Explore every episode of the podcast Global Macro Update
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fully Invested Bear | 11 Dec 2025 | 00:47:22 | |
This is one of my favorite interviews of 2025. Jeff deGraaf, founder of Renaissance Macro Research, built his career translating technical analysis into actionable investment strategies for institutional clients. Hear about his market cycle clock—and why inflation matters more to stocks than GDP growth does. | |||
| The New VC Playbook | 05 Dec 2025 | 00:38:42 | |
Everyone worries AI will take their job. Steve Lord thinks we'll hit a bigger wall first: power. Lord is COO of Burkland Associates, which works with Andreessen Horowitz and dozens of other top VC firms. Hear about the infrastructure bottleneck facing AI, what went wrong with crypto's original promise, and Lord's advice for founders trying to raise capital in today's market. | |||
| Could Another Tariff Meltdown Lie Ahead? | 25 Jul 2025 | 00:22:35 | |
"Anytime Trump says something, it is harmful to my positions." For commodities trader Jared Dillian, the spring tariff meltdown broke the market for good. And we may be due for a second tariff-driven sell-off this fall. | |||
| A Regime Change for Global Trade | 25 Apr 2025 | 00:35:38 | |
The simultaneous sell-off of stocks, bonds, and US dollar is a big deal. Brent Donnelly from Spectra Markets explains how broken trust has left permanent scars on US trade policy: "Once an action has been taken, you can remove the action, but then there's still going to be some damage." | |||
| Will the trade war become a currency crisis? | 18 Apr 2025 | 00:29:40 | |
All trade wars have a currency effect, but what happens when nations drive down their currencies to counter US tariffs? John Mauldin explains why he doesn't believe China is using US treasuries as a weapon—and where the trade war will hurt most. | |||
| Too Late for Portfolio Insurance? | 11 Apr 2025 | 00:28:25 | |
There's no substitute for experience. That was evident this week in the markets. While most people were confused or frozen, at least one investor (our old friend Jared) was making money after spending the past few months positioning himself for a week like this one. Part of his strategy involves using options, but not for speculation… | |||
| Private Equity: Too Big to Fail? | 04 Apr 2025 | 00:35:16 | |
Private equity is buying up America—everything from nursing homes to the local plumbing business. Some are calling it a bubble, with the value of global private equity deals reaching $2 trillion in 2024. Brendan Ballou, author of the new book Plunder, says the real trouble with PE comes from weak regulations that incentivize bad decisions. | |||
| Ukraine's Playbook for Defeating Russia | 28 Mar 2025 | 00:40:12 | |
Modern history is rife with examples of wars that grind on needlessly, only to end with no clear winner. There is a risk this will happen with Ukraine, though President Trump is eager to force a settlement. BCA Research Chief Strategist Marko Papic joins us to unpack what happens next. | |||
| Inflation Is Over | 14 Mar 2025 | 00:33:47 | |
Inflation is dropping quickly, but you wouldn't know it from the headlines. Danielle DiMartino Booth explains why, highlighting layoffs and other underreported recession signals. As she's said before, "There is no greater drag on inflation than job loss." | |||
| More Geopolitical Chess with George Friedman | 12 Mar 2025 | 00:30:38 | |
George is back! Over half a million people caught my last interview with George shortly after the US and Russia began settlement discussions about Ukraine. Today he responds to the animated comments that followed, explaining why Russia cannot wage war in Europe, NATO's diminishing relevance, and how the flurry of activity at the White House compares to Roosevelt's first hundred days in office. | |||
| Deflationary Tariffs? | 07 Mar 2025 | 00:26:53 | |
Former Wall Street trader Jared Dillian is here to talk deflationary tariffs, troubling signs from the housing market, the rising risk of a recession, and why he's "super bullish on bonds." | |||
| It's Bird Flu Season | 28 Feb 2025 | 00:39:31 | |
In the US, 10% of commercial egg-laying hens have died from the bird flu in the last eight weeks. Egg prices are set to soar another 41% this year. Are we in for another pandemic? Cumberland Advisors co-founder David Kotok discusses the economic domino effects of pandemics across history. | |||
