The Atlantic Current

After a harrowing weekend and ahead of a major deadline, Tull and Vince focus on Donald Trump’s ability to keep prosecuting the war in Iran. That ability rests on his base; Vince highlights how the perception of MAGA supporters is diametrically opposed to that of essentially the entire rest of the world.

This episode wasn’t supposed to be about Tull’s predictions playing out — but there’s no other choice. Whether it’s energy prices, the global economy, turmoil in the White House, or crazy trading in prediction markets, the pessimistic view gained steam this week. With no shortage of (often dark) humor, Tull and Vince discuss how it happened and where the US and world can go from here.

For the 30th episode, Tull and Vince tackle guns. In Ireland and Europe, they are tools used for hunting and occasional police work; in the US, they carry intense cultural, political, and even emotional weight. Vince tries desperately to explain how and why a nation with 45,000 gun deaths annually seemingly can do so little to solve the problem.

The TACO acronym returns as Donald Trump looks for an off-ramp in Iran — yet none looks viable. At home, the Administration deals with an epidemic of insider trading and an increasingly agitated electorate. Vince fights the conventional wisdom about Congressional corruption, while Tull offers a glorious rant about the staggering sums paid to Irish civil servants.

Tull and Vince lean on years of experience to tackle the disparate views of the stock market and investing in the US, Ireland, and Europe. The episode moves on to the history of American-driven financial crashes, cracks in the credit market, the joy and horror of crypto, and the increasingly blurry line between investing and gambling, with some well-timed acronym humor thrown in.

Tull and Vince circle the globe. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin pulls off a high-risk meeting with Trump, while a stunning visit from the Japanese prime minister to DC proves one of Vince’s long-held theories. Soaring energy prices are pressuring Europe and Asia, and show a lack of preparation for the effects of the attacks. Denmark incredibly prepares for war with the U.S., Americans have a gambl...

Vince and Tull (mostly) depart from global politics for a special episode on St. Patrick’s Day, delivered a day earlier than usual. No better way to prepare for a global holiday than a crackling conversation between an Irishman and an American. On St. Patrick himself, the risk facing Micheál Martin during his traditional visit to the White House, and the most offensive and downright silly Irish-Am...

Tull and Vince start in Ireland, where both President Catherine Connolly and Sinn Fein are in the news for the wrong reasons. Vince highlights the growing belief on the American right about rigged elections, and predicts trouble ahead in November, while Tull details one of the funnier voter fraud cases of the century, and closes by wondering whether the war in Iran will change the Middle East for...

The war in Iran spikes energy prices in Europe, and raises questions about the American endgame. Meanwhile, the White House makes war into a meme, and Tull and Vince debate whether anyone wants to listen to anything about COVID.

After five days of strikes in Iran by the US and Israel, Tull and Vince take stock. Comments from Donald Trump suggest a massive, and permanent, change in America’s relation to the world. Europe walks a tightrope, and the two battle over petrol and gasoline.

Tull and Vince do their first “emergency pod” as US and Israeli forces strike Iran. The obvious question: is this another Iraq? Vince and Tull debate, and both offer their predictions for how this very uncertain situation will play out.

A week with major events in the US provides surprisingly little impact, and so Tull and Vince pivot (mostly) to less-covered news. Internal IRS discussions raise yet more risk to the rise of Big Tech in Ireland; a ham-fisted and fatal attempt to enter Mar-a-Lago charges conspiracy theories; the “Clonakilty Test” replaces the “Turing Test” and Vince asks Tull if Ireland feels like it’s on shaky gro...

Tull and Vince discuss the role of the military in their respective countries. Tull explains why Irish neutrality is something of a myth, while Vince details the long-running effects of World War II and Vietnam on American politics. The Irish have the Triple Lock, and Americans a deep-seated belief in their moral superiority. Tull closes by providing Vince a "brutal but brilliant" take on the dimm...

Tull and Vince cover the sudden, dark turns for both Seamus Culleton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. As always, Donald Trump makes an appearance: the billions raked in by his family this term, his confusing attitude toward the press, and the very real risk of a military attack on Iran in the not-too-distant future.

With some help from ChatGPT, Tull and Vince discuss the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. Will AI lead to abundance and bliss — or the enslavement of humanity? And can ChatGPT predict the future of The Atlantic Current, or, in the most human way possible, is it simply trying to insert itself in the episode? A thought-provoking, often funny, and occasionally bizarre episode.

Tull and Vince discuss the case of Seamus Culleton, an Irish immigrant currently held in ICE detention. New revelations have changed public opinion in Ireland, but Culleton's fate still has the potential to upend cross-Atlantic relations. The Epstein Files make a return in typically bizarre fashion, with odd lies from Howard Lutnick, more binders from Pam Bondi, and a strange but credible claim ab...

With the Super Bowl completed, Tull and Vince return to the topic of sport. Tull covers the beauty of the GAA, while Vince highlights the geographical insanity and occasional felonies that are part of American college sports. It's an episode with poisoned trees, spiteful fans, and plenty of laughs.

The Epstein Files reach Europe, and may actually have had a more significant impact on the Continent than in the U.S. Governments wobble and royal families are called into question. Meanwhile, key questions remain about Epstein's pre-conviction past and the role played by Donald Trump. A detailed, and often darkly funny, look at the scandal from across the ocean.

With the Super Bowl on Sunday, Vince explains the massive cultural impact of America's biggest event of the year. Tull explains Irish sport; Vince cries in sadness (the Jets) and joy (the Thunder); Tull closes with the story of the most painful cursein the history of sport.

The title says it all. Tull and Vince discuss tragedy in Minneapolis, the bizarre children's book written by the currnet director of the FBI, and insane early-morning posts on Truth Social. An episode alternately hysterical and horrifying.

After 25 years of negotiations, the trade deal between Mercosur and the European Union has stumbled just before the finish line. Can the deal get done? Is there any truth to Vince's typically self-centered American belief that the US is a key factor here? And what does the backlash against globalization portend for the Continent and the world as a whole? Tull and Vince tackle one of the most impor...

Tull and Vince cover the explosive World Economic Forum in Davos, where speeches were made by — and against — U.S. president Donald Trump. While supporters cite galaxy-brained 4D chess as the catalyst for Trump's negotiation, critics see simply a lack of a plan or a coherent framework.

Tull and Vince discuss one of the world's most fascinating and influential people. He reasonably can be seen as a threat to the liberal world order. Yet he is also a staggerly brilliant executive, albiet one with an apparent Twitter addiction and questionable taste in sources. A fascinating discussion, one which touches on the fraught nature of US-Europe relations at the moment.

Tull and Vince discuss America's continuing interest in (or aggression toward) Greenland. Tull questions American exceptionalism; Vince somehow compares Joe Rogan to Walter Cronkite; and the rising price of Guinness is bemoaned at a time when even EU bigwigs are suggesting a stiff drink.

Tull and Vince discuss the differences between healthcare in the US and Europe, and try desperately to explain and understand the stunning complexity of the American system.