Hidden Forces
424 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.4K ratingsGet the edge with Hidden Forces where media entrepreneur and financial analyst Demetri Kofinas gives you access to the people and ideas that matter, so you can build financial security and always stay ahead of the curve.
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Episodes
Why a Spike in the Price of Gold Futures Matters for People Buying Toilet Paper in Nebraska | Josh Crumb
March 30, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBIn Episode 129 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Josh Crumb, founder & CEO of Abaxx Technologies, which is launching a new commodity futures exchange in Singapore over the next year. Josh was formerly a macro economist and commodity strategist at Goldman Sachs, where he was the head of metals strategy. He is also a co-founder of gold bullion dealer Goldmoney, and Jewelry company Mene. In their conversation, Josh and Demetri discuss a curious case of backwardation on the COMEX,...
Government-Mandated Shutdown: Monetary & Fiscal Policy in Crisis | George Selgin
March 28, 2020 16:00 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBIn Episode 128 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with George Selgin, director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute about the recently announced monetary and fiscal policy measures being undertaken to stem the economic fallout from COVID-19 and the government mandated shutdown of the American economy. This is a deep-dive into the specifics of the Federal Reserve and US government’s policies, including the mechanics of the monetary and fiscal stimu...
George Selgin | Government-Mandated Shutdown: Monetary & Fiscal Policy in Crisis
March 28, 2020 16:00 - 59 minutes - 55.5 MBIn Episode 128 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with George Selgin, director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute about the recently announced monetary and fiscal policy measures being undertaken to stem the economic fallout from COVID-19 and the government mandated shutdown of the American economy. This is a deep-dive into the specifics of the Federal Reserve and US government’s policies, including the mechanics of the monetary and fiscal stimu...
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Price War & the Rise of Mohammed Bin Salman | Ben Hubbard
March 23, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBIn Episode 127 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times about Saudi Arabia and the rise to power of Mohammed bin Salman. Topics include the ongoing oil price war, tensions with Iran, the war in Yemen, and the geopolitics of the Middle East. The two also discuss the impact of coronavirus for the region’s politics and security. According to Ben Hubbard, when King Salman of Saudi Arabia ascended to the throne in January 2015 and...
Ben Hubbard | Saudi Arabia’s Oil Price War & the Rise of Mohammed Bin Salman
March 23, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 49.9 MBIn Episode 127 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times about Saudi Arabia and the rise to power of Mohammed bin Salman. Topics include the ongoing oil price war, tensions with Iran, the war in Yemen, and the geopolitics of the Middle East. The two also discuss the impact of coronavirus for the region’s politics and security. According to Ben Hubbard, when King Salman of Saudi Arabia ascended to the throne in January 2015 and...
Coronavirus: An Analysis Using Complex Dynamic Systems Theory | Yaneer Bar-Yam
March 19, 2020 01:36 - 45 minutes - 43.3 MBIn this Special Episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Yaneer Bar-Yam, President of the New England Complex Systems Institute. Professor Bar-Yam studies the unified properties of complex systems as a systematic strategy for answering basic questions about the world. His research is focused both on formalizing complex systems concepts and relating them to everyday problems. In particular, he studies the relationship between observations at different scales, formal properties of...
National Emergency: Global Pandemic in a Deteriorating Security Environment | David Kilcullen
March 16, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBIn Episode 126 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with David Kilcullen, a theorist and practitioner of guerrilla and unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism. David has amassed extensive operational experience over a 25 year career with the Australian and U.S. governments as an army officer, analyst, policy advisor and diplomat. He served in Iraq as senior counterinsurgency advisor to U.S. General David Petraeus and was senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. H...
Theories of War & How the ‘Rest’ Learned to Fight the West | David Kilcullen
March 16, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBIn Episode 126 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with David Kilcullen, a theorist and practitioner of guerrilla and unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism. David has amassed extensive operational experience over a 25 year career with the Australian and U.S. governments as an army officer, analyst, policy advisor and diplomat. He served in Iraq as senior counterinsurgency advisor to U.S. General David Petraeus and was senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. He...
