the Future of Humanity | Meghan O'Gieblyn | 15 Jan 2024 | 00:53:54 | |
In Episode 349 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author and essayist Meghan O'Gieblyn, who writes on matters of philosophy and religion for The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, The Guardian, and other publications. Meghan O'Gieblyn shares her personal journey growing up in a fundamentalist Christian community. She talks about the disillusionment she experienced upon leaving the faith, her forays into transhumanism and other alternative theories of consciousness, and what she thinks is really going on: what is the nature of reality, is consciousness fundamental to the universe, and what happens to us when we die? In the second hour, Demetri and Meghan O'Gieblyn examine what it means to live in a digitally intermediated and surveilled society and what philosophy can tell us about the advancements being made in artificial intelligence. They consider why this technology is unlike anything else that human beings have previously created and why its development and unrestricted application put at risk not only our lives but also our humanity. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 01/09/2024 | |||
| Late-Cycle Investment Theory: Foundations for the Coming Decade | Nicolas Colin | 05 Jan 2026 | 00:48:12 | |
In Episode 455 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Nicolas Colin, a former French Treasury official and the co-founder of a European startup accelerator whose work sits at the intersection of technology, markets, geopolitics, and global finance. In the first hour of their conversation, Kofinas and Colin break down Colin's "Late Cycle Investment Theory" and the framework behind it. They draw on Carlota Perez's model of technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms, explore the role of speculative manias and market concentration, and examine why Colin argues that AI is less a brand-new technological revolution than an intensification of the computing-and-network paradigm that has been unfolding for the past 50 years. They also compare the current moment to the 1970s as a historical analogue and discuss why Colin believes financial systems are often the last piece to be rebuilt after a major paradigm shift. In the second hour, Kofinas and Colin explore what this late-cycle thesis means for investors, the public, and the geostrategic competition between the United States and China. They discuss how tokenization and programmable money could reshape the global financial system's infrastructure, and how today's "Trump Shock" might be the opening move in a broader financial reset. They also examine what financial fragmentation between two competing spheres—one led by China and one by the U.S.—may look like in practice, why programmable grid infrastructure and a new scale of electrification may be leading candidates for the next technological revolution, and what all of this implies for public debt servicing, inflation, financial repression, and wealth redistribution as proximity services replace the factory floor as the central battleground over which a new social contract will be formed. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 12/22/2025 | |||
| Is the Middle East Headed For Another Major War? | Kamran Bokhari | 08 Jan 2024 | 00:54:13 | |
In Episode 348 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Kamran Bokhari. Kamran is the Senior Director of the Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy. He has served at the U.S. State Department and as a Senior Consultant with the World Bank. Kamran came on the podcast three months ago to discuss the violence ignited by Hamas' October 7th attacks against Israel and the nature and scope of Iran's involvement. Demetri asked him back on to re-examine how the war in Gaza is going and whether he still thinks that we could be headed for another major war in the Middle East. They spent the first hour discussing Israel's bombardment and offensive in Gaza, the strategic objectives of Israel's leaders, and whether they're achieving those objectives. They also discuss Netanyahu's political future and that of his governing coalition, the future of Israeli politics, and whether any hope remains for a negotiated peace process that could lead to a viable and independent Palestinian state. In the second hour, they broaden their focus to encompass the larger Middle East, including Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, and Hezbollah. They discuss how all of these different actors are repositioning themselves by exploiting the growing disorder for their own advantage as the Biden administration struggles to stabilize a region that may be on the verge of another major war. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 01/04/2024 | |||
| Public Interest Politics & the Human Spirit | Marianne Williamson | 04 Jan 2024 | 01:00:31 | |
In Episode 347 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Marianne Williamson. Marianne is a bestselling author, political activist, and spiritual leader who is currently running for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2024 primaries. Marianne shares stories from her childhood in the 1960s and the journey that led her to become one of America's most recognizable spiritual teachers by the early 1990s. She explains her decision to enter politics, first as a candidate for Congress in 2014 and now in her run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Demetri and Marianne discuss her views about the absence of the human spirit in conversations about public policy, as well as the urgent need to confront concentrations of private power, especially in the areas of our economy commonly associated with "Big Tech." Demetri also asks Marianne how someone like her, who preaches about love and compassion, would lead such a militarized society during a time when the international system seems to be coming apart, and wars of opportunity and conquest are breaking out everywhere. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/29/2023 | |||
| Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order | Gary Gerstle | 01 Jan 2024 | 00:57:26 | |
In Episode 346 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge, Gary Gerstle. Dr. Gerstle is the author and editor of more than ten books, including the "Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order," and his most recent, "The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order," which was chosen as a Best Book of 2022 by the Financial Times and Prospect Magazine. Gerstle and Kofinas spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the last one hundred years of American history, which spans two political orders—that of the New Deal Order, which ascends in the early 1930s and comes apart in the mid-to-late 1970s and the Neoliberal Order, which begins its rise in the late 1970s-to-early-80s and starts to disintegrate in the mid-2010s during Obama's second term in office and the election of Donald Trump. The second hour of their conversation is devoted exclusively to understanding the rise and fall of the Neoliberal Order and how the excesses of that period have created the conditions for the political, economic, and social crises that are currently gripping the nation. Gerstle and Kofinas also speculate about what may come out of this period, what a new order could look like, what the various factions are that will drive it forward, and what policy ideas, priorities, and ideological frameworks are likely to animate it. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/26/2023 | |||
| Are We in a New Crypto Bull Market? | Framework Ventures | 26 Dec 2023 | 00:58:28 | |
In Episode 345 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson about whether we are in a new crypto bull market. Mike and Vance are the founders of Framework Ventures, one of the largest venture capital firms in crypto. They have been on the podcast several times before to discuss their investment outlook for crypto, particularly decentralized finance and blockchain-based gaming. You can easily find those previous appearances in the related tab on this week's episode page. In this end-of-year episode, Demetri asks the Framework team about their 2024 crypto investment outlook and whether they think the recent price run-up marks the beginning of a new crypto bull market. They discuss the anticipated introductions of the first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the Ethereum roadmap and recent upgrades to its protocol, blockchain-based gaming, regulation, and much more. Because this conversation deals with investing, nothing that we say on this podcast can or should be viewed as financial advice. All opinions expressed by him and his guests are solely our own opinions and should not be relied upon as the basis for financial decisions. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/20/2023 | |||
| What's Driving the Fall in Oil Prices? | Rory Johnston | 18 Dec 2023 | 00:58:41 | |
In Episode 344 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with oil analyst and researcher Rory Johnston about what's driving the fall in oil prices and how likely it is to continue. Rory shares his thoughts on investor positioning, growth in US oil production, recent M&A activity in the oil sector, OPEC production cuts, geopolitical risk in Guyana, as well as in the Strait of Hormuz, and much more. Today's episode was originally recorded as a live Q&A for members of the Hidden Forces Genius Community. If you're interested in learning more about the Genius community, our private dinners, in-person events, and how to become a member, you can do that at HiddenForces.io/Subscribe, where you can also subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/13/2023 | |||
| How Can We Make Sense of the UAP Conspiracy? | Diana Pasulka | 11 Dec 2023 | 00:52:27 | |
In Episode 343 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Diana Pasulka, a professor of religious studies who writes and teaches about the history of the Catholic tradition and new religious movements. Her work in this field has led her to study UFOs, or what we now call Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), about which she has written two books: American Cosmic and Encounters, both of which form the basis for much of this conversation. In the first hour of their conversation, Pasulka and Kofinas discuss why so many people with reputable track records and prestigious positions in academia, government, and the private sector have devoted and continue to devote their lives to investigating this phenomenon. They also discuss what it is that is being alleged by people who claim to have knowledge of the UAP and UFO phenomenon and what sorts of explanations make sense in the context of what we know to be true today. The second hour of their conversation is devoted to answering two fundamental questions. The first has to do with the nature and operational structure of government. Specifically, how is it that the United States Congress—the most powerful legislative body in the world—has been unable to get the answers to basic questions about secret UAP programs allegedly run out of government agencies and military contractors? Second, if some of what is discussed in the first hour is true, what else must be true, and what underlying assumptions about the world, our perception of it, and our place in it need to be re-evaluated or discarded altogether? You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, including Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/08/2023 | |||
| What Elites Don't Understand About America | Rudy Havenstein | 07 Dec 2023 | 00:52:46 | |
