The CEO Retort with Tim El-Sheikh

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably assumed the tobacco industry is fading into the background. But the reality is alarmingly worse than we thought 😳 I had the great pleasure of meeting Jeltsje Boersma, a prominent anti-tobacco advocate and public health policy professional, serving as a Senior Policy Officer at Impact Unfiltered. She delivered her famous “I’m here today to make you angry...

Scott Lucas delves into the political landscapes of the UK and the US, following 10 years of Brexit and MAGA, respectively, that led to international conflicts. I sat down with Scott Lucas to unpack a conversation that moved quickly from sports to politics to war, but kept returning to the same big idea: narratives shape power. And, arguably, the two biggest narratives that shaped the entire world...

Josh Paul is the former Director of the U.S. Congressional and Public Affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. He was responsible for overseeing U.S. defence diplomacy and global arms transfers. Today, Josh is one of the world's most avid human rights campaigners, exposing how the US is not just "involved" in the Israel-Palestine conflict, but rather a...

Professor Scott Lucas returns to discuss why we are attracted to chaotic events and how they blur the lines between reality and spectacle, reshaping our perceptions. It may seem weird how entertainment and today's geopolitics intertwine, using recent events like Donald Trump's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) spectacle at the White House as a case study of how the right-wing movement i...

Apple AI might be disrupting the industry without massive data centre spending. See how Siri AI is challenging current expectations for generative AI and obscene data centre spending. This discussion breaks down why Apple's approach to local processing could change the AI market landscape, once it understands the basic science of AI efficiency. We examine the current state of Apple's AI ("Apple In...

In case you wondered, the AI hype is continuing to grow into an ever-growing blob of absurdity, while the math still ain't mathing! As an AI architect, I break down how the relentless pursuit of profit, misinformation, and misguided fantasies has fueled an AI trust crisis that is threatening the entire industry. I dive into the myths versus reality of AGI, the obsession with hype metrics like prof...

Professor Scott Lucas returns to dig deeper into the crumbling political landscape of the United States, thanks to Trump's corruption and madman behaviour. Scott highlights the challenges Americans face today, from economic instability to deteriorating international relations, noting how Trump's policies and rhetoric have contributed to a collective sense of decline. The economic policies...

My good friend Zsike Peter, a woman who embodies the kind of "jaggedly human" defiance we need right now, a former Hungarian investigative journalist who went undercover in a brothel to win a scholarship, and who grew up in the shadow of communist Transylvania, returns to delve into the fascinating political landscape of Hungary. We discussed Viktor Orban's rise to power and the geopolitical impli...

Trump's Iran war has created a geopolitical "Royal Rumble" that fractured the Middle East, with the UAE leaving OPEC and new global realignments. Deep analysis with Professor Scott Lucas. We delve through the chaos of the current situation in the Middle East, revealing shifting alliances, economic shocks, and upcoming geopolitical risks. Scott reveals what is really going on behind t...

In this replay of the CEOR emergency Live episode, Scott Lucas returns to discuss how a small country like Hungary could shake up the global political and economic landscape, following the crushing defeat of Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. Orbán, seen as the "Godfather" of modern, right-wing populist, authoritarian tactics, faced a decisive electoral challenge that led to a seismic...

Donald Trump’s ​latest outburst​, stating “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran doesn’t “make a deal,” is a violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention (Article III, c​), which states “direct and public incitement to commit genocide” is a punishable act, regardless of whether the genocide actually takes place. I know I'm supposed to be away until the 30th, but Trump's earlier post...

Anthropic's code leaks, legal rulings against Meta and Google, and Iran's direct threats against tech giants expose the path toward the inevitable bubble burst. It's not looking good! What a 24-hour news storm! The leak of over 500,000 lines of code from Anthropic has sent shockwaves through the AI community, revealing the tightly controlled nature of AI models. Meanwhile, legal challe...