David Kilcullen | National Emergency: Global Pandemic in a Deteriorating Security Environment
March 16, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBIn Episode 126 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with David Kilcullen, a theorist and practitioner of guerrilla and unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism. David has amassed extensive operational experience over a 25 year career with the Australian and U.S. governments as an army officer, analyst, policy advisor and diplomat. He served in Iraq as senior counterinsurgency advisor to U.S. General David Petraeus and was senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. H...
Mike Green | Passive Investing's Role in the Coronavirus Market Melt-Down & Prospects for a Melt-Up
March 15, 2020 01:18 - 49 minutes - 47 MBIn this Special Episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Chief Strategist & Portfolio Manager at Logica Capital Advisers, Mike Green, who returns for a timely conversation about the recent market melt-down, the fundamental economic and political impacts of coronavirus, and prospects for a stimulus-driven melt-up that may bring about the greatest bout of inflation in more than a generation. Hidden Forces is made possible by listeners like you. Please take a moment to support th...
Passive Investing's Role in the Coronavirus Market Melt-Down & Prospects for a Melt-Up | Mike Green
March 15, 2020 01:18 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBIn this Special Episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Chief Strategist & Portfolio Manager at Logica Capital Advisers, Mike Green, who returns for a timely conversation about the recent market melt-down, the fundamental economic and political impacts of coronavirus, and prospects for a stimulus-driven melt-up that may bring about the greatest bout of inflation in more than a generation. Hidden Forces is made possible by listeners like you. Please take a moment to support th...
Laura Huang | Find Your Edge: Learning How to Turn Adversity into Advantage
March 09, 2020 08:00 - 58 minutes - 54.7 MBIn Episode 125 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Harvard’s Laura Huang about her research into intuition and behavior as it relates to investing and entrepreneurship. Rather than focus on our shortcomings, Laura teaches us how to turn adversity into advantage. The title of Laura’s book is an acronym that stands for four different words: Enrich, Delight, Guide, and Effort. The foundation of our edge, according to Laura, comes from our ability to provide value to and enrich those...
Peter Zeihan | Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World
March 02, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBIn Episode 124 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical strategist who combines an expert understanding of demography, economics, energy, politics, technology, and security to help his clients prepare for an uncertain future. Before founding his own strategy firm, Peter helped develop the analytical models for Stratfor, one of the world’s premier private intelligence companies. He’s also a critically-acclaimed author whose first two books — The Accidental Su...
Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World | Peter Zeihan
March 02, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBIn Episode 124 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical strategist who combines an expert understanding of demography, economics, energy, politics, technology, and security to help his clients prepare for an uncertain future. Before founding his own strategy firm, Peter helped develop the analytical models for Stratfor, one of the world’s premier private intelligence companies. He’s also a critically-acclaimed author whose first two books — The Accidental Su...
Market Nihilism: Price Discovery in a World Where Nothing Matters | Ben Hunt & Grant Williams
February 24, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBIn Episode 123 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with two guests who have each made one prior appearance on Hidden Forces: Grant Williams and Ben Hunt. Ben is the founder of the widely read Epsilon Theory, a newsletter and website that’s become popular for its insights and analysis into markets and society with a particular focus on how narrative drives our perception of the world and our place in it. Grant is the long-time publisher of a popular financial newsletter, the host of a ph...
Financial Nihilism: Price Discovery in a World Where Nothing Matters | Ben Hunt & Grant Williams
February 24, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBIn Episode 123 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with two guests who have each made one prior appearance on Hidden Forces: Grant Williams and Ben Hunt. Ben is the founder of the widely read Epsilon Theory, a newsletter and website that’s become popular for its insights and analysis into markets and society with a particular focus on how narrative drives our perception of the world and our place in it. Grant is the long-time publisher of a popular financial newsletter, the host of a ph...