In Episode 342 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Rudy Havenstein, the owner and operator of a satirical Twitter account that regularly mocks Western policymakers and politicians for their endless wars, corporate bailouts, and tone-deaf public statements about the economy, American foreign policy, and the state of American democracy. Demetri asked Rudy on the podcast in order to understand what he feels has gone wrong in America and what it would take for voters like him to feel that the country is moving in the right direction. This conversation is meant to be accessible to anyone, irrespective of your beliefs, preconceptions, or pre-existing knowledge about the subjects that Kofinas and Havenstein explore in this episode. The first hour is devoted to understanding Rudy's perspective, how he grew up, his experience of America as a young man in the 1960s and 70s, how the country has changed in the intervening decades, and what his central grievances are against the ruling class and the government in Washington. In the second hour, Rudy and Demetri discuss how those who care about the future of American and Western democracy can engage constructively in solutions that move the country forward. What is the story that we need to tell ourselves about who we are and what we're capable of that will help bring this country together during one of the most precarious times in our history? You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, including Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/01/2023 | |||
| Who Makes The Rules In The Digital Gilded Age? | Tom Wheeler | 04 Dec 2023 | 00:55:33 | |
In Episode 341 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Tom Wheeler, the former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the author of the recently published book "Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age?" Wheeler and Kofinas spend the first hour of their conversation discussing Tom's time leading the FCC, what he learned during his time there about the policy-making process and the challenges of regulating Big Tech, how industrial era regulations and agencies are ill-suited for overseeing today's 21st century digital economy, and what's at stake if we don't get it right. In the second hour of their conversation, Tom and Demetri get into specific policy and regulatory proposals for dealing with both social media and artificial intelligence by challenging some of the false dichotomies and tribal biases that have dominated this conversation in recent years. They look at ways of incentivizing social media platforms to produce better quality information that reduces the incidence of costly externalities like rising rates of anxiety and depression among children, while cutting across political and ideological lines. Tom Wheeler also discusses President Joe Biden's recently signed executive order on AI and the challenges of regulating this profoundly disruptive and potentially dangerous new technology. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 11/27/2023 | |||
| Reflections on Life, Markets, & Investing | Zach Abraham | 27 Nov 2023 | 00:55:32 | |
In Episode 340 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Zach Abraham, the Principal and Chief Investment Officer of Bulwark Capital Management and the host of the Know Your Risk Radio Program. Zach and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing Zach's approach to investing, where he thinks we are in the economic cycle, and why he believes we continue to see a disconnect between underlying economic fundamentals and asset prices. In the second hour, Demetri and Zach reflect on the economic, political, and cultural changes that they've experienced in their lives, how these changes reflect (and are reflected in) some of the policy choices that have led us to this point in developed countries, how these changes affect Zach's economic outlook, and how they inform his philosophy as an investor, a parent, and a citizen. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 11/22/2023 | |||
| What Happened at OpenAI & Why It Matters | Nathaniel Whittemore | 21 Nov 2023 | 00:52:43 | |
In Episode 339 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Nathaniel Whittemore, host of the AI Breakdown for a timely conversation about the latest news surrounding the firing of OpenAI's CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. This was recorded on Monday, November 20th as a Live Q&A for members of our Genius community that we opened up to our newsletter subscribers. Nathaniel and Demetri discussed what is known thus far about the reasons behind Sam Altman's firing, why it's being described as a "coup," who the various factions are, and how much of this has to do with concerns around AI safety vs. accelerationism. We also discuss the opportunity this creates for OpenAI's largest shareholder (Microsoft), the implications for the AI industry, as well as the largest players in the space for AI foundation models, and much, much more. You can subscribe to our free newsletter at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can do that at https://hiddenforces.io/subscribe/. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 11/20/2023 | |||
| Trump's National Security Strategy: A Plan to Contain China or Carve Up the World? | Jamie Metzl | 22 Dec 2025 | 01:08:10 | |
