The Decision Advantage

The Dry Cleaner with Chris Carr

In this episode of the Stratfor Pen and Sword Podcast, Fred Burton speaks with filmmaker, writer and podcaster, Chris Carr. Carr says he was fascinated with espionage and spies from a young age. His film, The Dry Cleaner (2019) is about a British intelligence officer named George. Set amid current events, George tries to convince Lydia to gather information about a revolutionary group. Carr is now penning a TV series based on the film.

Analysis of Russia and China’s Relationship

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a discussion of the relationship between Russia and China amid a global power competition that includes the United States. 

Our guest is Artyom Lukin, an associate professor at the School of Regional and International Studies, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. Lukin has authored numerous chapters, papers and commentaries, in Russian and English, on Asia-Pacific international politics and Russia's engagement with Asia. His latest book (co-authored with Rensselaer Lee) is Russia's Far East: New Dynamics in Asia Pacific and Beyond (2015).

Lukin is a regular contributor to Stratfor Worldview, and discusses the rapidly evolving geopolitical relationship between China and Russia, from weapons sales to Arctic cooperation to strategic agreements.

The Right Kind of Crazy with Clint Emerson

Clint Emerson is crazy, by his own admission. But the ex-Navy SEAL believes he’s the right kind of crazy. Emerson focused his entire military career on being the best he can be and that meant, during 20 years working for special ops and the National Security Agency, he did what he had to do to keep America safe. Emerson memoir of those years, “The Right Kind of Crazy: My Life as a Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell” focuses on explaining “doing what you have to do” means for a special operative. As he tells Fred Burton in this episode of the Stratfor podcast, he followed two maxims: “If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying,” and “It’s only illegal if you get caught.”

Turkey and the West: A Gathering Storm?

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about Turkey. Domestic challenges from politics to the economy are pulling at the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Relations between the United States and Turkey spiraled to such a nadir after Ankara launched an offensive into northeastern Syria, that Congress called for sanctions. Meantime, Turkey's relationship with the European Union appears to be fraying at the edges. All of this raises the question: will Turkey turn its sights on Russia? Stratfor's Emily Hawthorne speaks with Sinan Ciddi, Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies.

A Girl’s Guide to Missiles

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about military weapons, secret missions and a life lived in a company town, where every employee was a civil servant of the US government. Piper describes a happy childhood, in a home amid the striking vistas of California's mountains, the desert nearby, playing with her sister to round up rattlesnakes and practicing her skills as a sleuth. Her father, a navy veteran from WWII, worked at Boeing in Seattle until the company laid off a large portion of its workforce. The family packed up the car when her dad got a job offer, and they moved - lock, stock, and barrel - to China Lake, the nation’s largest weapons facility, to build missiles. 

Red Oxx: A Military Career Builds an Entrepreneur

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, Fred Burton speaks to his old friend Jim Markel, the CEO of Redoxx. Redoxx is based in Billings, Montana and builds and sells unique bags for railroad workers, business and adventure travelers as well as everyday bags for families. 

Markel started life on the drop zones of various military bases. He joined the Marines very young, and when he finished, after a failed attempt at college, he tried his hand at making military-grade products for civilians. He settled in Billings, Montana, and built a company and helped revive a town. Along his journey, he took to heart the ideas that business is built from the bootstraps up, and that no success comes without service. So he spends parts of every year abroad, helping communities where he can be of service, and returning to the town that he loves. 

A Deeper Look at Migration, Immigration, Force and Flight

In this episode of the Stratfor podcast, a conversation about migration. Stratfor's Emily Hawthorne discusses the global and geopolitical phenomenon of human migration. She speaks with Dohra Ahmad, who pulled together The Penguin Book of Migration Literature. The collection of poems, short stories and other writings spanning more than a century and the entire globe tells the stories of migration in their many different - and similar - details. The book was inspired by a class Ms. Ahmed teaches at St. John’s University in Queens and the powerful conversations about migration and immigration it has prompted. You may find yourself asking as you read questions like: What distinguishes a migrant from an immigrant? Is not one, both? What prompts a person or people to leave one place for another? How do differing politics affect the perceived value of a migrant or immigrant? Listen to hear Ahmad's conversation with Stratfor.

Why Treat Mexico Drug Cartels as Insurgents?

Drug cartels wreak havoc and terror across Mexico, and have done for years. In a recent article for Stratfor Worldview, VP of Tactical Analysis, Scott Stewart, discussed how, despite the cartels' vast differences from terrorist organizations, "the Mexican government and its U.S. ally have pursued the "war" on cartels using many of the same tools that we normally associate with the 'global war on terror.'" Scott Stewart writes, "in some ways, it is only when it comes to end goals that the Islamic State and Mexican cartels differ: Whereas the jihadist group wants to control territory for political power, cartels wish to do so for profit."