Demetri Kofinas Shares Stories from his Life and Career in Markets and the Media on TC’s Chartcast
February 17, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBDemetri Kofinas makes a guest appearance on TC’s Chartcast, a boutique podcast for short sellers hosted by Tesla Charts and Georgia Orwell. Demetri shares stories from his life and career in markets and the media, including lessons learned from his experience overcoming dementia in his early 30’s. TC’s Chartcast is available on most major podcast platforms and you can follow TC and Georgia on twitter at @TeslaCharts and @Georgia_Orwell_. If you are interested in learning more about Demetr...
The Hundred Year Portfolio: How to Grow & Protect Generational Wealth | Christopher Cole
February 10, 2020 09:00 - 54 minutes - 50.4 MBIn Episode 122 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Christopher Cole, the founder of Artemis Capital Management about how to grow and protect generational wealth that lasts a hundred years. Imagine you have the opportunity to grant your family great wealth and prosperity for 100 years. The opportunity is subject to one final choice. You must decide what assets to invest in and maintain that allocation for an entire century without ever changing it. The future of your children’s chil...
Christopher Cole | The Hundred Year Portfolio: How to Grow & Protect Generational Wealth
February 10, 2020 09:00 - 54 minutes - 51.7 MBIn Episode 122 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Christopher Cole, the founder of Artemis Capital Management about how to grow and protect generational wealth that lasts a hundred years. Imagine you have the opportunity to grant your family great wealth and prosperity for 100 years. The opportunity is subject to one final choice. You must decide what assets to invest in and maintain that allocation for an entire century without ever changing it. The future of your children’s chil...
Homo Sovieticus and the Wily Man: Truth, Ambition, & Compromise in Putin’s Russia | Joshua Yaffa
February 03, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBIn Episode 121, of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joshua Yaffa, a Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker about what life is like in Putin’s Russia. Yaffa's latest book on the subject is a fascinating inquiry into the Soviet and post-Soviet personality type that sustains the state’s power and Vladimir Putin’s place atop it. Joshua Yaffa’s new book is titled, “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia.” It’s a book about life in modern Russia that pul...
How to End the New Class War and Save Democracy From the Managerial Elite | Michael Lind
January 27, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBIn Episode 120 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Lind, a highly accomplished intellectual, writer, and academic about his latest book “The New Class War.” According to Michael Lind, the animating force behind the new class war is not income or wealth inequality but power. The old spectrum of left and right has given way to a new dichotomy in politics among insiders and outsiders, the former of which wield social power in three realms—government, economy, and culture. Ea...
Sean Carroll | Why Almost No One Understands Quantum Mechanics and Other Problems in Physics & Philosophy
January 20, 2020 09:00 - 57 minutes - 53.8 MBIn Episode 119 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Sean Carroll, a best-selling author and research professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. His research has focused on fundamental physics and cosmology, especially issues of dark matter, dark energy, spacetime symmetries, and the origin of the universe. Recently, Dr. Carroll has worked on the foundations of quantum mechanics, the emergence of spacetime, and the evolution of entropy and complexity....
Jim Grant | What’s the Price of Mispricing Risk? Interest Rates, Repo Markets, and an Activist Fed
January 13, 2020 09:00 - 49 minutes - 46.8 MBIn Episode 118 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jim Grant, founder of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly journal of the financial markets. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Jim had thoughts, first, of a career in music, not interest rates—french horn was his love. But he threw it over to enter the Navy. Following his stint in the Navy, Jim enrolled Indiana University where he studied economics under Scott Gordon and Elmus Wicker and diplomatic hist...
Jim Grant | What’s the Price of Mispricing Risk? Interest Rates, Repo Markets, and an Activist Fed
January 13, 2020 09:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBIn Episode 118 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jim Grant, founder of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly journal of the financial markets. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Jim had thoughts, first, of a career in music, not interest rates—french horn was his love. But he threw it over to enter the Navy. Following his stint in the Navy, Jim enrolled Indiana University where he studied economics under Scott Gordon and Elmus Wicker and diplomatic hist...
