The Decision Advantage

In the news over the past few weeks were reports of major cybercrime. From a massive supply chain hack disrupting businesses and ransomware attacks to Israel's military reaction to a reported cyber attack. On today's episode of Stratfor Talks, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton and VP of Tactical Analysis, Scott Stewart, discuss the connection between major hacks, and state-and-non-state-sponsored...

Kimberly Haley-Coleman is founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, a nonprofit company that develops short-term volunteer programs in international environments. The idea is to provide an immersive volunteer experience for busy professionals who want to make a difference in a short amount of time on projects that are actually requested by the communities they serve. Prior to this adventure,...

It happened unexpectedly. The whole city was afraid. No one could see. Many could not breathe. And amid the terror of London's Great Smog of 1952, a different, equally sinister drama was underway. The London Smog killed an estimated 12,000 people. But those were not the only people who died in those dark days. Kate Winkler Dawson’s book, Death in the Air, tells two parallel stories of the Great Sm...

You're fed up. You're considered the world's most dangerous assassin. A lot of people want to take you down. And you still have to get your job done. Mission Critical is the latest in Mark Greaney's Gray Man series. This one involves state actors, espionage, a secret prisoner and a race against time. Mark Greaney sits down to discuss his career, his Gray Man series and espionage with Stratfor's Fr...

Author Michael Pullara spent years trying to solve the question of why CIA agent, Freddie Woodruff, was murdered in 1993. Amid transformative world events, Pullara manages to discover enough to set a wrongfully accused free and to connect the dots of espionage and counter-espionage during the end of the Cold War.  

There are people in this world who need protecting; among them presidents, royals, diplomats, the rich and the famous. And then there are the people who do the protecting; the secret service, the bodyguards, the security officers. But who are these people and how are they trained? And why do they undertake such a profession? Stratfor Chief Security Officer Fred Burton sits down with international...

How did Cold War governments plan to preserve the continuity of power in the face of devastating nuclear war? Lots of planning and a fair amount of creative problem solving. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton sits down with author Garrett Graff to discuss his book, Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself–While the Rest of U...

North Korea has indicated its interested in holding a second summit between Kim Jong-Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has indicated its interest in a summit as well, but when would it take place... if it happens at all? Stratfor Senior Vice President of Strategic Analysis Rodger Baker explains the geopolitical constraints and opportunities surrounding any second U.S.-North Korea...

On April 18, 1983, a vehicle packed with explosives detonated in front of the United States Embassy in Beirut. Those killed in the suicide attack included the entire U.S. intelligence presence in Lebanon at that time. The man sent by the CIA to pick up the pieces was William Buckley. Buckley’s story is the focus of the latest book from New York Times best selling authors Fred Burton and Samuel Kat...

As Great Britain prepared its military to battle Nazi Germany in World War II, a select few were deployed behind enemy lines as part of a new program to lead a resistance, carry out intelligence operations and harass German forces, slowing their ability to solidify control of the continent. In this episode of the podcast, we hear the true story of two brothers tasked with just such a mission. Stra...

As China moves toward what it sees as an imperial dawn, in this episode of the Stratfor Podcast we take a look back at the last time China wielded great power on the global stage with professor and author Stephen R. Platt. Platt sits down with Stratfor Senior Vice President of Strategic Analysis Rodger Baker and Asia Pacific Analyst Evan Rees to discuss his latest book, Imperial Twilight: The Opiu...

What would happen if a U.S. special forces operator with a score to settle brought the insurgent tactics he’d been fighting against overseas back home? That’s the idea behind The Terminal List, the debut novel from former Navy SEAL and Special Operations Task Unit Commander Jack Carr. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, Carr sits down with Stratfor Chief Security Officer Fred Burton to discus...

War evolves. From technology and tactics to the strategic imperatives shaping the future of conflict, we explore the evolution of war since World War I in this episode of the Stratfor Podcast. Stratfor Senior Military Analyst Omar Lamrani and Director of Analyst Operation Paul Floyd join Editorial Director Ben Sheen to explore why and how military strategies have changed over the last 100 years an...

On August 17, 1988, PAK-1 crashed near Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Those on board the Pakistani presidential aircraft included President Zia-ul-Haq and multiple members of his joint chiefs of staff. United States Ambassador Arni Raphel and U.S. Army Brigadier General Herbert Wassom were also on board. There were no survivors. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, Chief Security Officer Fred Burton re...

Faced with dramatically fluctuating oil prices and pressing demographic realities, Saudi Arabia is working to envision a future beyond reliance on energy markets. That, however, is easier said than done. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, we discuss Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan, the motivations for reform and the challenges ahead with Stratfor Vice President of Global Analysis R...

What would a nation do to avoid going to war? That’s the central question in Spy Master, the latest book from New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor. Thor returns to the Stratfor Podcast to discuss the international intrigue, espionage, betrayal and geopolitics behind Spy Master with Stratfor Chief Security Officer Fred Burton. Read our latest analysis on this topic and more at Stratfor World...

About a year ago, Stratfor connected with a group of world geography teachers at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, also known as LASA High School, in Austin, Texas. We were interested to see what would happen if we provided all of their freshman students full access to the geopolitical analysis and forecasting available through Stratfor Worldview. The results exceeded even our expectations. In...

Amid Turkey’s turbulent political and economic environment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for early elections on June 24. To better understand why he’s making this move now and what it means for Turkey, the Middle East and beyond, Stratfor Vice President of Global Analysis Reva Goujon and Middle East and North Africa Analyst Emily Hawthorne sit down to unravel early Turkish elections i...

Just hours after North Korea destroyed the tunnels at its Punggye-Ri nuclear test site in front of an audience of international reporters, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a formal letter calling off direct talks between himself and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. For more insight on these latest moves and if the summit is in fact off for good, we sit down wit...

Although an enigma to many, there are some with unique insight into life within North Korea’s closed society. One of them is James Church, a former Western intelligence officer who’s written a series of Inspector O mystery novels based on his experience and interactions inside North Korea. In this episode of the Stratfor Podcast, Church sits down with Chief Security Officer Fred Burton to discuss...

Echoes of the Cold War are increasingly emerging today. Nowhere is that trend toward more clandestine activities, espionage and subterfuge more apparent than the unfolding drama in the United Kingdom surrounding the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Backtracks Episodes Master Backtracks Episodes Master 100% 10 E625 After more than a year of soaring tensions and heated rhetoric between the United States and North Korea, two key summits on the horizon could change the dynamic completely. Following an inter-Korean summit on April 27, President Donald Trump will potentially sit down with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un for direct talks. For more on wha...

With its close proximity to major regional conflicts, artificial borders dictated by imperial politics instead of geography, limited natural resources and a swelling refugee population, we sit down to discuss the geopolitics of Jordan in this episode of the Stratfor Podcast. Stratfor analysts Emily Hawthorne and Mark Fleming-Williams take close look at Jordan’s rich history, incredible success mai...

On March 18, Russians re-elected Vladimir Putin as president. Beyond questions of whether the elections were fair or if opposition candidates were allowed the opportunity to campaign in earnest, the interesting question for Stratfor analysts is what comes next. With a stagnant economy, rising poverty, ongoing sanctions and a highly divisive political climate, Russia faces a wide range of challenge...

When Stratfor analysts work to understand the constraints and compulsions of nations, they always begin with geography. It’s at the core of our unique methodology, grounded in the practice of applied geopolitics, that shapes how we view the world. In this episode of the podcast, we explore the geopolitics of Spain and the primary geographic challenges that come from within its own borders. From th...