Joshua T Berglan 'The World's Mayor'

About Joshua T Berglan 'The World's Mayor'

The World’s Mayor Experience is a global podcast hosted by Joshua T. Berglan, blending investigative journalism, powerful conversations, media, faith, advocacy, culture, human resilience, and the stories behind the systems shaping our world. At the center of this new chapter is The Shadow Files — an evidence-first investigative series reporting from Cameroon and across Afrique, following the money, resources, ownership, trade, technology, and power connecting African communities to the global economy. Expect hard questions, uncomfortable truths, inspiring people, and conversations that refuse to fit inside one box. From investigations and global interviews to raw reflections on purpose, recovery, sovereignty, and humanity, every episode follows the story wherever it leads. Cameroon is where we’re reporting from. Afrique is our field. The world is the beat.

Publisher

Joshua T Berglan 'The World's Mayor'

Category

history · news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

10 Nov 2022

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

166 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   The Shadow Files: Independence on Paper — Africa Owns the Minerals. Who Captures the Value?

   Africa has the minerals. But owning the resource underground is only the beginning. In Episode 7 of The Shadow Files, Joshua T. Berglan investigates who actually captures the value created from Africa’s cobalt, copper, gold, lithium, uranium and other critical minerals. The investigation follows the entire chain: who owns the deposit, who holds the mining rights, who finances the operation, who markets the production, who refines the minerals, who controls the technology, who manufactures the final product, and where the profits ultimately appear. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"} The episode examines the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s cobalt economy, Chinese and Western investment, Sicomines and the renegotiation of infrastructure commitments from roughly $3 billion to as much as $7 billion, mining contracts and stabilization clauses, transfer-pricing risks, mineral processing, battery technology, resource-backed loans, Congo’s cobalt export restrictions, Mali’s dispute with Barrick, Niger’s uranium sector, and Zimbabwe’s push for greater domestic processing. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"} :chatgpt-content-reference{index="2"} But this is not a simple story of foreign companies versus African governments. Foreign investment is not automatically exploitation. State ownership is not automatically prosperity. Nationalization is not automatically sovereignty. And banning raw exports is not automatically industrialization. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="3"} The deeper question is: How much of what Africa’s resources eventually become does Africa actually own? Because the mineral in the ground is geology. What happens to its value is architecture. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="4"} The Shadow Files — Episode 7 INDEPENDENCE ON PAPER Hosted by Joshua T. Berglan, The World’s Mayor.

2. 

   4 Oct 2026

   The Françafrique File: Secret Agreements, Oil, Intelligence & Power After Independence

   What happened to French power in Africa after independence? Did it disappear with colonial rule? Did it simply change form? Or has the story of Françafrique itself become so politicized that both supporters and critics sometimes make the evidence say more than it actually does? In this episode of The Shadow Files, Joshua T. Berglan examines the documentary record behind one of the most controversial political ideas in modern African history. The investigation begins with France’s own parliamentary record listing a 1974 secret defense agreement with Cameroon and expands into treaties covering strategic raw materials, Jacques Foccart’s political networks, Togo President Sylvanus Olympio and monetary sovereignty, French support to Biafra, mercenary Bob Denard, French intelligence, the Elf oil scandal and the role African presidents themselves played inside these networks. Pasted markdown Pasted markdown The episode also asks a question often missing from the conversation: Were African leaders simply victims of French influence—or were they also political actors who negotiated, leveraged and sometimes shaped these relationships themselves? Pasted markdown Finally, the investigation follows the story into the present, examining how France’s military posture in West and Central Africa has changed and why the political architecture of the 1960s cannot simply be copied and pasted onto 2026. Pasted markdown This is not an argument that France controlled everything. It is not an argument that Françafrique was imaginary. It is an investigation into what the documents actually allow us to say. What do we know? What does the evidence suggest? What do we still not know? And who are we asking for answers? Follow the treaty. Follow the intelligence. Follow the corporation. Follow the weapons. Follow the money. Follow the power. The Françafrique File is open. Watch previous investigations and access The Shadow Files: https://www.joshuatberglan.com/the-shadow-files-by-joshua-t-berglan (https://www.joshuatberglan.com/the-shadow-files-by-joshua-t-berglan) More from Joshua T. Berglan and The World’s Mayor Experience: https://www.joshuatberglan.com (https://www.joshuatberglan.com)

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   The CFA Franc in Cameroon: The Currency After Colonialism File

   What does the CFA franc give Cameroon—and what does it cost? I spend this currency every day, and a question about the cash in my pocket became an investigation into monetary power, political independence, and the choices shaping everyday life. In The Currency After Colonialism File, I examine the Central African CFA franc, BEAC, CEMAC, France’s role, foreign reserves, and the euro peg. The investigation revisits the 1994 devaluation, distinguishes Central Africa’s arrangements from West Africa’s, and follows the debate into access to credit, offshore extractive-industry funds, and economist Joseph Tchundjang Pouemi’s critique. What would greater monetary sovereignty make possible—and what institutions would Cameroon need for it to succeed? I’m Joshua T Berglan, reporting from Cameroon. This is The Shadow Files, part of The World’s Mayor Experience: asking difficult questions, examining competing claims, and following the evidence. Explore the series: https://www.joshuatberglan.com/the-shadow-files-by-joshua-t-berglan (https://www.joshuatberglan.com/the-shadow-files-by-joshua-t-berglan) More from Joshua T Berglan: https://www.JoshuaTBerglan.com (https://www.JoshuaTBerglan.com)

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

1.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Joshua T Berglan 'The World's Mayor'

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

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