Geopolitics on YouTube, summarised

753 episodes from Peter Zeihan and Paul J. Warburg, newest first. Every one has chapters, key points and a map, so you can jump to any moment in the video.

Latest episodes

Map of the places in “The Problem with the U.S. Power Grid” 5:22

The Problem with the U.S. Power Grid

Peter Zeihan

The U.S. cannot unify its power grids soon because geography and local authority barriers prevent efficient long-distance transmission. Real progress requires adjacent jurisdictions to share resources before attempting national grid unification.
Map of the places in “China's Power Vacuum Worsens” 5:18

China's Power Vacuum Worsens

Peter Zeihan

Xi Jinping has created a one-man dictatorship that is purging the bureaucracy to the point where China cannot function accurately. It is really hard to get an accurate view of what is going on inside the country now because everyone who used to collect that information has now been purged.
Map of the places in “Polish Politics Get Persnickety” 3:49

Polish Politics Get Persnickety

Peter Zeihan

Poland faces a constitutional crisis where both major factions make legally valid claims that prevent resolution without new elections. Expect this stalemate to be the new norm in Polish politics for several weeks or months.
Map of the places in “Russia Just Declared War on...Pizza?” 26:22

Russia Just Declared War on...Pizza?

Paul J. Warburg

This isn't a war about weapons. It's not a war about territory.
Map of the places in “Russia’s Population Collapse is Worse Than We Thought” 25:17

Russia’s Population Collapse is Worse Than We Thought

Paul J. Warburg

Vladimir Putin has a use-them-while-you've-got-them mentality. Once the war in Ukraine is over, it's going to seem like small cookies compared to what happens to Russia over the ensuing decades and generations.
Map of the places in “A New Explosive Threat in the Persian Gulf” 6:05

A New Explosive Threat in the Persian Gulf

Peter Zeihan

Conventional commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf is probably going to collapse because there is no good defense against speedboat attacks. The cost for the civilian shipping sector to try to cope with this is immense and will absolutely change the cost structure of how shipping happens.
Map of the places in “Russian Soldiers are Suddenly Being Wiped Out Like Never Before” 25:25

Russian Soldiers are Suddenly Being Wiped Out Like Never Before

Paul J. Warburg

Russia is experiencing a catastrophic decline where casualty rates exceed recruitment and birth rates, leading to societal collapse. The war has eliminated any hope for Russia's demographic recovery and is running its society into the ground.
Map of the places in “Bolsonaro Flees Brazil Following Election Loss” +4 6:13

Bolsonaro Flees Brazil Following Election Loss

Peter Zeihan

The blood feud between Lula and the Bolsonaros is causing a top-to-bottom fissure in Brazil's state capacity. No matter how the political conflict resolves, it will matter to a great number of people including those in the United States.
Map of the places in “Russia Just Suffered the Ultimate Humiliation” 22:07

Russia Just Suffered the Ultimate Humiliation

Paul J. Warburg

One of the telltale signs that somebody is broke and doing everything they can to avoid bankruptcy is when they start to sell off everything they own just to meet their monthly obligations. We'll keep watching how these trends go and where they ultimately lead.
Map of the places in “Attacks on Russian Data Centers: It's Not About Bots” 4:58

Attacks on Russian Data Centers: It's Not About Bots

Peter Zeihan

If you pull the plug on that, send them back 40 years or more, you get some catastrophic outcomes. That's what's going on in Russia right now with the Ukraine war.
Map of the places in “What's Behind the French Protests” 6:13

What's Behind the French Protests

Peter Zeihan

The violence in France is caused by budget deficits and anarchist movements, not illegal migrants. Everyone out there is trying to beat their own ideological drum and point at France and say, C, C, C, but for most of them, the facts don't match the ideology.
Map of the places in “France and the UK Choose the Nuclear Option” 4:11

France and the UK Choose the Nuclear Option

Peter Zeihan

The UK and France are pursuing nuclear weapons to prevent Germany from feeling secure enough to build its own deterrent. Allowing Germany to develop nukes would recreate the dangerous pressure cooker of 19th-century Europe.

Earlier episodes

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Map of the places in “The Paris Accords Can't Stop Climate Change” 5:38

The Paris Accords Can't Stop Climate Change

Peter Zeihan

The Paris Accords cannot stop climate change because they lack necessary funding and rely on a globalized system that is now breaking down. By the end of the century, we need to be starting to consider things like five and maybe even six.
Map of the places in “El Salvador Invades Haiti with Help from the Trump Administration?” 4:56

El Salvador Invades Haiti with Help from the Trump Administration?

