(Conversation recorded on November 11th, 2024, prior to a ceasefire declared between Israel and Lebanon on November 27th, 2024)

If you’ve followed TGS for some time, you’ve heard Nate speak about The 5 Horsemen – the biggest risks for humans and civilization in the coming decade. Today’s episode delves into one of the most rapidly escalating: geopolitics.

Today, Nate is joined by Political Economy Professor Helen Thompson to explore the evolving understanding of energy's role in international relations, particularly in the context of recent conflicts in the Middle East. They discuss the challenge of anticipating the volatile changes in energy supplies, the complexities of navigating information in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, and the role of global powers like BRICS and OPEC.

How will resource conflicts continue to shape the long-standing tensions in the Middle East? What would a transition from a unipolar world to a multipolar world mean for the global geopolitical landscape and its energy implications? Given how connected these issues are to the delicate balance of our world, how can we increase awareness and preparation for future crises?


About Helen Thompson:

Helen Thompson has been Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge since 1994. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is a regular panelist on Talking Politics and a columnist for the New Statesman. She is a co-presenter of UnHerd's podcast, These Times, and recently published Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.

Show Notes and More:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/152-helen-t…

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00:00 - Introduction
03:00 - The Public Perception of Energy
06:09 - Update on the Middle East
09:45 - Israel vs Iran
13:18 - Israel’s New Defense Minister
17:28 - Conscription
20:31 - The Quickening Pace
23:19 - Finding Valid Information
27:06 - U.S. Reputation
30:25 - Ethnic Cleansing
32:27 - Consequences of a Trump Presidency
35:59 - The Strait of Hormuz
40:20 - How Do We Avoid Conflict?
45:45 - Shia-Sunni Divide
48:30 - Humanitarian Influence
52:27 - A Peaceful Multipolar World
55:35 - AI and Nuclear Power
57:53 - Advice to the U.S. and U.K.
01:01:54 - Houthi Influence
01:03:27 - The Path to Maturity
01:08:31 - Closing Thoughts