David Epstein | Range: Why Generalists Triumph in Today’s Specialized World
January 06, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 60 MBIn Episode 117 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author David Epstein about what the world’s most successful people have in common. He discovers that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are the ones primed for success. “As computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans,” says David, “people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.” David’...
Like Falling Through a Cloud: a Conversation About Life, Music, and the Ethereality of Memory | Eugenia Zukerman
December 29, 2019 09:00 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBIn Episode 116 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Eugenia Zukerman, an internationally renowned flutist, writer, and former television correspondent. Eugenia was the artistic director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado for thirteen years and the arts correspondent on CBS Sunday Morning for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of two novels, two works of nonfiction, and numerous screenplays, articles, and book reviews. Three years ago, Eugenia’s fam...
Eugenia Zukerman | Like Falling Through a Cloud: a Conversation About Life, Music, and the Ethereality of Memory
December 29, 2019 09:00 - 44 minutes - 42.4 MBIn Episode 116 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Eugenia Zukerman, an internationally renowned flutist, writer, and former television correspondent. Eugenia was the artistic director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado for thirteen years and the arts correspondent on CBS Sunday Morning for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of two novels, two works of nonfiction, and numerous screenplays, articles, and book reviews. Three years ago, Eugenia’s fam...
🎧 🎉 🥳 Update and Episode Outlook for 2020 🥳 🎉 🎧
December 26, 2019 09:00 - 4 minutes - 4.04 MBIn this short segment, Demetri provides an update about the podcast's growth in 2019 and shares information about upcoming episodes and themes for 2020, including a series of episodes dealing with conflict (class conflict, cyber conflict, guerrilla, conflict, racial conflict, etc.) It would mean the world to us if you took a moment to rate the program on Apple Podcasts before the end of 2019. Positive ratings and reviews make all the difference for our visibility and ranking. In order to r...
Cutting Edge Therapy: Cancer Cured After Eleven Years of Battling CLL | Brian Koffman
December 23, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 98.5 MBIn Episode 115 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Brian Koffman, a doctor turned CLL patient, whose patient education and advocacy efforts have given hope and encouragement to CLL cancer patients everywhere. Brian Koffman is extraordinary, in many ways. He’s extraordinary in the medical sense because, after twelve years of battling blood cancer, doctors can no longer find a single trace of malignancy in his entire body. He is 100% cancer-free going on almost two years, thanks to...
The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Rise of Passive Investing & the Fall of the Free Market | Mike Green
December 16, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBIn this week’s episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with investor Mike Green. Mike Green most recently served as the discretionary portfolio manager for Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel. He's been a student of markets, and market structure in particular, for nearly 30 years. His research into and analysis of the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies has been pres...
Mike Green | The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Rise of Passive Investing & the Fall of the Free Market
December 16, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBIn this week’s episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with investor Mike Green. Mike Green most recently served as the discretionary portfolio manager for Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel. He's been a student of markets, and market structure in particular, for nearly 30 years. His research into and analysis of the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies has been pres...
John Mearsheimer | The Failure of American Hegemony: Why Nationalism Trumps Liberalism Every Time
December 09, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBIn Episode 113 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with John Mearsheimer, professor of political science and international relations at the University of Chicago. Dr. Mearsheimer’s intellectual contributions have had a profound influence on the thinking of an entire generation of students in international relations. He’s been a vocal critic of neoliberal hegemony, nation-building, as well as the so-called “forever wars” that America has been engaged in ever since the Bush administration...
The Failure of American Hegemony: Why Nationalism Trumps Liberalism Every Time | John Mearsheimer
December 09, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.1 MBIn Episode 113 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with John Mearsheimer, professor of political science and international relations at the University of Chicago. Dr. Mearsheimer’s intellectual contributions have had a profound influence on the thinking of an entire generation of students in international relations. He’s been a vocal critic of neoliberal hegemony, nation-building, as well as the so-called “forever wars” that America has been engaged in ever since the Bush administration...
