On the Fringe

This week, Gav and Dave talk about a major issue facing Japan, rampaging bears. Wild bears are causing whole areas of Japan to be declared no-go zones for civilians, and even the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are being called into assist in keeping people and bears at a safe distance. We’re diving into why exactly this is becoming an issue and why Japan’s ongoing struggle with a rapidly aging and d...

Hey all!  This week, the Thai King visited Xi Jinping, and Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the President of Syria, visited the White House. In BOTH meetings, the media is not including key details that you have to recognize to understand what is really happening. We dipped our toes into what we think is going on behind the scenes. Listen in and find out what you are missing. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t for...

Two shadowy Russians flew to the United Arab Emirates to free Horatiu Potra, a Romanian security expert and ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, out of a Dubai jail after he was arrested in September. Rather than fly to Russia—as he almost did—Potra has decided to go back to Romania to face trial along with former Romanian Presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who was charged with attempting to stage...

Hey all! This week, we are taking you back to West Africa and building on our last episode about a growing jihadist influence in this corner of the world. Bamako is a city running out of time. With little fuel, the city is entering an existential crisis as neighboring countries and major powers realize the ruling military junta’s days may be numbered, as does Gavin. Whatever comes after though wil...

The full travel advisory map can be found here, courtesy of julesdhl on Reddit. (thank you, Stuart!) We’ve got a short, spontaneous (and timely!) bonus episode!  This time, Gav and Dave yak and spitball about a map comparing different foreign ministry’s threat assessments of Burkina Faso, a small but critically important country in West Africa. They all bear bad news, but they’re all just a little...

Our map can be found here, courtesy of julesdhl on Reddit. Thank you, Stuart! We’ve got a short, spontaneous (and timely!) bonus episode! This time, Gav and Dave yak and spitball about a map comparing different foreign ministry’s threat assessments of Burkina Faso, a small but critically important country in West Africa. They all bear bad news, but they’re all just a little bit different. We talk...

On this episode, Gavin takes a stroll down memory lane and talks in depth about Niger, a key country in the Sahel region of West Africa. Since October 21, Niger has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Just 100 yards from the Presidential Palace in Niamey, the country’s capital, Kevin Rideout, an American missionary and bush pilot was kidnapped by jihadist terrorists and is currently being...

On this episode, Gavin takes a stroll down memory lane and talks in depth about Niger, a key country in the Sahel region of West Africa. Since October 21, Niger has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Just 100 yards from the Presidential Palace in Niamey, the country’s capital, Kevin Rideout, an American missionary and bush pilot was kidnapped by jihadist terrorists and is currently being...

This week, Gav and Dave dive into the Gen Z protests/revolutions/unrest that is currently unfolding across the world and analyze some of the driving factors to this transformative moment that mainstream media is missing and not covering. We look into how the death of political economic institutions (accelerated by the emergence of AI, amongst other things) is currently creating a social environmen...

This week, Gav and Dave dive into the Gen Z protests/revolutions/unrest that are currently unfolding across the world and analyze some of the driving factors to this transformative moment that the mainstream media may be missing out on. We also look into how the death of traditional political and economic institutions (accelerated by the emergence of AI, amongst other things) is creating a social...

Hey all! We have an awesome chat today with Sherman Tylawsky, a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama, and Founder of the George Washington Institute. Sherman is an expert on civics and the Founding Fathers, and the Host of Friends and Fellow Citizens, a podcast you need to check out if you’re interested in the foundation that built America (it’s linked below). Human to human relationships an...

(00:00:00) Season 3, Episode 11: How The CCP (Communist Part of China) 'fights crime' in the Golden Triangle (00:00:20) Podcast Starts (00:02:25) Why these scam farms are in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia (00:03:25) Why the Chinese Communist Party cracked down (00:06:19) An overview of the main players (00:10:07) Why is the Chinese government cracking down now? (00:11:50) Will China begin to crack do...

(00:00:00) Intro Music (00:00:20) Intro (00:01:39) Thailand's big hit post-COVID (00:03:10) Thailand five years ago (in 2020) versus now (in 2025) (00:05:45) The number of visitors before COVID (00:06:35) Thailand's upstart competitor in the region (00:07:38) One reason Thailand is struggling (00:08:38) How Thailand's image is being hurt by its neighbors (00:11:46) What the legalization of Cannabi...

