Nutshell Politics

In this episode, we discuss the recent major change in Qatari relations with its nearest (only) neighbor, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries in the Middle East, as well the potential repercussions from this that will ripple throughout the world. Who & where is Qatar? Why have they been feuding with Saudi Arabia? Why did several nations cut off diplomatic relations with them 3+ years ago? And what happened just this week that changed all of that??

A special reading of Chapter 1 of Ring of Conspiracy, my brand-new mystery/suspense novel! If you want to continue the story, the novel is available on Amazon NOW in both paperback and Kindle! Thanks so much for your support! I really appreciate all of you!

In this episode, we discuss the recent mysterious killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian nuclear scientist about a week ago. Assassinated by (apparently) a remote-controlled machine gun in a roadside ambush, this scientist played a role in the nuclear weapons program in Iran for decades, but his most important contributions were many years back. So who exactly was Fakhrizadeh? Why could he have been targeted? What was the motive and purpose for going after him now? Who was behind the...

In this episode, we discuss two major world events that took place on the same day in history, 61 years apart, in the same country of Germany. November 9th has been the day of both evil heartbreak and amazing triumph, with far reaching impacts that had ripples that reshaped the world, with both Kristallnacht and the fall of the Berlin Wall. So we discuss both. What caused them? What happened on that day? And what were the impacts that revolutionized and reshaped all of international politics...

In this episode, we discuss the recent 75th anniversary celebration parade in North Korea. Between an unusual tone taken by Kim Jong-un in his speech to a gargantuan new missile that was unveiled, there was a lot that people noticed. So what does it all mean??

In this episode, we highlight a people group in Asia that has been in the news recently, the Uyghurs. Who are they? Where are they from? What makes them unique? And why have they been in the news? The Chinese government has been oppressively persecuting these people within their borders, bordering on a modern-day Holocaust complete with labor camps, so why is no one speaking out?

In this episode, we talk about how much of the modern Middle East got the borders we see today, from Iraq to Syria to Jordan to Israel. While there are exceptions to this (notably Saudi Arabia and some of the eastern countries), I track the national borders back to World War I and discuss the Sykes-Picot agreement that allowed for the current national partitions. This sets the stage for much of the conflict and struggles with identity (ethnic vs religious vs national identities) that we see...

In this episode, we discuss the recent historic peace deal to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first such deal in 26 years, and brokered in part by the United States and Donald Trump. We talk about the conditions of the ground-breaking deal, the history of Israeli peace deals with Arab countries, and the many implications and consequences this deal presents. How does each country benefit? Will this be an aberration or the first in a set of similar...

In this episode, I come back from a several month hiatus to discuss pandemics. We talk about a handful of historical pandemics and pandemic responses at a political level. We also touch on the impact our current COVID-19 pandemic is having on the population and the political realm.

In this episode, we discuss the recent events between the US and Iran, sparked by the killing of Iranian general and terrorist, Qasem Soleimani by targeted missile. Who was he? Why was this a big deal? Why are people talking about World War Three? Is that going to happen? And what SHOULD we expect going forward from this?

For Christmas Eve, we have a brief discussion of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, an unusual and fascinating event that took place during World War I. This is a replay of the episode from last year, but it's a good one and 'tis the season! I know I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately, but I'll be back with new episode shortly! (And an explanation for my absence)

In this episode, we examine the concept of uncontacted tribes. Following up on the last episode about the Sentinelese, we briefly touch on a few other groups in the world, but also talk about the concept from a larger political scope. Where are these groups? Why are they uncontacted? What do we & should we do about them?

In this episode, we discuss one of the most famous untouched people groups in the world, the Sentinelese. Who are these people on a single island off the coast of India? Why are they untouched by modern society? What are they like? Have there been attempts to contact them? This episode also serves as the introduction for the next one, a more broad look at the concept of uncontacted people groups around the world and how that plays into world politics.

In this week's episode, we look at the recent shocking news of the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, taken out by US Army Delta Force. How did we find this terrorist leader? What happened in the raid? Who was he and what was his impact? And what will the repercussions be going forward?

In this week's episode, we discuss President Trump's recent decision to pull out of Syria and the effect that has on one of our allies in the region, the Kurds. What did he actually do? Why did he do it? What effect will this have on our allies? We also replay a previous bit about who the Kurds are & why they're important.

This week, we look back at one of my very first (and most popular) episodes. We discuss the concept and role of international institutions, focusing on the United Nations. What are they? What is their purpose? Are they effective?

This week, we examine the political science paradox known as the "Resource Curse" or the "Paradox of Plenty". Why do countries with an abundance of a natural resource often have struggling economies? What explains that? Is it a true relationship or is something else happening? And what can be done about it?

In this week's episode, we discuss the recent death of Robert Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe. A very controversial figure with a past of liberation for the Zimbabwean people, but also a history of violence, racism, corruption, and human rights abuses, Mugabe ruled the nation until 2017 and recently passed away.

In this week's episode, we take a look back at one of the most popular episodes of Nutshell Politics, a show where we discussed the infamous terrorist group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS.

In this week's episode, we conclude a two week series on economic models in the world by looking at Capitalism and Socialism. This is a bit more technical episode than I normally do, but hopefully it's helpful and informative!