In Episode 454 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author, futurist, and U.S. foreign policy expert Jamie Metzl about the aims and objectives of the 2025 National Security Strategy and its implications for American prosperity and power in the 21st century. Jamie and Demetri spend the first hour of this conversation digging into the Trump administration's 2025 National Security Strategy and the story that the administration is trying to tell to the American people and to itself about America's place in the world, where it went astray, and what needs to be done on a strategic planning level in order to "Make America Great Again." From there, Metzl and Kofinas debate whether the strategy amounts to a "containment" of China or something closer to a 19th-century balance-of-power where the largest and most powerful countries—namely the United States, Russia, and China—will be granted the freedom to operate with impunity within their own spheres of influence, dealing a final death blow to the international rules-based liberal order that the United States sought to universalize after the fall of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. The second hour is a wide-ranging tour through what this strategy might look like in practice, from the Western Hemisphere and Venezuela to Europe and Ukraine, and what "power politics" means when so much of modern conflict is fought through influence campaigns, institutional sabotage, and cyber operations rather than through the use of conventional arms and occupations. The two also explore the dangerous vacuum created when a superpower can no longer clearly articulate what it stands for—at home or abroad—and how that confusion can lead to a cascade of unintended consequences that further destabilize the international system, resulting in a new form of total war. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 12/15/2025 | |||
| American Grand Strategy & the Logic of War | Edward Luttwak | 20 Nov 2023 | 00:56:35 | |
In Episode 338 of Hidden Forces, speaks with Dr. Edward Luttwak about American grand strategy and the logic of war. Dr. Luttwak is an author and consultant to governments and companies around the world and is known for his work on grand strategy, military strategy and history, and international relations. Luttwak and Kofinas spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the logic of war and the dimensions of strategy, how the nature of a nation state's political system influences its grand strategic objectives, and what American grand strategy is and should be given the strategic challenges the United States faces in the 21st century. In the second hour, the conversation shifts to China given U.S. President Biden's and Xi Jinping's recent in-person meeting at the APEC summit in San Francisco. Edward Luttwak explains why he believes that it would be a very bad idea if China attempted to take Taiwan by force, how it would find itself at war with the United States and an assortment of regional and international allies, why it would lose that war, and why that still won't deter Xi Jinping from trying to retake the island by force. The two also discuss the implications of China's nearly three decade-long one-child policy for its military readiness and what Beijing's push to increase domestic grain production as part of its initiative to promote food security (even at the expense of long-standing efforts to reforest the country) can tell us about Xi Jinping's desire to ready the country for war. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 11/15/2023 | |||
| Leadership and the Longing to Belong | Jerry Colonna | 13 Nov 2023 | 00:57:51 | |
In Episode 337 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jerry Colonna, the co-founder and CEO of the executive coaching and leadership development company Reboot, the host of the Reboot Podcast, and the author of the recently published book "Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong." Demetri got to know Jerry during their first interview together after the publication of Jerry's last book on the subject of leadership and the art of growing up, in which he explained how the lessons of leadership are at their core, lessons in humanity—that the process of becoming a better leader and the radical self-inquiry that it requires, ultimately makes us better human beings. In their second conversation together and in his latest book Reunion, Jerry Colonna builds on those insights to help us move beyond the inner world of becoming better humans toward the outer worlds of inclusion and belonging that seem to be missing in so many people's lives and in our world today. In their second conversation together and in his latest book Reunion, Jerry builds on those insights to help us move beyond the inner world of becoming better humans toward the outer world of creating the kind of inclusion and belonging that seem to be missing in so many people's lives and in our world today. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 11/06/2023 | |||
| Artificial Intelligence and the Containment Problem | Mustafa Suleyman | 06 Nov 2023 | 00:52:17 | |
In Episode 336 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman about the containment problem and the AI dilemma that he outlines in his book, "The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma." Mustafa Suleyman and Demetri discuss the rapid advancement and proliferation of Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Biology, why this revolution is going to be fundamentally different from past periods of rapid technological change, and what can be done to solve the containment problem and prevent some of the more catastrophic outcomes from occurring, while still reaping the benefits of this next wave of innovation. The first hour of this episode is spent exploring how these AI systems work, how they learn, and how they perceive the world, as well as why they are so difficult to contain. And yet, we need to contain them if we want to avoid some of the more catastrophic outcomes like synthetically engineered pandemics, pandemics of public confusion that undermine our sense of reality, and moves toward totalitarianism or civilization-ending anarchy. In the second hour, Kofinas and Suleyman discuss various versions of what success and failure might look like and what we can do as a society to help move us closer toward the future that we want and away from dystopian nightmares that we've all seen depicted in some of the most famous movies of the last half-century. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/23/2023 | |||
| How to Think About This Political Moment | Marshall Kosloff | 02 Nov 2023 | 00:56:02 | |