Peter Zeihan

El Salvador in general, does not have any military capability. Get ready for the worst.
Map of the places in “Russia’s Oil Nightmare Just Returned IN FORCE” 18:12

Russia’s Oil Nightmare Just Returned IN FORCE

Paul J. Warburg

Russia faces a catastrophic financial scenario because its own data predicts oil prices will drop to $53 per barrel while it loses customers and production capacity. The point is, Russia already had their luck, and now their luck has run out.
Map of the places in “Ukraine Had an INCREDIBLE Night” 21:13

Ukraine Had an INCREDIBLE Night

Paul J. Warburg

Ukraine has demonstrated it can independently stop Russian attacks and defy US political pressure regarding energy prices. Ukraine is willing to defy the United States and prove that Trump lacks control over energy prices just before the midterms.
Map of the places in “What Happens When China Runs Out of Water?” 4:02

What Happens When China Runs Out of Water?

Peter Zeihan

The People's Republic of China is going to vanish in the next couple of decades. The People's Republic of China is going to vanish in the next couple of decades.
Map of the places in “India Has Three Major Problems (At The Moment)” 4:27

India Has Three Major Problems (At The Moment)

Peter Zeihan

The normal things that produce stability in India at the moment are offline and inverted to cause instability. You should expect this to get significantly worse before it gets better.
Map of the places in “Trump Might Be Onto Something with Data Center Energy” 6:11

Trump Might Be Onto Something with Data Center Energy

Peter Zeihan

The proposal indicates significant changes are coming if pushed forward. The proposal is a potential solution to current problems but faces serious political hurdles.
Map of the places in “Ukraine’s Massive Advantage Over Russia is Now Impossible to Ignore” 26:15

Ukraine’s Massive Advantage Over Russia is Now Impossible to Ignore

Paul J. Warburg

Modern democracies win wars and long-term competition because market incentives drive continuous innovation, while dictatorships stagnate due to fear of success. The future belongs to societies where youth are incentivized to build technology that solves problems rather than just seeking military salaries.
Map of the places in “The Turn: Demographics Meet Deglobalization” 3:00

The Turn: Demographics Meet Deglobalization

Peter Zeihan

The United States will surrender its position in the Eastern Hemisphere before the end of the Trump administration. Everyone will soon notice major disruptions in agriculture due to these changing global mechanics.
Map of the places in “Ukraine’s D-Day May Be Coming Soon” 26:41

Ukraine’s D-Day May Be Coming Soon

Paul J. Warburg

Sometimes, when things seem hopeless, all you have to do is hold on and actually have courage long enough for the enemy to break themselves against their own impatience. Personally, I see that as the most likely way this war ends through political change within Russia.
Map of the places in “China Just Lost Its Best Chokehold On The Global Economy” 25:39

China Just Lost Its Best Chokehold On The Global Economy

Paul J. Warburg

China's long-term strategic hold on the global economy through rare earth metals is ending because its heavy rare earth supply is finite while other nations have untapped reserves. The geopolitical landscape is reversing as China faces a genuine supply shortage of heavy rare earths while the world develops alternatives.
Map of the places in “How Will the Elections Impact Serbia and Brazil?” 6:55

How Will the Elections Impact Serbia and Brazil?

Peter Zeihan

Recent elections in Serbia and Brazil represent minor steps along a long road rather than landmark changes. No radical changes are expected in either country because they remain trapped by their specific geographic and historical constraints.
Map of the places in “Data Centers: A Necessary Evil...Kinda” 13:20

Data Centers: A Necessary Evil...Kinda

Peter Zeihan

Data centers are necessary for modern economic function because removing them would force a return to manual paper-based systems resulting in significantly lower standards of living. While data centers have negative effects like high energy use, eliminating them would condemn millions to low-value jobs and drastically reduce personal incomes.
Map of the places in “Russia Just Had Its Worst Day of the Entire War” 20:15

Russia Just Had Its Worst Day of the Entire War

Paul J. Warburg

Pro-Russian pressure from the United States actually hurts the Russians far more than the Ukrainians, and it really does seem that Russia can't possibly do anything to win the war. It is encouraging to know that Ukraine's strategy is definitely, definitely working.
Map of the places in “Oil Pricing Is Going Crazy” 3:46

