The Jacob Shapiro Podcast

Jacob Shapiro is joined by Matt Pines, Executive Director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, to discuss the accelerating convergence of Bitcoin, AI, geopolitics, and energy. Pines argues that technological change is happening faster than existing frameworks can manage, pushing once-fringe ideas into mainstream policy deb

Jacob Shapiro reconnects with Chase Taylor (of Pinecone Macro) for a wide-ranging conversation on U.S. competitiveness. The two dig into why electricity costs, labor shortages, and weak industrial policy matter far more than endless chatter about tariffs or rate cuts. They trade scenarios on how soaring power demand, g

Jacob steps away from his usual roster of experts to bring listeners a first-person account from Kathmandu. Law student and human rights scholar Prasansha Rimal reflects on Nepal’s fragile democracy, its youth-led protests, and the deeper frustration with corruption and stagnant politics. She describes how social media

Jacob and Rob reunite after a long break, tracing the threads between a dizzying run of global events and markets that seem strangely calm. Jacob frames the conversation with parallels to the 1920s, questioning whether today’s mix of political volatility, speculative fervor, and rapid technological change echoes past c

Jacob Shapiro sits down with Jacek Bartosiak, founder of Strategy&Future, to discuss Russia’s drone incursions into Polish airspace and their broader implications. From Warsaw’s perspective, deterrence has failed, pushing debate toward a “politics of punishment.” Bartosiak outlines the fracturing of NATO credibility, t

After a month-long hiatus recovering from illness, Jacob Shapiro returns to the podcast joined by recurring guest Elohim Monard. Together, they examine the transactional nature of U.S.–Latin America relations, debating whether the region is part of a declining American empire and how leaders like Claudia Sheinbaum and