# Mailbag!

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/geopolitical-cousins-7251738/mailbag
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/geopolitical-cousins-7251738/mailbag.md
Podcast: [Geopolitical Cousins](https://stenobird.com/podcast/geopolitical-cousins-7251738)
Published: 2026-02-12T12:15:00+00:00
Episode link: https://geopolitical-cousins.captivate.fm/episode/mailbag
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/28c10cb0-2cd7-4c19-901a-8aef8ea2f6a8.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/geopolitical-cousins-7251738/episodes/mailbag
Duration seconds: 6008

## Resource

You've been writing us questions, thoughts, prayers, and lambasting criticism for months - so today we're finally taking a dive into the inbox. Holy crap there's a lot here. Y'all mentioned The Wire , TDSDS, starting careers in geopolitical analysis, tech nationalism, the balkanization of the internet, and sooooo much more. Tune in to hear it all :) Thanks y'all. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (02:33) - The Wire (05:25) - Media Consumption and Bias (06:46) - Trump Derangement Syndrome and Strategic Thinking (16:16) - Effective Media Consumption Strategies (28:23) - Balancing Realism and Idealism in Humanitarian Work (35:28) - Navigating Career Dissonance (35:56) - Breaking into Geopolitical Analysis (37:16) - The Value of Mentorship (39:39) - Building Expertise in Geopolitics (41:27) - Creating and Sharing Content (43:18) - The Importance of Learning and Adaptability (44:59) - Geopolitical Decisions in Various Careers (53:53) - Shadow Fleets and Oil Markets (01:00:28) - Multipolar vs. Unipolar World Conflicts (01:06:42) - Balkanization of the Internet (01:09:25) - The Rise of Nationalism in Software (01:10:36) - The Tension Between Tech Companies and Governments (01:12:46) - The Impact of Snowden's Leak on American Tech (01:13:26) - Trump's Influence on Tech Nationalism (01:18:30) - Trump's Strategy for the Midterms (01:29:53) - The Geopolitical Importance of the Midwest (01:37:12) - The Future of Geopolitically Mundane Places -- Referenced in the Show: -- Geopolitical Cousins is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com -- Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, he…

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## Transcript

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