In Episode 335 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Marshall Kosloff. Marshall is the host of The Realignment and Arsenal of Democracy podcasts and is a media fellow at Hudson Institute. Marshall and Demetri spend the first hour applying Marshall's realignment framework to U.S. foreign policy in light of the recent developments in Israel and the potential for a destabilizing regional war with Iran. In the second hour, they discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media regulation, the 2024 election, and the risk that we may be sleepwalking into a new world war that would devastate the global economy and put people's lives at risk in ways that we haven't experienced since the late 1930s and 1940s. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. You can listen to The Realignment here and Arsenal of Democracy here. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/30/2023 | |||
| Mounting Risk of a New World War | Walter Russell Mead | 30 Oct 2023 | 00:57:15 | |
In Episode 334 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with famed historian of American Foreign policy Walter Russell Mead about the evolving war in the Middle East and why we are living through the most dangerous period in international affairs since the 1930s. Professor Mead is a Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute, the Global View Columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College in New York. How have we found ourselves on the cusp of another war in the Middle East when the Biden administration's explicit goal coming into office in 2020 was to get the United States out of this region so it could focus on China? This is the question that Mead and Kofinas look to answer in the first hour of their conversation. They also discuss the historical parallels and differences between the present moment and previous periods of immense danger in the international system, the apocalyptic strain in American politics and foreign policy, and how political ideology and the culture war inform people's opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the escalating war in Gaza. In the second hour, Walter Russell Mead speculates about how international events may evolve, the possibility of outright collusion among America's adversaries, as well as further avenues of escalation that could lead to direct U.S. involvement in Israel's war against Hamas. The two also discuss how the war in Ukraine, as well as Chinese military provocations in the Pacific factor into American policy in the Middle East, why U.S. adversaries no longer seem deterred by American power, and what can be done to change that before it's too late. You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/26/2023 | |||
| How America Broke Its War Machine | Michael Brenes | 23 Oct 2023 | 00:55:54 | |
In Episode 333 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Brenes, the Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale University who recently authored an article for Foreign Affairs about the U.S. defense industrial base titled "How America Broke Its War Machine." Michael and Demetri discuss the state of the U.S. defense industrial base, American military readiness, and the effect that great-power competition and the expansion and scope of U.S. military involvement in active conflicts overseas could have on the nation's political stability. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/17/2023 | |||
| Iran's Role in the Hamas Attacks & Implications for the United States | Kamran Bokhari | 16 Oct 2023 | 01:50:02 | |
In Episode 332 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical analyst and forecaster Kamran Bokhari. Kamran is the Senior Director of the Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy and has served at the U.S. State Department and as a Senior Consultant with the World Bank. The subjects of today's conversation concern the escalating violence ignited by last weekend's brutal attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas, as well as the Israeli Defense Forces' ongoing counteroffensive and bombing of the Gaza Strip. Kamran and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the attacks, what we know about their original scope and intention, what role Iran may have played in helping plan the attacks, and whether or not we can expect Hezbollah to open a second front of attack in the north of Israel, as well as other potential pathways of escalation that could rope in the United States and turn this into a larger, regional conflict. In the second hour, Bokhari and Kofinas look at how the events transpiring in the Middle East fit into the story that Demetri has been telling on this podcast for years about the fragmentation of the liberal rules-based international order and the emergence of a new multipolarity where nation states will seek to resolve long-standing border or ethnic disputes by force as everyone jostles to reposition themselves favorably ahead of the emergence of a new status quo. What this means for the future of Israel, Iran, Turkey, China, Russia, and the United States, is all part of that discussion. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/15/2023 | |||
| What the Bond Sell-off Means for Investors | Andy Constan & Mike Green | 10 Oct 2023 | 00:52:53 | |
In Episode 331 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Andy Constan and Mike Green after a week of turmoil in the bond market that saw a dramatic repricing of long-term government debt, raising debt servicing costs for the US government and sending yields on 10-year Treasury bonds to nearly 5%. Demetri, Andy, and Mike spend the first hour of their conversation trying to make sense of the recent sell-off, as well as what the implications of these higher long-term interest rates will be for the economy and asset markets. The second hour is dedicated to discussing the risk-reward calculus for investors who are trying to decide whether or not they want to use this opportunity to add bonds to their portfolios, in what amount, over what duration, and what the risks and opportunities are of doing so given the continued uncertainty about the direction of interest rates and inflation. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/06/2023 | |||
