In this episode, Sinead and Alex plunge into Yemen: a country that's mastered the art of existing without actually functioning. From Ali Abdullah Saleh’s impressive 30-year dance atop a pit of political vipers, to the rise of the Houthis (who built a missile program from spite and Wi-Fi hotspots), they untangle a conflict so messy even the peacekeepers ended up shooting at each other.Expect detours into Saudi coalition chaos, the UAE’s militia-collecting hobby, and Yemen’s ability to launch ballistic missiles without managing to have a working government. Also featuring: a geopolitical ghost story, Iranian DIY drone kits, and why you probably shouldn’t try turning a country into a WhatsApp group.Welcome to Yemen: where legitimacy is optional, dysfunction is guaranteed, and international involvement is like pouring gasoline onto a fireworks show
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26:49
Zero to Zero Margin in 3.8 Seconds: The Rise and Fall of China's Electric Vehicle Market
In this episode, Sinead and Alex take you on a high-voltage joyride through China’s EV empire: from lithium-fueled ambition to zero-margin chaos.They unpack how China leapfrogged the combustion engine, built a vertically integrated tech stack faster than you can say “subsidy,” and accidentally triggered the world’s most deranged price war.Along the way, they ask:What happens when your new car costs less than your phone?Are Chinese EVs actually Huawei on wheels?And can the West build anything besides white papers and vibes?From robotaxis to battery geopolitics, this is a story about industrial overkill, strategic export flooding, and why your next road trip might also be a national security risk.
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26:46
Universities as Hedge Funds: Ivy Towers and Illiquid Assets
In this episode, Sinead and Alex unpack how university endowments went from sleepy ivory tower piggy banks to Wall Street-grade investment machines. They trace the rise of the Yale model, poke fun at Columbia’s lackluster (cough) returns, and dive into the messier realities of geopolitical risk, political blowback, and the illusion of “perpetuity.” It's a fast-moving look at how elite institutions are facing a credibility crisis, and what happens when the money behind the marble columns starts to dry up.
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23:18
Escape from the Rainbow Nation: South Africa's Fracturing Narrative
In this episode, Sinead and Alex wade into the wonderfully messy world of South African politics, where historical memory collides with present-day power plays. From whispered asylum policies for white Afrikaners to the ANC’s crumbling crown, they unpack how a country built on apartheid ghosts is now haunted by something even trickier: the future. Race, power, nostalgia, geopolitics: it’s all here, and yes, it’s as chaotic as it sounds.
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27:54
Hire-a-Pirate: The Billion-Dollar Business of Maritime Security
In this episode, Sinead and Alex dive headfirst into the murky, lightly armed world of private maritime security, which the global capitalist system now relies on for the movement of our goods, and where ex-special forces guys named Gary protect billion-dollar ships with zero jurisdiction and even fewer HR policies.They track the industry’s rise from the Somali piracy boom to today’s Red Sea drone zone, unpack how shipping companies quietly hired their own navies, and ask: what happens when global trade is guarded not by law… but by Gaz and his floating armory?It’s Blackwater at sea, but with worse uniforms and better margins.
But This Time It’s Different is where we unpack the truth behind the wrong, late or wilfully blind stories we’re told- about progress, markets, governments, and tech- with apparently sharp analysis and dark humor.
Ireland