The Peter Zeihan Podcast Series

California has been one of the most successful states in the US, primarily because of things outside its control. But all those external factors are flipping on them, so California must reinvent itself. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/lets-talk-california

By the time you see this, the knot should be tied on Sweden joining NATO. There's still a little arm-twisting that will go on behind the scenes, but most of the heavy lifting is done (and Turkey got the bribe they wanted, sooo everyone's happy). Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/sweden-joins-nato

As the NATO summit in Vilnius wraps up, we're left with a result that was more or less expected. Ukraine won't be getting called up to the big leagues anytime soon, but it's not all bad news for Zelensky... Note: This video was recorded back in June, but it helps paint a picture of what is going down at the NATO summit. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraines-waiting-game-zelenskys-quest-for-nato-membership

With weapon systems moving toward hypersonics, what's the point of holding geographic positions anymore? Theoretically, this works...at the push of a button, you can deliver a precise payload across huge distances...but the Russians have shown us this isn't quite reality. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-will-hypersonics-replace-the-need-for-an-army

More than a few countries out there couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time...but the US isn't one of them. Today's question in the 'Ask Peter Series' looks at whether or not the US has stretched itself too thin in Ukraine to deal with another major conflict. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-has-the-us-overcommitted-itself-to-the-ukraine-war

You know those little 'Made in China' stickers on everything you can buy in the US? Well, don't be surprised when those all say 'Made in America' after the US carries out the greatest reindustrialization process ever... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-greatest-reindustrialization-process-in-us-history

We're continuing our conversation on China's inability to govern itself, and this is the cherry on top of it all...China restricting the export of metals used in greentech and semiconductor tech to the United States. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/china-bans-greentech-metal-exports-to-the-us

The news of the day is that the Chinese have canceled their upcoming summit with EU foreign minister Borrell. You all know I'm less than pessimistic about China's leadership as of late, and this is just icing on the cake...we'll talk about the cherry on top tomorrow. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/china-cancels-summit-with-eus-foreign-affairs-minister-borrell

New York is a service-based economy, and anytime you have a system like that, cost of living becomes an issue. While the finance bros working 80-hour weeks might be able to afford NYC prices, there's a three-headed dragon wreaking havoc on everyone else...real estate. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/real-estate-the-three-headed-dragon-plaguing-nyc

As the roman-candle-carrying-beer-drinkin’-red-white-and-blue-bald-eagles soar across the US in honor of American Independence, I figured we should talk about a country that will never experience that feeling…Scotland. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-why-is-scottish-independence-a-suicide-pact

Should businesses play a role in pushing society towards positive outcomes regarding environmental and social issues? Today we're breaking down my thoughts on ESG by looking at what it should be, what it is, and what it is not. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-my-thoughts-on-environmental-social-governance-esg

Riots have broken out in France after police killed a 17-year-old kid. When a similar situation occurred in '05, there were weeks of riots. We can't be sure if the same will happen here, but it's worth looking into based on France's unique demographic situation. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/frances-demographic-blindspot-racial-inequality

Today we're breaking down the new demographic data from the Chinese space. This will allow us to make some much-needed updates to an already bleak assessment...and spoiler alert, it's going to get a lot worse. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/new-chinese-demographic-data-population-collapse

The Russian state has kept a degree of separation from the Wagner Group for the past decade, but years of war crimes and avoided sanctions are about to come crashing down on Putin... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/putin-admits-the-wagner-group-is-an-arm-of-the-russian-state

Despite all the hullabaloo about the not-coup in Russia over the weekend, this assessment that we had initially planned to publish still holds true for the tactical situation in Ukraine...as well as some of the strategic implications with the Russians. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/and-now-we-return-to-our-regularly-scheduled-program

For those of you who did more normal things this weekend, you missed a coup in Russia! (Or not...) Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-russia-coup-part-4-psych

While the future of the Russian government is very much up in the air, the chances of an outright overthrow are thin. However, the future of the Wagner mercenary group is most assuredly not. That puts every Russian military mission outside of the former Soviet Union in terminal danger. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-russia-coup-part-3-russias-global-footprint

Whether at home or abroad, Russia is the world’s primary provider of lies, misinformation and propaganda. With the future of the Russian government now being challenged, expect wild, competing noise on any and all topics. The issue at hand is not all the Russian propagandists are on the same side. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-russia-coup-part-2-the-propaganda-war

An attempted coup is in progress in Russia. The mercenary group Wagner, led by a one-time confidant of Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozin, is attempting to overthrow the Kremlin. The implications for the Ukraine War are…massive. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-russia-coup-part-1-what-the-hell-is-going-on-and-the-ukraine-angle

Democrat Joe Manchin managed to sneak a few clauses into the debt ceiling extension deal for the completion of his Mountain Valley Pipeline. Environmentalists are pissed, and fossil fuel lovers gave Machin a double thumbs up. So who's right and who's wrong? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-whats-the-deal-with-manchins-gas-pipeline

Prime Minister Modi is stateside and prepping for his address to Congress and state dinner. While a summit with Modi may have been inevitable (as he's the leader of the most populous country and up-and-coming power), we need to look at India's relationship with the rest of the world to see what might come of this meeting. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/mr-modi-goes-to-washington

Armenia and Azerbaijan have some "history" together...and not in a good way. As the Ukraine War ramps up and stress is added to the Russian system, will we see the Armenians and Azerbaijanis creating some new history? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-will-azerbaijan-try-to-take-nagorno-karabakh-from-armenia

The news of a "new" Chinese listening post in Cuba sparks the question: why is Cuba so important to the US? No, we're not talking about cigars. We're talking about Cuba's role in American strategic planning. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/a-chinese-listening-post-in-cuba-what-it-means-for-the-us