| Rise of the New Right & the Battle for America in 2024 | Henry Olsen | 09 Oct 2023 | 01:00:19 | |
In Episode 330 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Henry Olsen, author of "Working Class Republican" and "The Four Faces of the Republican Party," about where the United States and other western democratic countries find themselves politically today, the sources of populism's broad, international appeal, and why he believes that we are living through the kind of political realignment that hasn't happened for almost a century. Henry is also a columnist for the Washington post and the host of the weekly podcast "Beyond the Polls" where he speaks with leading political journalists and analysts about American politics and its presidential and congressional races. Demetri and Henry spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the history of democratic politics and how we got to where are today where so many Americans and others Westerners no longer feel at home in their own parties and increasingly feel like their countries and the people who govern them are unresponsive to their needs, incompetent or corrupt in their exercise of power, and do not seem to share their most fundamental values when comes to the protection of personal freedoms, the exercise of civic responsibility, and the role of government in society. The second hour is devoted to American electoral politics, specifically the 2024 elections, whether or not we are going to see a rematch of Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden, whether Trump will be able to campaign while also fighting several ongoing lawsuits, what it would take for someone in the Republican Primary—a Ron DeSantis or Vivek Ramaswamy—to take the nomination from him, what impact a third party candidate like RFK Jr. could have on the race, and what happens if Trump actually wins. What does the country look like in that scenario? Is the "Deep State" even going to let him take office? Will he be able to exercise power and if he does, is he going to go after his political enemies with same commitment and vitriol that they have gone after him, and what does that mean for the viability of American democracy? You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/03/2023 | |||
| U.S. Semiconductor Export Controls On China Are Failing | Dylan Patel | 04 Oct 2023 | 00:52:00 | |
In Episode 329 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Dylan Patel, a semiconductor and A.I. analyst and the founder of boutique Semiconductor research and consulting firm SemiAnalysis, about how U.S. semiconductor export controls are failing and what the U.S. can do about it. Dylan and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation going over Huawei's groundbreaking new Kirin 9000s chipset produced by Chinese semiconductor foundry SMIC and what it tells us about the progress that China's domestic chip industry has made in the year since the U.S. Commerce Department implemented a series of targeted updates to its semiconductor industry export controls. This also includes a discussion about the military and commercial implications of China's progress for America's strategic competition with the People's Republic. In the second hour, Kofinas and Patel focus their attention on how exactly China's domestic chip industry has managed to make so much progress despite the stated goals of the U.S. Commerce Department, what can be done to strengthen the existing export controls that are already in place, and what additional measures can be taken to complement those efforts that strengthen America's own semiconductor industry and that incentivize a rebuild of American industry and society for the 21st century. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/28/2023 | |||
| AI Bubble, Inflation, and the Limits of Monetary Policy | Jason Furman | 15 Dec 2025 | 00:46:56 | |
In Episode 453 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jason Furman, the former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, about the state of the U.S. economy, the AI Bubble, monetary policy, inflation, price controls, and much more. Jason and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation exploring his economic framework, what he learned from his time working inside the Clinton and Obama White Houses, and how these experiences shaped his perspective on the role of government in the economy. The two then delve into Furman's thoughts on artificial intelligence. They discuss whether we're living through an AI bubble, where Jason anticipates the greatest productivity gains from the adoption of AI in the U.S. service sector, and his perspective on AI regulation. They also discuss the limitations of our inflation models, whether we have a good working understanding of the causes of inflation, whether the Fed has implicitly raised its inflation target, and how large, structural deficits and political constraints will shape the Fed's ability to manage that target in the years ahead. In the second hour, Kofinas and Furman shift to a discussion about the politics of affordability and a growing sense, especially among younger Americans, that the costs associated with achieving the American dream have become insurmountable for almost all but the very wealthy. They debate the political appeal and efficacy of price controls, as well as the extent to which tariffs, industrial policy, and currency depreciation can or should be used to reshape global supply chains and rebuild U.S. domestic manufacturing in areas deemed critical for national security. They also discuss the US trade deficit and capital account surplus, what a weaker dollar may tell us about the government's policy objectives, how corruption, rule of law, and institutional decay might eventually feed back into foreign appetite for US assets, and what is at stake in the choice of the next Fed chair—both for the independence of the central bank and for the long-term credibility of American monetary policy. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Episode Recorded on 12/08/2025 | |||
