Pokemon cards outperforming Meta, Cornell students skinning bears, and Elon Musk misusing Orwell... Welcome to this Geopolitical Cousins episode 25. Jacob and Marko continue their conversation about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, arguing that his killing was likely driven less by ideology and more simply a symptom of disaffected young men radicalized by social media and stripped of purpose. Drawing on Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov and Richard Reeves’ research on boys, they trace how elite overproduction and information overload fuel unrest. Unlike Europe, America lacks historical “inoculation” against extremism. The discussion closed with Bolsonaro’s legal troubles in Brazil and Asia’s simmering political tensions.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:07) - Banter

(03:00) - Trivia

(09:58) - The Charlie Kirk Assassination Discussion

(12:13) - The Crisis of Manliness and Societal Impacts

(21:00) -Historical Context and Modern Parallels

(33:49) - Global Perspectives and Extremism

(46:11) - Political Turmoil in Asia

(46:47) - Charlie Kirk and Social Media Impact

(48:10) - Historical Reflections on Evil

(52:10) - Personal Anecdotes on Racism and Segregation

(53:35) - US Education Crisis and Ignorance

(57:33) - Civil Wars and State Capacity

(01:04:05) - Brazil's Political Drama: Bolsonaro's Trial

(01:17:27) - Geopolitical Tensions: Venezuela and Beyond

(01:21:10) - China's Moves in the South China Sea

(01:21:54) - Russia's Probing Tactics in Europe

(01:30:53) - Concluding Thoughts and EuroBasket Update

Referenced in the Show:

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Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today’s volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.

Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.com

Jacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416

Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShap

Jacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe

Marko Papic is a macro and geopolitical expert at BCA Research, a global investment research firm. He provides in-depth analysis that combines geopolitics and markets in a framework called GeoMacro. He is also the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future.

Marko’s Book & Newsletter: www.geopoliticalalpha.com/marko-papic

Marko’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-papic-geopolitics/

Marko’s Twitter: https://x.com/Geo_papic

Marko’s Macro & Geopolitical Research at BCA: https://www.bcaresearch.com/marketing/geomacro

Elon and Orwell

Geopolitical Cousins