Hidden Forces

In Episode 426 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, about American grand strategy, the Trump Doctrine of Coercive Primacy, and the implications of Washington’s new Gunboat Diplomacy in the Middle East.

Stephen is a prominent member of the realist school in international relations. He’s b...

In Episode 425 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical and intelligence analyst Dmitri Alperovitch about the new security dynamics and economic opportunities that arise from America’s and Israel’s attacks on Iran, the risks of strategic overreach, and whether U.S. actions do more to compel or deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

In the first hour, Alperovitch scrutinizes Israel’s decisio...

In Episode 424 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Kamran Bokhari, Senior Director at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy, who has served in the U.S. State Department and as a Senior Consultant with the World Bank.

Bokhari first appeared on the podcast shortly after the October 7th attacks to discuss the violence ignited by Hamas, the nature and scope of Iranian involvement, and how va...

In Episode 423 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joseph Torigian, an expert on the politics of authoritarian regimes and the Chinese Communist Party, with a particular focus on elite power struggles, civil-military relations, and grand strategy. Torigian is also the author of a widely discussed new book titled “The Party’s Interests Come First,” a political biography and historical analysis of Xi Zhongxun,...

Episode 422 is the sixth episode in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with Lawrence Fossi, about the recent fallout between President Donald Trump and his biggest political booster, Elon Musk.

This is a critical and sober exploration of the political and budgetary challenges facing the country. It spares no criticisms of either Trump or Musk and is not ...

In Episode 421 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Ian Fletcher, one of America’s foremost experts on industrial policy, about the problems with free trade and how to revitalize the U.S. economy.

Ian and Demetri spend the first hour of the episode laying the foundation for the argument Fletcher and his co-author, Marc Fasteau, present in their book Industrial Policy for the United States: Winnin...

In Episode 420 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Kyle Chan—an expert on the Chinese economy and China’s industrial policy—about why he believes China is poised to dominate high-end technology and manufacturing, and why factories worldwide will reorganize their supply chains with China at the center, as the world’s preeminent technological and economic superpower.

Kyle and Demetri spend the fir...

Episode 419 is the fifth episode in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with fmr. Chief Economist for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Dr. Charles Calomiris about America’s economic emergency and what our response to it should be once conditions push the country into a full-blown political crisis at some point over the next few years.

In thi...

In Episode 418 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Hao to discuss Empire of AI — her inside account of how OpenAI evolved from an idealistic, safety-first nonprofit into one of the world’s most valuable private companies in its race to conquer the future.

This conversation takes you inside that transformation—from the heady idealism of OpenAI’s founding, through...

Episode 417 is the fourth episode in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with some of the smartest and most plugged-in people they know to help them navigate the once-in-a-century economic, political, and geopolitical reordering that is currently underway.

In this episode Kofinas and Williams speak with political-economist Pippa Malmgren about the wide-ra...

In Episode 416 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Financial Times correspondent Patrick McGee about the integral role Apple played in helping to build China’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem—and the geopolitical interdependencies and national security risks now baked into that relationship.

McGee’s book “Apple in China” tells two stories. First, it chronicles Apple’s ascent from being nearly b...

Episode 415 is the third episode in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with some of the smartest and most plugged-in people they know to help them navigate the once-in-a-century economic, political, and geopolitical reordering that is currently underway.

In this episode Kofinas and Williams speak with economic historian, author of “The Solid Ground Newsl...

In Episode 414 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Mark Spindel about monetizing government policies and how an improved understanding of their effect on markets can enhance the value and performance of your portfolio.

Demetri and Mark spend the episode's first hour evaluating Trump’s first 100 days in office, assessing his policy objectives and his effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) in turning ...

Episode 413 is the second episode in the Hundred Year Pivot podcast series. In it, Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams speak with some of the smartest and most plugged-in people they know to help them navigate the once-in-a-century economic, political, and geopolitical reordering that is currently underway.

In this episode Kofinas and Williams speak with historian and author of “The Fourth Turning” Neil Ho...

In Episode 412 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with financial journalist and economic historian, Paul Blustein about the U.S. Dollar’s historical resiliency in the face of international shocks and crises, and whether Dollar hegemony can survive the breakdown of the international capital and trading system.

In the first hour, Kofinas and Blustein trace how the U.S. dollar became the de facto curre...

In Episode 411 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Shehzad Qazi of China Beige Book about the impact Trump’s China tariffs are having on the U.S. and Chinese economies and prospects for a grand bargain.

Demetri and Shehzad discuss:

• The material impact that the trade war has had thus far on both economies

In Episode 410 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with investors Paulo Macro and Le Shrub about the consequences of a breakdown in the international capital and trading system—and what this means for markets and investor portfolios.

The first hour revisits last year’s discussion on “EM-ification,” the breakdown of the rules-based global order, and the urgent search for a new safe asset in a world of...

Demetri Kofinas and Grant Williams have teamed up to launch “The One Hundred Year Pivot,” a new podcast series that explores the once-in-a-century economic, political, and geopolitical reordering currently underway. These transformational changes demand that we develop new maps and investment frameworks to help us navigate the challenges ahead.

Over the course of the series, Grant and Demetri will be speak...

In Episode 408 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with James van Geelen, the founder of Citrini Research, which specializes in illuminating and demystifying the transformative “megatrends” poised to shape societies, economies, and the market’s distribution of returns for years to come.

James and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation exploring a series of narratives and investment themes...