Novelist and essayist James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency, the World Made by Hand series) joins Doug Casey and Matt Smith. Kunstler expects prosecutions after the midterms, starting with John Brennan's grand jury appearance. He also says the US military won't let radicals take the levers of power, and that the country has slid from high trust to no trust. Doug and Kunstler clash over the Iran war. Also: Europe tottering, why US shale is more fragile than it looks, what Kunstler got wrong in The Long Emergency, Israel and Gaza, Ukraine and NATO, and the deep state.

Kunstler's Substack: https://www.kunstler.com
Find us at https://crisisinvesting.com
New Orleans Investment Conference, Oct 28-31: https://neworleansconference.com/casey-2/

00:00 Welcome James Howard Kunstler
01:08 Will Anyone Face Justice?
07:11 Brennan Before A Grand Jury
13:39 Bondi, Bongino, And Silence
18:42 Will The Military Step In?
22:35 Two Flavors Of Authoritarianism
26:14 Civil War And A Trump Bet
28:54 Europe Is Tottering
31:10 Iran, Oil, And Shale
37:31 Doug Pushes Back On Iran
41:43 Islam And Europe's Future
45:39 Invasion, Hochul, And New York
49:55 Where Are The Men Of Quality?
51:41 Trump The Paradox
55:44 Markets, Bonds, And The Carry Trade
1:01:11 Kunstler On Gold
1:02:58 The Long Emergency, 20 Years On
1:05:15 From High Trust To No Trust
1:07:59 Half The Country Is Insane
1:12:13 A Steak Of Justice
1:15:13 Is Trump An Authoritarian?
1:18:37 Israel, Gaza, And Tucker
1:24:39 The Iran Blockade
1:26:08 Ukraine And Leaving NATO
1:28:11 Brennan And The Deep State
1:31:54 Wrap Up

Doug Casey and Matt Smith on the gap between the flash and the bang. The war in the Middle East started February 28th, the Strait of Hormuz is choked, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen are now at war, yet most Americans still ask "What war?" Spot oil in the North Sea is $136 while the futures market says somewhere in the $90s. Why are markets disconnected from reality, and how long before the bang? Plus Saudi Arabia and MBS, Egypt, Israel fatigue, Indonesia's gas lines, AI and the new rust belt, the Fort Hood execution, and why Doug says "the shit will really have hit the fan" anytime between tomorrow and a couple of years from now.

Find us at https://crisisinvesting.comAsk Doug a question: https://crisisinvesting.com (click "Ask Doug")
See Doug at the New Orleans Investment Conference, Oct 28-31: https://neworleansconference.com/casey-2/

00:00 Welcome And New Orleans
02:02 Worse Than The Worst Case
05:11 $136 Oil On The Ground
06:52 Markets You Can't Trust
10:36 Refineries And Fuel Shortages
13:03 Saudi Arabia Is Next
17:36 Egypt's Ticking Time Bomb
20:50 Israel Fatigue
26:04 Indonesia's Gas Lines
31:07 We Saw The Flash. Where's The Bang?
33:33 Rates, Bonds, And A Bifurcated America
36:09 AI And The New Rust Belt
39:37 Billionaires And Their Bodyguards
41:57 Kunstler And Agreeing To Disagree
44:37 Tankers In The Strait
47:36 Books: Vikings And The Mandibles
51:06 Overproduction Of Elites
52:33 Trump's $5,000 Video
54:09 The Fort Hood Execution
1:05:59 Press Secretary And Guilfoyle
1:09:23 Monica's Podcast
1:13:21 Wrap Up

Find us at www.crisisinvesting.com

Doug and Matt discuss escalating Yemen-Houthi conflict impacts, including disruption of Saudi oil infrastructure and potential wider geopolitical fallout as oil supplies to Europe tighten and fuel prices rise. They pivot to U.S. policy and market fragility, criticizing short-term political decision-making (including possible diesel export bans), warning about deficits, rising rates, and a looming financial crisis, while outlining a defensive investment stance favoring gold, agriculture, and energy. They debate AI fear narratives as regulatory capture, question returns on massive AI capital spending, and consider state intervention if major firms fail, noting cheaper Chinese models undercut U.S. frontier labs. Viewer Q&A covers taking state money as a moral dilemma, risk management without stop-losses in illiquid resource stocks, prospects for conflict in Latin America vs. Africa/Middle East, evaluating moral character, Botswana's diamond dependence, legal system critiques, offshore vs. onshore precious-metals storage, private deal drawbacks, and future drone warfare shifting to swarms and eventually nanotechnology.