Hey all! On this episode we look at Thailand, the former juggernaut of tourism in Southeast Asia. Thailand is a country much loved here on On the Fringe, but lately it has struggled with a key sector in its economy, tourism. Whether it’s because of COVID, being in a rough neighborhood, or mixed messaging on key legislation, Thailand has been having a rough time staying competitive in the cut-throa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com This episode is subscribers only. To listen and get access to an exclusive series, type your email below. Hey all! In this episode, you get a laugh at our expense, and hopefully some helpful advice on how to manage getting your haircut in a foreign country, especially when you have to navigate doing it a...

Hey all! Apologies for taking a couple of extra days to get this one out—it’s worth the wait, though!! In this podcast, we cover the recent protests in Nepal, and dive into what is really going on behind the scenes in the heart of South Asia.  Nepal might be far off the radar for most people, but for On the Fringe, it’s front and center. Listen to hear what Nepali youth in Kathmandu are fighting f...

(00:00:00) Season 3, Episode 8: We don't need no education. We don't need impulse control (00:00:48) Podcast Starts (00:01:25) Guidance counselors are being replaced (00:13:30) The slow, painful decline of US public schools Hey all! This week we’re tackling a BIG issue that you do not want to miss—the use of AI as a counseling service in public schools in the United States. If you are or know an e...

(00:00:00) Season 3, Episode 7: Questions that anyone using AI needs to ask themselves (featuring John Otwell and Kevin Wong) (00:01:00) Is AI different from other forms of new technology? (00:06:14) A real-life case of Chat GPT going off the rails (00:08:50) AI's Security Flaws (00:18:00) The Silver Bullet? (00:23:01) What does AI-produced work vs. Human-produced work mean? (00:33:00) What can AI...

Here is part 2 of the episode. We curl up next to our Ouija boards and slap on our thinking caps (we will never tell you if they’re made out of tin foil though!) and dive into the implications of giving aid, the unique moral hazard in this situation of coming to the aid of local Afghans when they need it most, and what might come out of this messy situation. If you are watching the region, don’t m...

Hey all! We have broken up this episode into two parts. We are doubling down on Afghanistan this week. Part 1 (this part) is about what foreign aid is. If you’ve watched what is happening in the news you have maybe seen the words “commitment” “disbursement” “multilateral” and “bilateral” in the news when countries and NGOs are talking about relief packages. We go into the basic logistics of how ai...

First and foremost, we feel dearly for the poor Afghanis who are now recovering after a 6.0 earthquake that hit east of Jalalabad. Thousands have died and more have been displaced, and from what we can see, help is very slow or nonexistent. We recorded this before the earthquake struck, and we will definitely be keeping the country on our radar, even though it’s gone off the front pages. This quic...

Hey all! We have a quick episode for anyone who is curious about the airline industry, and in particular, Spirit Airlines. If you’re subscribed, you can listen to this whenever you want, wherever you want :) If you haven’t, you’ve only got 48 hours from now.  The link is below. Thanks for listening! 

We have a quick episode for anyone who is curious about the airline industry, and in particular, Spirit Airlines. If you’re subscribed, you can listen to this whenever you want, wherever you want :) If you haven’t, you’ve only got 48 hours from now. Here’s the link :) Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthef...

OMG! There’s been a TON going on lately. Taylor Swift is getting married!! Some jerk stole a hat that was supposed to be given to a kid at the US Open. Arch Manning had a rough first half against Ohio State. There’s also something that you’ve likely missed, even if you’ve been reading the news every day—it hasn’t been covered really ANYWHERE except for local social media. That’s why we’re here.  I...

OMG! There’s been a TON going on lately. Taylor Swift is getting married!! Some jerk stole a hat that was supposed to be given to a kid at the US Open. Arch Manning had a rough first half against Ohio State. There’s also something that you’ve likely missed, even if you’ve been reading the news every day—it hasn’t been covered really ANYWHERE except for local social media. That’s why we’re here. In...