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to China to attempt to reset relations. He's getting flack from both sides, and I won't talk about that, but I do want to bring up three things... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/mr-blinken-goes-to-beijing

We're talking about agriculture today, specifically the ban that five EU countries just placed on Ukrainian exports. With Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania dropping this hammer, I would expect Ukraine exports to fall by up to 90%. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/5-eu-countries-ban-ukrainian-agriculture-exports

This is the first of the "Ask Peter" series, so I figured we'd kick it off with a two-parter. First, what's the likelihood of Putin getting assassinated? Second, how is Russia's demographic situation? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ask-peter-will-putin-disappear-and-updates-on-russian-demographics

Let's just say that our old friend Smokey Bear wouldn't be too happy with the Canadians this past week. And these fires are likely only the beginning of a very long summer of low air quality. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/north-american-fires-cause-a-smoky-start-to-summer-in-the-us

If reading the headlines gave you some major déjà vu...welcome to the club. Trump is getting hit with a series of new indictments, but will it impact the election? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/how-will-donald-trumps-new-indictments-impact-the-election

As countries across the globe peeled back COVID restrictions, many of those economies saw huge (and much-needed) bumps. With China approaching six months since lifting its lockdown, the question on everyone's mind is why hasn't the world’s second-largest economy seen an economic bump? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/post-covid-china-will-the-economy-bump-or-slump

The Ukrainian counter-offensive is upon us, and there are three main assaults to follow. The first is purely strategic, and the others are a mix of strategic and emotional significance. Full Newsletter and graphic: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-ukrainian-counter-offensive-is-upon-us

I don't usually do this, but today I'm going to be talking about the #haters. We'll also dive a little deeper into the Kakhovka Dam that was destroyed by the Russians. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/of-dams-and-damn-trolls

On June 6th, the Russians destroyed the Nova Kakhovka Dam at the head of a large reservoir on the Dnieper River. This is a logical move for the Russians...at least in the short term. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-russians-go-scorched-earth-destroying-a-critical-dam-for-crimea

While in Helsinki, Secretary of State Blinken got some chuckles from the crowd (and me) when he said, "The Kremlin often claimed it had the second strongest military in the world, and many believed it. Today, many see Russia's military as the second strongest in Ukraine." Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/laughing-at-russia-wont-solve-all-of-ukraines-problems

What if I told you that Brazil's new tropical strain of wheat could cause the most significant shift to the technological power balance the world has seen in the past two centuries? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/peters-recap-june-week-1

In mid-May, the US Trade Representative established a trade initiative with Taiwan. While this isn't a full-blown trade deal, it represents the shift in US policy towards recognizing Taiwan as an independent country. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/taiwan-and-the-us-reach-a-trade-deal

There's a canal that runs from Kherson to the Crimean Peninsula and serves as the area's sole irrigation water source. And with how dry the region is, this canal is critical to the Crimean Peninsula. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-qa-series-canal

There's one massive hole we'll need to fill if the green movement will ever work in the US...mineral resources. Thankfully we just struck a deal with our Aussie allies, who happen to have many of the key minerals and resources we need. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/australia-strikes-a-greentech-deal-with-the-us

A group of ethnic Russians opposed to Putin's government joined forces with Ukraine and launched an assault across the border into the city of Belgorod. There are three main takeaways from this cross-border attack. Full Video and Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/russian-partisans-attacked-the-city-of-belgorod

As the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has learned a few tricks to curry favor from different countries. Their most recent endeavor is accepting the Chinese Yuan as payment for a few hundred million barrels of oil... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/is-saudi-arabia-ditching-the-us-dollar

The topic of de-dollarization is like the weird cousin no one wants to talk to at parties. They only come around once every year or two, and most of what they say is complete bulls***. But when the day comes that you need to take that weird cousin (aka de-dollarization) seriously, here are the three factors to look out for. Full Video and Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-truth-about-de-dollarization-and-what-you-need-to-know

We're talking US politics today, and for those who don't eat, sleep, and breathe politics (aka having a life), it's about the debt ceiling. Spoiler Alert: It will probably end the same way it always does... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/the-debt-ceiling-issue-will-the-us-gov-default

We're wrapping up our Ukraine War Q&A series with the most depressing question yet...how long can this war last? I have three answers for you...the dark, really dark, and truly dark. Full Video and Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-6

The fifth question of the Q&A series is...who is the ultimate provocateur in the Ukraine War? And I really hope this answer doesn't surprise anyone.Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-5

The fourth question of the Q&A series is...why am I so worried about agriculture exports coming out of Ukraine? And if you get foodstuffs from Ukraine, why you should be really worried... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-4

The third question of the Q&A series is...what's going on in the city of Bakhmut? The city is in ruins, the bodies are stacking up, and the Russians still don't have much to show for it... Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-3

Russia launched a volley of missiles into Ukraine overnight, and Ukraine was able to shoot down all the Kinzhals in the strike. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-shoots-down-russian-missiles

The second question of the Q&A series is...if Russia is such a massive producer of oil and oil products, why are we wasting time discussing supply issues? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-2

Question number one of the series is...what happened to the half million Russian soldiers I predicted would hit the battlefield by June? Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-qa-series-1

Turkey's presidential elections are upon us. President Erdogan has run the country for nearly 20 years, but his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, hopes to shake things up. This could very well be a turning point for Turkish politics. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/turkeys-presidential-elections

When a country views a conflict as existential, putting a timeline on it is nearly impossible. So no matter how well (or bad) this Ukrainian counter-offensive plays out, we are only at the beginning of a long, drawn-out war. Full Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/zeihan/ukraine-war-updates-part-3-whats-next-for-russia