Oil Pricing Is Going Crazy

Peter Zeihan

A severe break in the security environment allows the market to function differently. By the time we get to the end of the year, unless something is resolved politically, we're going to be looking at outright breaks in supply lines.
Map of the places in “Russia’s Tech Companies Just Entered Full Panic Mode” 22:01

Russia’s Tech Companies Just Entered Full Panic Mode

Paul J. Warburg

Russia is facing a permanent, systemic crisis in its cloud infrastructure that will worsen over time due to destroyed capacity and lack of global redundancy. The true scale of the damage remains hidden because both cloud companies and the Russian government suppress negative information to protect their interests.
Map of the places in “The Great Oil Split Has Begun” 6:18

The Great Oil Split Has Begun

Peter Zeihan

The United States has a functional ceiling on its energy prices of around $70 while Europe and Asia pay double or triple that amount due to transport disruptions. This fragmented market state is going to be the norm for the bulk of the next 20 years.
Map of the places in “Ground Drones Hit the Frontlines in Ukraine” 5:48

Ground Drones Hit the Frontlines in Ukraine

Peter Zeihan

The emergence of ground drones makes it very difficult for any sort of projection-based military to push force somewhere else. We're not going to figure that out in six months.
Map of the places in “China Just Got Some Terrible News” 19:38

China Just Got Some Terrible News

Paul J. Warburg

China is afraid of losing Western markets and will not use coercion tactics that threaten its economic survival. Today, China, which traditionally has been more adversarial, finally got a really good check put in place on them.
Map of the places in “Should the U.S. Military Invade Yemen?” 5:53

Should the U.S. Military Invade Yemen?

Peter Zeihan

The United States faces an ugly choice between a difficult military occupation or accepting Iranian control over Gulf energy. A military solution is too involved to recommend, leaving the only viable option as a political deal with Iran.

Every episode by day

Hover a day for its titles, click it to read.

Peter Zeihan Paul J. Warburg

2026 · 389 episodes

2025 · 339 episodes

2024 · 25 episodes

Who comes up most

The people named in the most episodes. An episode counts once, however often it names them.

  1. 1 Donald Trump President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025) 104 episodes
  2. 2 Vladimir Putin President of the Russian Federation 76 episodes
  3. 3 Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine since 2019 46 episodes
  4. 4 Xi Jinping General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012 (born 1953) 10 episodes
  5. 5 Bashar al-Assad Syrian convicted fugitive and former President of Syria from 2000 to 2024 7 episodes
  6. 6 Elon Musk American businessman (born 1971) 7 episodes
  7. 7 Barack Obama 44th President of the United States (2009–2017) 6 episodes
  8. 8 Marco Rubio 72nd United States Secretary of State since 2025 6 episodes
  9. 9 Joe Biden 46th President of the United States (2021–2025) 5 episodes
  10. 10 Tulsi Gabbard American politician (born 1981) 4 episodes
  11. 11 Jair Bolsonaro 38th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (2019–2023) 3 episodes
  12. 12 Tucker Carlson American conservative political commentator (born 1969) 3 episodes
  13. 13 Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States (1993–2001) 2 episodes
  14. 14 Boris Yeltsin Soviet and Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (1931–2007) 2 episodes
  15. 15 Chris Wright United States Secretary of Energy (born 1965) 2 episodes

Donald Trump: photo Daniel Torok, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Vladimir Putin: photo Пресс-служба Президента России, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Volodymyr Zelenskyy: photo Press Service of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Xi Jinping: photo Presidencia de la República del Ecuador, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Bashar al-Assad: photo khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Elon Musk: photo Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Barack Obama: photo Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Marco Rubio: photo U.S. Department of State, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Joe Biden: photo Adam Schultz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Tulsi Gabbard: photo Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Jair Bolsonaro: photo Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Tucker Carlson: photo Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Bill Clinton: photo Bob McNeely, The White House [ 1 ], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Boris Yeltsin: photo Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn Chris Wright: photo U.S. Department of Energy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, redrawn

Where the episodes go

Countries shaded by the number of episodes that name them more than in passing, counted once per episode.

  1. United States 72 episodes
  2. Russia 54 episodes
  3. Ukraine 49 episodes
  4. China 38 episodes
  5. Iran 21 episodes
  6. Germany 17 episodes
  7. Japan 14 episodes
  8. India 12 episodes
  9. France 9 episodes
  10. Saudi Arabia 9 episodes