| The Mania Begins | 26 Nov 2025 | 00:54:42 | |
CrossBorder Capital founder Michael Howell built his framework for tracking global liquidity while at Salomon Brothers. His central thesis: the ratio between debt and liquidity predicts financial crises and asset bubbles. Howell explains why the $350 trillion global debt pile requires $70 trillion in annual refinancing, how ZIRP created the "everything bubble," and what happens when the bill comes due. | |||
| Ending a Catastrophe for Ukraine and Russia | 21 Feb 2025 | 00:34:26 | |
If you feel like the world order is being rearranged, you're right. George Friedman explains the geopolitical machinations behind Ukraine settlement talks and President Trump's plan to "redesign the world." | |||
| The Years of Plenty | 13 Feb 2025 | 00:42:21 | |
My friend Jacob Shapiro is back, and he sees ample opportunities for investors who can tune out white-noise media. "For the next five, 10 years, these are the years of plenty." We also cover economic resiliency, US energy security, and the ripple effects of tariffs on US-China relations. | |||
| The China Problem | 07 Feb 2025 | 00:54:04 | |
The US has a China problem. Our biggest geopolitical rival has a massive trade surplus, and it's working to usurp America's position as the global hegemon. What effect will the new Trump tariffs have on this ongoing rivalry? As our guest today, China specialist Lyric Hughes Hale says, "Communism always ends in tears." | |||
| The Opium War in Reverse | 31 Jan 2025 | 00:42:43 | |
China has weaponized fentanyl against the US. Today we're speaking with Canadian journalist Sam Cooper about how China and Canada drive the opioid trade, money laundering in Vancouver, Mexican cartels, and corruption at the highest levels of government. They're all in on it… | |||
| The Global Race for the Arctic | 23 Dec 2024 | 00:30:19 | |
US-Canada relations are strained. Many believe Canada isn't doing enough to choke off illegal immigration or to protect North America's security interests in the Artic, which Russia and China aim to dominate. We're covering this and more with Canadian journalist Jonathan Roth. | |||
| Is the Big Market Shift of 2025 Already Here? | 20 Dec 2024 | 00:40:47 | |
The stock market dipped 3% on Wednesday, and I know many investors are getting nervous. Hearing from a technical analyst like Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, is particularly important now, when the leading macro analysts all seem to have wildly different outlooks. Note: We recorded this interview on Dec. 12. | |||
| Felix Zulauf: Where to Invest in 2025 | 17 Dec 2024 | 00:50:11 | |
Felix Zulauf says "We're moving away from the world we come from." He's back again to discuss the Trump tariffs, deglobalization, and the slide toward "state capitalism." Listen in to learn where to invest in 2025 to benefit from the changing world order. | |||
| Jared Dillian's State of the Union | 21 Nov 2024 | 00:35:17 | |
My friend Jared Dillian is back to discuss everything from Indian stocks, Milei's Argentina, and burning cars in France, to Social Security and how to make money in 2025. | |||
| US-China Trade War—Round 2 | 15 Nov 2024 | 00:26:18 | |
China Beige Book's Shehzad Qazi pegs the probability of a US-China trade war in 2025 at 100%. Is India the next China? What does slower growth in China mean for the global economy? Get Shehzad's take in our interview. | |||
| Election 2024: How Russia et al. Warp Your Vote | 01 Nov 2024 | 00:35:23 | |
When it comes to cybersecurity, intelligence expert Karim Hijazi says the election is not "under control." Russia, China, Iran—plus "hackers for hire"—are busy meddling. Their goal isn't necessarily to tilt the scales in favor of one candidate or party, but to weaken the US as a whole. | |||
| Will OpenAI be the Yahoo! of the AI Era? | 21 Nov 2025 | 00:39:30 | |
While the Fear and Greed Index just hit "Extreme Fear" territory, Spectra Markets president Brent Donnelly says we're in more of a rotation than a panic. Brent and I talk about the AI trade—why Meta's earnings marked a shift, whether OpenAI's $500 billion valuation is defensible, and why 65% of respondents would short it. Plus, why Buffett just bet on Google. | |||
| The End of Old Age (and Social Security) | 25 Oct 2024 | 00:37:31 | |