| The New Geopolitics of Global Finance | Brad Setser | 02 Oct 2023 | 01:00:59 | |
In Episode 328 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Brad Setser, the Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations where he specializes in global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring. Brad has also served in multiple Democrat administrations as a senior advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative, as deputy assistant secretary for international economic analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department, and as a director for international economics on the staff of the National Economic and the National Security Councils. Brad and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing what Brad has described as "the new geopolitics of global finance," how the political and national security assumptions and priorities that were taken for granted during the unipolar period are undergoing a series of transformations, and how these transformations are increasingly informing economic policymaking and driving changes in the global economy and financial markets. In the second hour, they focus our attention on China's economy, what a viable macroeconomic equilibrium could look like for China given its extraordinarily high savings rate and export-driven growth model, and whether the country can continue to grow without making significant reforms that would increase domestic consumption and reduce the country's structurally high current account surpluses. They also discuss the state of the German economy, the growth of China's export market for electric vehicles, the progress that's been made to de-risk supply chains, industrial policy in the United States and Europe, and much more. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/26/2023 | |||
| Tech, Military, & Economic Drivers of US-China Competition | Diana Choyleva | 25 Sep 2023 | 01:01:39 | |
In Episode 327 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Diana Choyleva in what was originally recorded as a live Q&A for members of our Genius Community. The subject of the Q&A is the latest state of US-China relations with an emphasis on some of the most recent headlines related Huawei's latest 5G phone with its domestically produced 7nm chip, China's naval exercises in the pacific, as well as some of ongoing headlines around the state of its economy. During the introduction, Demetri makes the case for why China's rise poses a threat to the liberal world and why our response to that threat needs to be situated within a larger political and economic movement that reconstitutes civic power in the democratic institutions of government which are the birthright of every American. Diana Choyleva has been kind enough to offer Hidden Forces listeners a discount to her Enodo Economics course on US-China relations, which explores many of the issues that we tackle in today's Q&A and that provides a roadmap for anyone trying to understand the deeper drivers of the US-China decoupling and its geopolitical, technological, and economic ramifications. Use the discount code "HIDDENFORCES30" at checkout to get 30% off the entry price. If you want to become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/Subscribe. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/20/2023 | |||
| Could America Lose a War Against China Over Taiwan? | Alex Velez-Green | 18 Sep 2023 | 00:55:21 | |
In Episode 326 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Alex Velez-Green, the fmr. National Security Advisor to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, who helped staff the senator on the Armed Services Committee and advised him on matters related to strengthening deterrence against China, including U.S. conventional and nuclear force structure and posture. Alex and Demetri discuss the perilous situation in which the U.S. now finds itself in the Pacific, how it got here, and what is required to ready the U.S. military for a war against China in the next few years, and if we are lucky, deter it altogether. The first hour of their conversation is dedicated to a discussion about the serious risks that the United States military currently faces in the pacific and why there is a real chance that the People's Liberation Army will be able to defeat U.S. forces in a fight over Taiwan. This includes a discussion about Chinese intentions and the advancements that China's military has made in the last several years, the consequences of losing a confrontation with China over Taiwan, and America's ability to contain China once it has broken through the first island chain. In the second hour, Velez-Green and Kofinas assess the state of America's defense industrial base, what is being done to restock critical weapon systems and munitions, and how long it will take before the U.S. can feel confident in its ability to sustain a protracted war against China. In this context, they also discuss trade-offs between continuing to provide arms to Ukraine and delivering those same weapons systems and munitions to Taiwan in an effort to deter a Chinese invasion. They end the episode by reflecting on the legacy of foreign policy failures that have led to this moment, how we got here, and what needs to happen in order for the United States to prevail in what is likely to be the greatest national challenge the nation has faced since World War II. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports (or Key Takeaways) at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone from our team will get back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/14/2023 | |||