In this replay of the CEOR Live episode streamed on March 26th, 2026, Scott Lucas returns to discuss the escalating tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, exploring the complex yet chaotic geopolitical dynamics at play. We discussed the concerning news of Trump preparing for potential military action under the guise of diplomacy, with strategic moves that could lead to a ground invasion of I...

Did you know that chimpanzees might be more rational than humans when making decisions? Dr Hanna Schleihauf led groundbreaking research, published in the prestigious journal Science, revealing that chimpanzees can evaluate the quality of evidence when making decisions, just like humans! Hanna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Developmental Psychology at Utrecht University in the Nethe...

The Iran war marks the beginning of the era of widespread use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) as key tools for military targeting. The tragic strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls School, resulting in the loss of over 160 children, underscores the risks of relying on AI for targeting decisions without strict human intervention. Join the conversation now...

Professor Scott Lucas returns to our live emergency guest episode to discuss the current Middle East conflict, Iran's internal dynamics, and the poor geopolitical strategies involving the US, Israel, and regional actors. What does this situation mean for you? This is a replay and remastered version of the live guest episode we held on March 5th, 2026. Join our free newsletter to get notified f...

In this live replay, I'm examining the AI-driven hype of today and how we're being pushed towards a crisis. It's a bit scary, but it's something we need to talk about. Right now, we're facing a double whammy: water bankruptcy and an AI bubble spiralling out of control. Not to mention, a disturbing new report shows a record number of journalists killed in 2025, with Israel respo...

Professor Sara M. Grimes is a prominent scholar and world-leading expert in children’s digital media culture, rights, and play. Since August 2024, she has served as a Full Professor at McGill University, where she holds the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy. Her research examines the intersection of technology, commercialisation, and childhood, with a particular focus on digital...

Professor Scott Lucas returns to our live guest episode to discuss the societal impact of the Epstein class and the deflections used by their political backers, apologists and the US justice system to evade responsibility. And since we are focusing on political deflections, Donald Trump inevitably enters the conversation, but the broader issue is systemic. Pam Bondi’s shameful performance at heari...

Peter Geoghegan is an award-winning investigative journalist and broadcaster whose work has fundamentally changed the conversation around transparency in British public life and Western politics. He is the founder and editor of Democracy for Sale, an independent investigative news outlet that recently secured the Specialist Journalism prize at the 2025 British Journalism Awards. Peter is the forme...

We are joined by the prominent British political economist and campaigner, Richard Murphy, discussing the latest AI bubble turmoil and its role in a broader economic collapse – could be as soon as the end of 2026! It’s an energetic conversation that will open your eyes to the post-AI economics. Richard is a highly active commentator, blogging daily at Funding the Future and on his YouTube channel...

Scott Lucas returns to help us break down the ICE actions in Minneapolis that descended America into a permanent state of emergency, and how this fits into Trump's escalating global tensions. After what felt like a whirlwind of a week, Scott Lucas returned to help us unravel the ongoing state of emergency that seems to have become America’s new normal. The situation with ICE (Immigration and C...

Professor Scott Lucas returns to our first live guest emergency episode to discuss the current geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela, explore the historical context, and examine how it sets the stage for today's political and economic landscape. One of the standout points Scott made exclusively on this show was the idea of "regime coercion" rather than outright regime ch...

In January 2025, I discussed why it was the rising era of “IoS” (Internet of Shit). Not only did it exceed my expectations, but it has set the path for 2026, which will be the year of reckoning, and it won’t be pretty. This is a replay of our very first livestream on  YouTube , available in the live section of our channel. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Preview (00:01:41) – 2026 plans for the CEOR podca...

In this emergency episode, recorded in my chaotic kitchen, our good friend, the brilliant and veteran political and economic professor, Scott Lucas, returns to dissect the latest political and economic fallout from the latest Epstein files release – beyond the political theatrics. The files, shrouded in heavy redactions, sparked a wide outcry for transparency and accountability. We delved into the...