The Jacob Shapiro Podcast

Jacob and Rob talk briefly about emerging markets and a return to orthodox economic policies in places like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Egypt. After a brief digression into the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates, they spend the rest of the podcast discussing a study that looked at the impact of direct cash transfers on labor supply and quality – and what it means that the key takeaway was...

Jacob welcomes Elohim Monard back to the podcast for an emergency conversation about the deteriorating situation in Venezuela. While they both bring idealism to the conversation, it is hard to conclude that the current situation will lead to change – and that instead it will empower rogue elements, criminal enterprises, and authoritarian regimes around the world. -- Timestamps: Coming Soon (Jacob...

Rob and Jacob spend a few minutes discussing Kamala Harris before moving on to all the things happening in the world you’re missing because Trump and Harris are sucking up the headlines. They discuss Mexico trade relations, signals of change in Cuba and Venezuela, and major developments in Egypt and Vietnam, before closing with some bullishness on Japan. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:50) - Ka...

Jacob and Rob discuss the attempted assassination on former U.S. President Donald Trump. They explore scenarios related to tariffs and currency devaluation if Trump wins, as appears increasingly likely. They close with thoughts about CHina and why they are optimistic about the future. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:50) – Assassination in U.S. history (19:00) – Tariffs (34:00) – Devaluing the d...

Matt rejoins the podcast to talk about a first step toward estate planning: trusts. That may sound wonky or boring, but stay with us – not only do we make it geopolitical, we make it philosophical, interesting, and relevant. Come for the intersection of politics and planning, but stay for the important points about privacy at the end as well. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:28) - Overview...

Jacob and Rob reconvene to talk about the latest CPI print, inflation expectations, and the U.S. elections. They also get philosophical about populism and apply their insights to different countries: the U.S., France, the UK, Argentina, and Germany. -- Timestamps: (00:00) -Intro (00:39) - Weekly Chat with Rob: Catching Up (01:17) - Inflation Discussion: Latest CPI Print (03:36) - US Economic Slowd...

Shane McLorrain rejoins the podcast to take a victory lap on his predictions from a few weeks ago. He and Jacob talk about the election results, discuss what is next for France and Europe, and close with some spicy thoughts on lap swimming etiquette in ville lumière. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome (00:59) - French Elections Recap (02:10) - Election Results Analysi...

Welcome to the first episode of the newly rebranded "Jacob Shapiro Podcast!" Jacob L. Shapiro brings in the illustrious Jacob N. Shapiro from Princeton University to chat about disinformation, overhyped fears of AI, the impacts of social media on mental health, and the political and economic implications of China's Belt and Road Initiative. They also delve into worries surrounding the U.S. electio...

Rob and Jacob take a step back from the nitty-gritty of geopolitics and markets to talk about the boom in biotech stocks related to GLP-1s. They explore whether people are getting more health conscious or not, and what that might mean for the future of the biotech industry. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:45) - GLP-1s and Ozempic (10:50) - Health consciousness (28:45) - Individualized healthcar...

Jacob and John Fowler, former diplomat and lawyer and now partner at International Intrigue, are creating a new show on geopolitics modeled after the popular sports analysis show Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. Their goal? To bring you honest, objective, rigorous geopolitical analysis on the week’s most critical topics with irony, humor, and humility…and all in 30 minutes or less. Impossible you...

Jacob Shapiro welcomes Elohim Monard back on the podcast for a serious and important discussion on crime in Latin America. They discuss the reasons behind the increase of crime in the region, how it ties into migration, why strongmen like Bukele are so fascinating to geopolitical nerds everywhere…and why pessimism might be the answer to attacking crime head on. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:2...

Jacob welcomes Shane McLorrain on the podcast to talk about French President Emmanuel Macron’s election gambit – and how it seems to blowing up in his face…but how it may not have the outsized impact on France than some expected. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:18) – Overview of France right now (09:00) – Macron’s likability (17:31) – What was Macron thinking? (22:50) - Silver linings (27:...

Referenced in the Show: https://cognitivedissidents.org/ -- CI Site: cognitive.investments Jacob Site: jacobshapiro.com Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShap Subscribe to the Newsletter: bit.ly/weekly-sitrep -- Cognitive Investments is an investment advisory firm , founded in 2019 that provides clients with a nuanced array of financial planning, investment advisory and wealth management services. We aim...