Monetary Misperceptions, Climate Economics, and the Limits to Growth | Steve Keen
December 02, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBIn Episode 112 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Steve Keen one of the few economists to correctly anticipate the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, as well as the subsequent deflationary forces that would frustrate and confound policymakers in the years afterward. The two discuss Keen’s latest work modeling the impact of climate on economic output, as well as debunking some of the most common misperceptions about money and credit held by Keynesian and Austrian theorists alike. D...
Steve Keen | Monetary Misperceptions, Climate Economics, and the Limits to Growth
December 02, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 58 MBIn Episode 112 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Steve Keen one of the few economists to correctly anticipate the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, as well as the subsequent deflationary forces that would frustrate and confound policymakers in the years afterward. The two discuss Keen’s latest work modeling the impact of climate on economic output, as well as debunking some of the most common misperceptions about money and credit held by Keynesian and Austrian theorists alike. D...
Nuclear Crisis: How America Lost Post-Soviet Russia | Stephen Cohen
November 25, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 87.8 MBIn this week’s episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Politics at Princeton University and of Russian Studies and History at NYU. Dr. Cohen has received several scholarly honors over his lengthy career, including two Guggenheim fellowships and a National Book Award nomination, and was, for many years, a consultant and on-air commentator on Russian affairs for CBS News. Former CBS evening news anchor Dan Rather has referred to Stephen Cohen ...
The Present Danger: America, China, and the Second Cold War | Kyle Bass
November 18, 2019 09:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBIn Episode 110 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management and founding member of the “Committee on the Present Danger: China,” about the gathering threat posed to Western, liberal democracies and open societies by the Chinese Communist Party. Kyle explains how the CCP and its state champions have been using US capital markets to fund the development of China’s armed forces, the threats posed by a Chinese operated 5G network, as well as...
Kyle Bass | The Present Danger: America, China, and the Second Cold War
November 18, 2019 09:00 - 55 minutes - 52 MBIn Episode 110 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management and founding member of the “Committee on the Present Danger: China,” about the gathering threat posed to Western, liberal democracies and open societies by the Chinese Communist Party. Kyle explains how the CCP and its state champions have been using US capital markets to fund the development of China’s armed forces, the threats posed by a Chinese operated 5G network, as well as...
Rana Foroohar | How Big Tech and Finance Betrayed Us and What We Can Do About It
November 11, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBIn Episode 109 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Financial Times Global Business Columnist, Rana Faroohar about her latest book dealing with the worlds of Big Tech and finance. We are living in a dramatic period of societal change and uncertainty that most generations rarely get to experience. The changes we are experiencing are being driven primarily by a particular set of Internet-enabled technologies and businesses that are undergoing a rapid phase of consolidation. The ...
How Big Tech and Finance Betrayed Us and What We Can Do About It | Rana Foroohar
November 11, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBIn Episode 109 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Financial Times Global Business Columnist, Rana Faroohar about her latest book dealing with the worlds of Big Tech and finance. We are living in a dramatic period of societal change and uncertainty that most generations rarely get to experience. The changes we are experiencing are being driven primarily by a particular set of Internet-enabled technologies and businesses that are undergoing a rapid phase of consolidation. The ...
Aesthetic Intelligence: How to Boost it and Use it in Business and Beyond | Pauline Brown
November 04, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 60 MBIn Episode 108 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Pauline Brown, the former Chairman of North America for LVMH, the world’s leading luxury goods company. Pauline has over thirty years’ experience acquiring, building, and leading some of the world’s most influential, luxury brands. In this conversation, she shares insights about how anyone can strengthen and grow his or her own aesthetic intelligence and apply that intelligence towards enhancing the quality and prosperity of one’s ...
Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation | Andrew Marantz
October 28, 2019 08:00 - 57 minutes - 54.2 MBIn Episode 107 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz, about his new book “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation. In the book, Andrew reveals how the boundaries between technology, media, and politics have been erased, resulting in the deeply broken informational landscape in which we all now live. This conversation is meant to help us understand what went wrong and how we might go about tr...
US Withdrawal and the End of the Rules-Based Global Order | Joshua Landis
October 17, 2019 04:26 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBIn Episode 106 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joshua Landis, a Middle East scholar and Syria expert about the disorderly withdrawal of American forces from Syria and the larger shift in the balance of power that we are seeing as nations scramble to remake alliances in the wake of America’s absence. It seems that what we've seen transpire in the Middle East during the past week is a symptom of a much larger trend: the deterioration of the rules-based international order, the ...
US Pullout and Turkish Assault on Kurdish Region of Rojava in Northern Syria | Jake Hanrahan
October 15, 2019 04:21 - 46 minutes - 43.9 MBIn Episode 105 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Jake Hanrahan about the crisis unfolding in the border region between Syria and Turkey following the US withdrawal of forces from northern Syria. This withdrawal precipitated the subsequent assault by Turkish Armed Forces on the Kurdish YPG-controlled region of Rojava. Jake Hanrahan is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker based in the UK. He has reported from Syria, Iraq, southeast Turkey, and other conflict zones fo...
Mike Maloney on the Hidden Secrets of Money, Libertarianism, and Austrian Economics
October 14, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBIn Episode 104 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Maloney, perennial entrepreneur and host of the documentary series Hidden Secrets of Money about monetary history, libertarianism, and Austrian economics. Before starting GoldSilver.com, Mike overcame his childhood dyslexia to found a series of companies, including a high-end stereo manufacturer, winning several design awards in the process. Few people know this, but one of Mike Maloney’s own designs is on permanent disp...
Rule Makers and Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World | Michele Gelfand
October 07, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBIn Episode 103 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand, who argues that the world’s cultures can be classified into two categories by virtue of their norms. She offers a lucid explanation of how and why cultures become tight or loose, outlining their different societal attitudes. This episode is full of eye-opening insights for development professionals, policymakers and those working in international business. According to Gelfand, tight cultur...
Financial Fault Lines, Central Banks, and the Law of Unintended Consequences | William White
September 30, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBIn Episode 102 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with economist and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, William White, about the state of our market economy and the prospects for an ‘international reset’ of the global financial system. William R. White was most recently chairman of the Economic and Development Review Committee at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2009 to 2018. He is famous for having flagged the wild behavior in debt ma...
The Age of Cryptocurrency and the Remaking of the Modern World | Michael Casey
September 23, 2019 08:00 - 59 minutes - 56.3 MBIn Episode 101 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Casey, an acclaimed author, journalist, researcher, and entrepreneur who currently serves as CEO and founder of Streambed Media, an early-stage video production and technology platform that seeks to optimize capital formation and creative output in the digital media industry. Michael is also chairman of CoinDesk’s advisory board and a senior advisor at the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative, where he has spearheade...
Hedera Hashgraph Goes Public as Governing Council Deploys Nodes | Leemon Baird & Mance Harmon
September 16, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBIn Episode 100 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Hedera Hashgraph founders Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon about Open Access, now that the network has officially gone public. This is the go-to-episode for anyone looking to understand the public ledger and why Fortune 100 companies like IBM, Deutsche Telekom, Boeing, and others have joined Hedera's Governing Council. As a seed investor in Hedera Hashgraph, Demetri’s involvement with the public ledger goes back to September 2017, w...
Sources of Financial Instability: Challenges for Monetary and Fiscal Policy | Claudio Borio
September 09, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBIn episode 99 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Claudio Borio about outstanding sources of financial instability and some of the challenges facing Central Banks as the economy and markets begin to show signs of weakness heading towards the end of 2019. Dr. Borio heads the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements and has written extensively about some of the longer-term, structural forces bedeviling policymakers since the early 2000s. More rece...