00:00 News and Viewer Qs

00:08 Houthis and Saudi Setback

06:03 Oil Shock and Markets

08:22 Diesel Export Ban Fallout

10:02 Trade Threats and Politics

13:25 Rates Debt and Bear Case

15:15 AI Fear and Regulation

18:35 China Models and Bubble Risk

21:29 Taking Money from State

24:52 Managing Trades Without Stops

27:25 Wars Latin America Outlook

28:14 Testing Character in Relationships

34:19 Botswana and Diamond Risk

35:59 Legal System as Slavery

37:02 Battle Bank vs Offshore Vaults

38:19 Private Deals Pros and Cons

40:04 Drones Swarms and Nanobots

44:11 Wrap Up and Italy Trip

Find us at www.crisisinvesting.com

Doug speaking at New Orleans Investment Conference: https://neworleansconference.com/casey-2/

Doug and Matt reflect on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, arguing the official narrative remains unconvincing, citing unresolved issues like Building 7 and the lack of thorough investigation, and linking this to widespread public distrust in government. They discuss escalating Middle East conflict, including Houthi territorial gains in Yemen, threats to shipping near Bab-el-Mandeb, attacks on Saudi infrastructure, and U.S. strikes on Iranian-linked tankers, while noting oil prices and market fragility amid potential rate hikes; Doug discloses he has shorted Nasdaq. They compare alleged state cover-ups to the Charlie Kirk assassination and other disputed events, then address viewer questions on AI-driven job losses, potential debt defaults, protecting oneself via assets and residency abroad, central bank gold moves (including Argentina shipping gold to London), meetups and conferences, precious-metal storage jurisdictions, and Doug's negative view of Nike as an investment.

00:00 9/11 Anniversary Reflections

02:08 Doubting the Official Story

03:35 Building 7 and Media Oddities

07:45 Middle East Escalation and Oil

12:43 Charlie Kirk Conspiracy Questions

15:34 Trust Collapse and State Power

18:20 Trump 5K Proposal Fallout

23:08 Renaming Hormuz and Narcissism

25:27 AI Job Losses Market Impact

27:27 UBI via Tax Credits

28:57 Bribing Voters Warning

30:19 Default Fallout Prep

31:36 Hard vs Soft Default

33:28 Escape Political Risk

34:05 Central Banks Move Gold

35:53 DC Meetups and Events

39:13 Uruguay Free Zone Idea

40:06 Argentina Gold to London

44:25 Where to Store Metals

46:42 Nike Stock and Woke Brands

50:21 Weekend Sign Off

Matt and Doug discuss the rapid buildout of AI data centers, local backlash, and Doug's view that the frenzy reflects an unprecedented stock-market "hyper-bubble" led by major tech and AI firms. Doug argues most data-center capacity is used to surveil and influence citizens more than to "manipulate atoms" in the real world, making it a threat to personal freedom, and notes the trend runs counter to technology historically becoming smaller, cheaper, and more dispersed. They explore whether AI could become "alive" and indistinguishable from humans (via the Turing test idea), cite concerns from an Anthropic researcher about self-improving AI, and focus on innovation driven by "love and war," including robots, sex bots, and drone-heavy modern warfare, warning of major societal disruption regardless of outcomes.

