Podcasts Of The Week

Eastern Europe Flying Under The Radar, Kangaroo Court In A Banana Republic, A Look At Value Traps & The Geopolitical Big Picture

This post got longer than usual, so I’m going to jump right in. I’ll be covering some of the stuff going on in Ukraine, modern lawfare with a certain former President, and a couple podcasts worth checking out.

Geopolitics

The biggest thing that stood out to me this week wasn’t anything going on in the Middle East, but something that probably flew under the radar for most people in the West. Pardon the pun, but the West targeting two of Russia’s early warning radars is not a good sign. I had sort of written off Ukraine as something that would wrap up by the end of 2024. I don’t think Ukraine is behind these attacks (or if they are the West is pulling the strings), and it’s definitely not something that would move the needle on the ground for the Ukrainians in my opinion.

There has been quite a bit of worry over the reports of two drone attacks on Russia’s strategic radar stations in Armavir and Orsk. Steve Bryen provides an excellent overview of the worst case. While these attacks show that Ukraine is desperate and willing to risk provoking a Russian nuclear response, albeit tactical, the actual effect in terms of damage is negligible. Moreover, the Russian Government and media’s muted response reflects, in my judgment, that this was a Ukrainian intelligence information operation, fully backed by the West, as opposed to a full-blown attack designed to cripple Russia’s strategic radar system.

- Larry Johnson

Coverage Range of Russia’s Early Warning Radars (Larry Johnson)

From some of the stuff I have seen, it looks like groups in NATO and the West are chomping at the bit to get involved directly against the Russians. I have seen more and more videos of Ukrainians being grabbed off the street and sent into the meat grinder, but things don’t look good for Ukraine heading into the second half of 2024.

Modern Lawfare: Trump Edition

If you want to skip this section, I will be doing a quick detour to rant about what happened recently with Trump and the kangaroo court show trial. It’s the elephant in the room from the last week, and I could go on and on, so I’ll try to keep this short and to the point. In the next five months heading into the election, you’re probably going hear the phrase “convicted felon” at least as frequently as you heard “safe and effective” a couple years ago. We will see if the repetition is as effective as it was in the past, but I honestly have no idea what path things take from here.

Does he end up in a cell during the campaign? Do they drag sentencing on for months? It’s just another point of uncertainty in an election year that is set to be tumultuous. If you want more in depth look at the situation, I’ll point readers to Auron MacIntyre, one of the sharpest political commentators that I follow. He’s extremely intelligent, but he’s great as distilling things down into the most important themes (and a very entertaining follow on Twitter).

He spends a lot of time focused on the friend/enemy distinction, and often breaks down politics into the simple idea of “punish your enemies and reward your friends”. In the four minute video below, he talks about some of the things the Republicans should do in response to the kangaroo court proceedings with Trump. Knowing the conservatives, they won’t do anything because they aren’t willing to take the necessary steps to conserve anything, but I’m curious to see how this slow motion train wreck plays out heading into the election. If you would rather watch the full length video, here’s a link.

Risk of Ruin w/ David Orr

This was one of the most interesting podcasts I listened to this week. He usually talks about gambling, counting cards, or other expected value outcomes like lottery tickets, poker, or sports betting. He occasionally talks to investors and fund managers as well. This time he has David Orr on to talk about shorting value traps, and what he looks for on the short and long side. It’s worth a listen for investors looking to spot potential green or red flags when it comes to different types of investments.

Coffee And A Mike w/ Tom Luongo and Steven Murray

You will definitely learn something if you take the time to listen to this one. They talk about Ukraine, the Middle East, and the different factions of influence around the world. You’re going to get a very different look at current events than what you might see from the mainstream media. They also talk about financial markets, commodities, and other things to watch moving forward. Fair warning that there is some spicy language in this one, but it’s worth a listen.