Cognitive Dissidents

About Cognitive Dissidents

The Jacob Shapiro Podcast is a modern geopolitics podcast that wades deep into the machinery of our global systems. We explore not just what happened this week, but why it happened, and what it means for markets, money, and the people living through it. Geopolitics is the intersection of geography and politics. Each episode, geopolitical analyst Jacob Shapiro sits down with economists, strategists, scientists, journalists, and people on the ground to follow one story to its roots: the US-China rivalry, Africa's devastating civil unrest, the war in Ukraine, Latin America’s political realignment, the energy transition, oil and commodity markets, global trade and tariffs, artificial intelligence, food and water security, and the fiscal math behind the dollar. Some conversations start with a headline. Others start with a shipment of lentils, a tanker in the Red Sea, or a warehouse full of used books, and end up somewhere much bigger. Jacob is a Geopolitical Analyst and a Stratfor alumnus who advises Fortune 500 companies, institutional investors, and family offices on geopolitical risk. He studied literature and theology before he studied foreign policy, and he approaches the world as a fox, not a hedgehog: curious, contrarian, skeptical of single-cause explanations, and willing to change his mind on air. For investors, policymakers, business leaders, and anyone who suspects the news is missing the bigger picture. New episodes weekly. (Formerly "Cognitive Dissidents” and “The Perch Pod”)

Publisher

Jacob Shapiro

Category

government · history · news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

2 May 2022

Latest episode

11 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

203 of 376 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   11 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   More Siskos Than Picards

   Jacob Shapiro interviews Kamran Bokhari about the Mecca Accord and the evolving geopolitical landscape, offering insights into navigating a world built for Sisko, not Picard.

2. 

   10 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Who Leaked Huang?

   Jacob Shapiro investigates the potential leak of sensitive Nvidia chip information, exploring motives beyond Alice Huang and the Chinese intelligence apparatus.

3. 

   27 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   There Is No Light Web - Minor Powers

   Jacob Shapiro and economic historian Dror Poleg discuss a critical web vulnerability and the future of the internet, interviewing each other about technology, politics, and parenting.

Inside a recent episode

More Siskos Than Picards

Published 11 Nov 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Talk to me a little bit about you. I think Turkey gets the least amount of attention of all the countries in the region and nobody's really watching what they're doing and how they're playing things. President Erdogan is already under a lot of pressure. They locked the municipality elections two years ago. […]

Who has been a guest on Cognitive Dissidents

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kamran Bokhari
• Dror Poleg
• Volodymyr Ishchenko
• Monica de Bolle
• Alex Hochuli

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

139,161

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

177 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

271 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 86 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

99

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

96

Contact Cognitive Dissidents

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Geopolitical Cousins

• 

  The Market Huddle

• 

  Monetary Matters with Jack Farley

• 

  Macro Voices

• 

  Forward Guidance

• 

  Hidden Forces

Questions about Cognitive Dissidents