Hard Liquor, Soft Power: The Death of Proportionality

America and Europe are drifting apart, not just politically, but philosophically. In this episode, we dig into the consequences of that split, comparing today’s transatlantic rupture to one of the most overlooked geopolitical divorces of the 20th century: China’s break from the Soviet Union in the 1960s. We explore how competing worldviews, liberal restraint versus autocratic power are reshaping global alliances, leaving Europe disoriented and exposed. Drawing on history, geopolitics and economics, we ask whether this moment marks the true end of Pax Americana, and whether it’s permanent. Then we turn to the other pressure building quietly beneath the surface: debt. With sluggish growth, soaring deficits and rising bond yields, are the bond vigilantes about to make a comeback? From France to the US, we unpack why fiscal stress, not inflation, may be the real economic story of the next two years. Bonus segment: In partnership with IBEC, we look ahead to Ireland’s EU presidency and ask how Irish business can position itself in a world defined by geopolitical fracture, fiscal strain and intensifying competition, from AI and infrastructure to talent, trade and resilience. History, power, money, and the fault lines that matter next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a single week, Donald Trump goes after the Federal Reserve, criminalises Jerome Powell, and shakes the idea of central bank independence, the quiet pillar holding the global financial system together. At the same time, two oil superpowers, Venezuela and Iran, slide into fresh instability. Coincidence? Not quite. We unpack a world that feels wildly out of balance. In the U.S., markets are booming while consumer confidence collapses. The top 10 stocks now make up 40% of the S&P 500, profits are rising six times faster than wages, and young unemployment is running at 8.5% while older workers stack second jobs. GDP says “fine.” Lived reality says otherwise. Then we turn to energy, the thing that still prices everything. With oil hovering around $60 a barrel, sanctions wobbling, OPEC under strain, and Iran emerging as the real wildcard, we ask what happens next. Oil expert Carol Nackley joins us to explain why Venezuela’s reserves don’t mean cheap fuel, why Iran could flip the market overnight, and why political chaos makes long-term energy investment almost impossible. This episode is about imbalance, in money, markets, power, and psychology, and why when trust in institutions cracks, the consequences show up everywhere: in your wages, your bills, and the price you pay at the pump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Washington moved on Venezuela, and the shockwaves are racing across the Americas. Oil, refugees, collapsed regimes, back-room deals: this may spell the beginning of the end for Cuba’s 65-year experiment, and the most dramatic geopolitical reset in the region since 1989. We head to the Caribbean to ask who wins, who loses, and who has been quietly complicit all along. Economist Marla Dukaran joins us from Trinidad with jaw-dropping numbers: Caribbean states racked up debts to Venezuela worth 20–50% of their GDP, many of them “off the books,” even as 8 million Venezuelans fled their country. While leaders preached morality, they were bathing in subsidised oil. If Venezuelan oil disappears, and U.S. power reasserts itself, Cuba loses its lifeline. Could that trigger regime collapse? Could stability finally return to Venezuela? Or are we entering a new era where great powers carve up weak states and call it humanitarian? Think Monroe Doctrine 2.0, only faster, harder, and happening right now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broadcasting from the streets of Medellín, we dive into Latin America’s reaction to the stunning removal of Nicolás Maduro, and the strange new reality taking shape in Caracas. Is this regime change, an oil grab, or something far more experimental? We’re joined again by Latin America analyst Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, who argues this is the birth of something unprecedented: a U.S.-managed protectorate where Washington negotiates directly with whoever actually holds power,the military and the Chavista elite, while keeping a “second round” of force on the table. From China’s billions now stuck at the back of the queue, to the return of 17th-century-style capitalism where corporations and states move as one, we explore what Venezuelans, Colombians, and the wider region fear comes next. If Maduro is gone… who’s really in charge now — and for how long? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 2026, and Ireland is skating on a thin economic edge. With the US retreating from Europe, American industry is stalling here, no new labs, no new factories. Our entire model of tax-light, job-rich multinational growth might be reaching its sell-by date. The housing crisis rages, younger people emigrate, and a risk-averse political class hides behind admin. We break down the "known knowns" for Ireland’s year ahead, from capacity crunches to a society shaped by contentment, not ambition. And what if Troy Parrott brings us to the World Cup, could football give us the only real growth story this year? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.