Jacob brings back Ignacio Asis and Elohim Monard for a long awaited reaction to Javier Milei’s victory in Argentina’s presidential election. They explore how his term has gone thus far, and break down the big bills he was able to pass through Argentina’s Senate this week. They also talk about regional and even international implications. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Introduction (01:19) -  Discus...

Jacob and Rob tackle a subject they’ve been avoiding due to its massiveness and ubiquity: Artificial Intelligence. They also do a segment of microgeopolitics (Jacob was in Bogota this week) and close out with initial thoughts on French President Emmanuel Macron’s surprising decision to call for legislative elections after his drubbing in European Parliament elections. -- Timestamps: (00:00) – Micr...

Jacob welcomes Matthew McClintock, Founder and Executive Managing Director of Bespoke, to the podcast. Bespoke and CI are strategic partners, and this will be the first of what will become a monthly cadence as Jacob and Matt aim to explore and apply the intersection of geopolitics, investing, and blockchain with practical ideas about planning. Jacob and Matt have an open and candid conversation ab...

Jacob welcomes Dmitri Alperovitch onto the podcast. Jacob met Dmitri via Twitter, where he was arguing against the case Dale Copeland made on the podcast for China not invading Taiwan anytime soon. Dmitri lays out why he thinks Dale (and Jacob!) are wrong – about China, about Taiwan, and about the United States. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (1:30) – Taiwan as Berlin (17:10) – Taiwanese independe...

Jacob takes to the mic solo to fire up the hot-take factory. He previews Mexico’s elections – situating Mexican democracy in its own history, surveying AMLO’s successes and failures, and parsing who Claudia Sheinaum is and why she might be better for Mexico than you think. He also identifies the key questions you should be thinking about in terms of the election and Mexican-U.S. relations going fo...

Akshar Patel joins the podcast to talk about India. Jacob and Akshar explore what caste really means, how religion and caste affect Indian politics, and explore Akshar’s idea of Ideologues v. Identitarians in Indian politics. They apply some of these insights to India’s upcoming elections and what is at stake in Modi’s transformation of the country. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (02:30) – The Emi...

Jacob and Rob are here to bring balance to the force. They discuss why inflation expectations might be coming unhinged, how the Fed is trying to scare the market with its response, and just how much the Fed doesn’t have under its control. Come for the market/geopolitics talk, but stay for the extended Star Wars metaphors and the advice at the end about why buy&hold might be a strategy of a byg...

Kamran Bokhari rejoins the podcast to offer insightful perspectives on the apex of the Iranian leviathan. They discuss Ebrahim Raisi’s shocking death, the implications of the future of Iran, and what a post-Khamenei world might look like. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:30) – Khamenei’s successor (08:40) – Conspiracy theories about Khamenei's death (14:13) – What happens next? (25:00) – Weakeni...

Cousin Marko and Jacob are back at it. Marko shares why he’s turned bearish on the US after being “manically” bullish for many moons. They discuss China/India and compare/contrast the equity markets there. A brief discussion on Russia/Ukraine and Europe in general and a cold shower on former President Donald Trump’s threats to Mexico leads into an extended discussion on the NBA – predictions + the...

Jacob takes to the mic for an emergency reaction to the big event everyone is paying attention to from the weekend (Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter accident) and perhaps the one that is being missed (a failed coup attempt in the DRC). -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:00) - Iran (12:36) - Attempted Coup in DRC -- Referenced in the Show: -- CI Site: cognitive.investments Ja...

What better way to celebrate 200 episodes than a Rob-Jacob episode full of important insights. Jacob and Rob talk about some of their best calls of the past few years before turning to the flooding in Brazil, opportunities (and risks) in the U.S. electricity sector, and the new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. They also talk about the cognitive bias of investing and financial advisory services. -- T...

Dale Copeland joins the podcast to discuss his latest book, “A World Safe for Commerce.” He explains his theory of dynamic realism before pivoting to U.S.-China relations and an impassioned and thoughtful hot-take on why those predicting a Chinese invasion of Taiwan don’t just misunderstand China – they are participating in the realization of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Link to Dale’s book: https:...