00:00 AI Data Center Backlash
01:28 Tech Bubble Warning
04:30 What Data Centers Do
05:21 Surveillance And Control
07:15 Tech Trends Reversed
09:13 Trillions And Centralization
12:00 Bubble Predictions Ahead
13:56 AI Becoming Alive
16:42 Overlords And Lab Fears
17:58 Love And War Robots
21:09 Drones And Autonomy
25:08 Society Upended Fast
31:00 Utopia Versus Dystopia
35:08 Milestones To Watch
37:02 Closing Thoughts

Find us at www.crisisinvesting.com

Find @michaelyon at https://substack.com/@michaelyon

Michael Yon the "Great Game": Chokepoints, Hydraulic Warfare, and Where Conflict Spreads Next

The host interviews Michael Yon from Japan as he prepares for his baby's imminent birth, briefly discussing Japanese traditions around the kiri (paulownia) tree, then shifts to geopolitics and Yon's view of a global "great game" centered on routes, resources, and information warfare. Yon says the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and argues conflicts are interconnected, predicting flashpoints including the Falklands/Malvinas involving Argentina, possible spillover into Brazil and Uruguay, and wider fighting affecting Europe and the North Sea. He emphasizes hydraulic warfare, describing how dams on the Nile (GERD in Ethiopia), Euphrates (Atatürk Dam), Tigris (Mosul Dam), and China's Three Gorges could be used for famine and destruction. He also discusses Tibet/Nepal flood events, chokepoints like Suez, Gibraltar/Ceuta, Bab-el-Mandeb, Panama, and Malacca, plus language, migration, intoxicants, music, demographic, and economic warfare.

00:00 Morning Intro in Japan

00:32 Baby Due Soon

01:38 Kiri Tree Tradition

04:16 Hormuz and Global War

05:48 South Atlantic Flashpoints

08:15 Nepal Disaster and Tibet

13:24 Hydraulic Warfare Explained

15:13 Egypt and the Nile Dams

29:45 Turkey Iraq and China Dams

34:28 Prayer Wheel Spycraft

36:35 Local Flood Risks and Drought

38:53 Ceuta Flashpoint

39:32 Gibraltar Chokepoint History

41:16 Phosphate Power Politics

41:43 Global Chokepoints Strategy

45:05 Florida And Brazil Predictions

48:22 Ceuta Migrants As Weapon

51:32 Language Warfare Morocco

56:27 Books Burned And Forecasts

59:17 Safe Havens And Zionism

01:02:49 Cults And Empire Origins

01:05:51 Warfare Taxonomy Explained

01:12:36 Corporate Superstructure Wrap

01:15:01 Closing Thanks And Anecdote

Find us at www.crisisinvesting.com

Doug and Matt discuss the Lindsay Clancy case, noting reports of an 11–1 jury split favoring a temporary-insanity outcome and debating punishment versus lifelong institutionalization, deterrence, and an anarcho-capitalist justice model focused on restitution rather than "debt to society." They react to a Gallup poll showing 89% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread and consider implications for institutional trust and social stability. Viewer questions cover backlash to AI data centers (noise, surveillance fears, and a potential trillion-dollar FOMO-driven bubble), hostility to flock cameras, Doug's limited debate history and dislike of formal debates, and the likely futility and escalation risks of "D-Day" secondary sanctions on Iran. They also discuss Roman emperors, war's societal effects and drone casualties in Ukraine, ETF versus individual mining-stock exposure, Argentina and the Falklands amid Milei's moves, race tensions, and a dismissed scenario of Argentina attacking Brazil.

00:00 Case Overview

02:35 Insanity Or Punishment

03:52 Ancap Justice System

07:43 Corruption Poll Shock

10:50 AI Data Center Backlash

16:28 Debate Team Memories

19:31 Iran Sanctions Fallout

27:14 Wine With Emperors

29:19 Trump Personality Critique

29:58 Wars And Male Casualties

31:05 Drone Warfare In Ukraine

32:02 Race And Western Decline

33:28 ETFs Versus Stock Picks

36:42 Falklands And Milei

41:44 NATO And Demographics Debate

44:07 China Brazil Corridor Fears

49:25 Weekend Wrap And Signoff