Join Ed and macroeconomist Patrick Cox as they discuss demographic reversal, the collapse of Social Security, and rapid advances in longevity medicine, including compelling age-reversal research coming out of Johns Hopkins and MD Anderson. | |||
| Hard Times | 04 Oct 2024 | 00:48:15 | |
Dr. Lacy Hunt says the US economy is in a "very precarious situation" and that it's a mistake to pretend people are doing well when a closer look at the economic data shows they are hurting. He walks us through that data, making it easy to digest for the layman. | |||
| Real Solutions to Runaway Energy Demand | 27 Sep 2024 | 01:05:17 | |
Manufacturing is returning to North America, thanks to automation, a greater focus on resiliency, and rising labor costs in China. This is a good thing, but it will require massive amounts of energy. Where will it come from? Mark Mills has some answers. | |||
| A Natural Mayhem Hedge | 20 Sep 2024 | 00:36:43 | |
Will oil prices recover anytime soon? And what role should oil and gas stocks play in your portfolio? Get some answers from Piper Sandler global energy economist Jan Stuart, along with his thoughts on nuclear energy and China's "giant Achilles heel." | |||
| The Next Oil Boom | 13 Sep 2024 | 00:43:50 | |
The narrative around oil is that a global supply glut and weak demand from China will continue to keep oil prices down. Bison Interests founder Josh Young tells a different story, filled with OPEC cheaters, nationalization undertones, and a much smaller global oil supply than people think. | |||
| Is China More Capitalistic Than the US? | 30 Aug 2024 | 00:46:07 | |
Building resiliency, in part by decoupling the US economy from China's, is essential to our long-term security. China is doing the same thing. Yet China's export business is booming, and it dominates trade with other emerging markets. Is a communist nation beating us at capitalism? | |||
| When the $8 Trillion Private Equity Bubble Pops | 23 Aug 2024 | 00:35:55 | |
Former Wall Street trader Jared Dillian highlights the $8 trillion private equity bubble, built on massive layers of debt, that poses a systemic threat to the entire financial system. Will we get another implosion like we had in 2008? | |||
| Sept. 11, Russian Oligarchs & the Death of the Middle Class | 09 Aug 2024 | 00:40:39 | |
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and its allies froze over $58 billion in assets from Russian oligarchs and blocked major Russian banks from using the international payment system, known as SWIFT. Did we cross a line? Or did we cross it decades earlier in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks? | |||
| The Age of Scarcity | 02 Aug 2024 | 00:45:08 | |
Is the age of plenty over? Economist Bill White says it ended with COVID. Now we're moving into an age of scarcity—and it's putting us at war. As Bill puts it, "We're in a war to preserve our market-based, capitalist, democratic system in an environment that is going to be very, very difficult to navigate." | |||
| The End of Trust | 26 Jul 2024 | 00:47:25 | |
Something phenomenal happened in 2001: People generated more information that year than they had in all human history combined to that point. Hear from former CIA analyst Martin Gurri, who unpacks the effects of this information "tsunami" in his book, The Revolt of the Public. | |||
| Will the AI Bubble Squeeze the Middle Class? | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:29:30 | |
Bruce Mehlman unpacks the government shutdown, the recent Democratic sweep, and the AI bubble. Then he pulls out his crystal ball for the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential predictions. | |||
| Cold War II | 19 Jul 2024 | 00:36:27 | |
Is the US in "Cold War II" with China? CrowdStrike founder Dmitri Alperovitch believes we are, and that it could turn kinetic, starting with China invading Taiwan. Why? China can't dominate everything in and around the South China Sea without full control of Taiwan. Is an invasion imminent? | |||
| Kuppy's "Great Macro Dreamscape" | 28 Jun 2024 | 00:26:49 | |
We're entering the golden age of macro investing says Harris Kupperman, the founder of Praetorian Capital, but it won't be fun for everyone. As the world unravels, thanks to runaway government debt and even more inflation, it will create exceptional opportunities for strategically positioned macro investors. | |||
| Economic Fairy Dust | 24 May 2024 | 00:32:41 | |
Will the stock market rise another 50% by 2030? Dr. Ed Yardeni says it could, citing tech-fueled productivity gains. Join me, Dr. Ed, and his colleague Eric Wallerstein (formerly of the New York Fed and The Wall Street Journal) as we discuss interest rates, inflation, and the housing market, plus which market sectors investors should focus on now. | |||
| The New Warfare: When AI Partners with Cybercrime | 17 May 2024 | 00:36:11 | |
AI is amplifying online national security threats. Intelligence expert Karim Hijazi discusses the "new Cold War" and how cyberspace became the primary medium for spycraft and warfare among advanced nations. | |||
| DiMartino Booth on Stagflation, AI, and "Condo-mageddon" | 10 May 2024 | 00:31:45 | |
QI Research founder Danielle DiMartino Booth unpacks recession signals, how America lost its ability to budget, and whether we're barreling toward stagflation. You'll also hear about AI's impact on jobs, "condo-mageddon," and what all this means for the markets. | |||
| How to Build a Great Macro Portfolio | 19 Apr 2024 | 00:56:09 | |
Gold keeps reaching new highs with demand coming from central banks, particularly China's. Renowned macro portfolio manager Nick Glinsman discusses his preferred method for holding gold, the bifurcation of global commodity markets, and one of his top oil plays. | |||
| McBride: "99% of crypto is absolute garbage." | 12 Apr 2024 | 00:35:52 | |
RiskHedge Chief Analyst Stephen McBride says, "99% of crypto is absolute garbage. I wouldn't touch it. I think the other 1% will change the world." Stephen runs a crypto advisory that's outperformed bitcoin. He shares his crypto portfolio's largest holding and how new bitcoin ETFs will change crypto investing. | |||
| You're Feeling the Aftermath of "War Financing" | 05 Apr 2024 | 00:54:26 | |
Broken Money author, Lyn Alden, likens today's inflation to the fiscal-driven inflation of the 1940s. Add in a runaway federal deficit and increasing geopolitical instability, and it's no surprise that gold and bitcoin have both reached new all-time highs. | |||
| McCourt's Plan to End Digital Servitude | 26 Mar 2024 | 00:36:33 | |
Big Tech is watching. Companies like Google track what you read and watch, where you drive, and what you buy. Most of this is out of your control. Frank McCourt, Jr., author of Our Biggest Fight and former LA Dodgers owner, is putting up $500 million to change that. | |||
| Clean, Abundant, and Cheap—Dr. Zubrin's "Case for Nukes" | 15 Mar 2024 | 00:45:59 | |
Most Americans are pro-nuclear now, but US regulators are hindering our nuclear energy program without making us safer. Nuclear engineer Dr. Robert Zubrin highlights the onerous regulatory process, as well as the exciting progress we're making with fusion and SMRs. You'll also hear how the US is ceding global nuclear markets to its top adversary. | |||
| We're Back to 1997/98? | 30 Oct 2025 | 00:20:44 | |
Everyone is wondering if we're in another tech bubble. There's a mad rush to invest in AI, and tech companies are breaking valuation records, with Nvidia leading the charge. My friend Jared Dillian believes we're back in 1997/98. Hear why on today's episode. | |||
| India Could Dominate the World or "Collapse in on Itself" | 08 Mar 2024 | 00:33:42 | |
India looks amazing on paper: 1.4 billion people, the world's fastest-growing economy, and rapid digitization. In this episode, you'll hear why Cognitive Investment partner Jacob Shapiro gives India's hottest growth sector a "9 or a 10." | |||
| Friedman on the "Two Chinas" and How Putin Saves Face | 13 Feb 2024 | 00:33:51 | |
Has Xi already lost control? Renowned geopolitical strategist George Friedman is on the podcast to discuss the threat of civil war in China, solutions to the stalemate in Ukraine, and the future of Gaza. | |||
| How This 45-Year Industry Vet Is Investing in Nuclear Energy | 09 Feb 2024 | 00:37:22 | |
Grant Williams calls Evergreen Gavekal CIO David Hay "one of the good guys." We're excited to welcome him to the podcast. Get David's insights on the future of small nuclear reactors, China, and a specific investing signal you should be watching now. | |||
| One Financial Decision Trumps Everything | 02 Feb 2024 | 00:20:11 | |
Author and former Wall Street trader Jared Dillian discusses the Fed, why 90% of managing money is waiting, and his latest book, No Worries: How to Live a Stress-Free Financial Life. Jared shares how to get your big financial choices right—and the one decision that trumps them all. | |||