In Episode 396 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Christine Rosen about her book, “Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World,” which explores the cultural and emotional shifts that accompany our embrace of technology and its effects on our experience of life as embodied human beings.

Christine is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on American history, society and culture, and technology and human behavior. Rosen is also a monthly columnist for Commentary Magazine, one of the cohosts of the popular Commentary Podcast.

Demetri and Christine spend the first hour of their conversation focused on the philosophical and moral questions that arise from our unreserved embrace of virtual realities and mediated experiences. They explore questions about the nature of reality, how embodiment shapes experience, and whether the virtualization of our lives is the natural progression of our interplay with technology or if it represents something fundamentally different and profoundly immoral about the world we are building.

In the second hour, Kofinas and Rosen discuss the effect that these technologies and the logic that animates them have on our sense of self, agency, and freedom. They explore how time spent inside virtual spaces hosted on large tech platforms may be contributing to the rising levels of depression, anxiety, antisociality, and other mental and personality disorders that we may or may not recognize in each other and in ourselves. They also discuss what can and should be done, both at an individual and societal level, to begin to address the problem.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 12/17/2024

In Episode 395 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Zach Abraham and Chase Taylor about the recent revision in the Fed’s summary of economic projections, the investment opportunities in Latin America, the economic effects of the war in Syria, the state of the outgoing Biden administration, and the economic prospects associated with a second and more invigorated Trump administration in 2025.

They spend the first hour discussing how Fed policy, demographics, and systematic passive flows continue to drive mean reversion in equity markets and whether the most recent drawdown is yet another opportunity to buy-the-dip or if the downside risk to investors is beginning to outweigh the fear of missing out on the next rally.

In the second hour, Demetri, Zach, and Chase discuss the political and economic experiment being undertaken by Javier Milei’s administration in Argentina, whether the country is becoming investable again, how it may serve as a role model for neighboring countries in Latin America, and how Chase and Zach are approaching this potentially enormous investment opportunity.

You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.

If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.

If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed

Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/

Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod

Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas

Episode Recorded on 12/20/2024

In Episode 394 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical analyst and forecaster Kamran Bokhari about the fall of Damascus and the implications of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in Syria for the balance of power in the Middle East.

Kamran last came on the podcast a year ago to discuss the violence ignited by Hamas’ October 7th attacks, the nature and scope of Iranian involvement, and how various regional actors, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, and Hezbollah were exploiting the growing disorder for their own advantage as the Biden administration struggled to stabilize a region that was on the verge of another major war.

That war has seemingly come and gone, leaving Iran’s influence network along the Shia crescent from Damascus to Beirut, along with its proxies and affiliates in utter devastation or full-on retreat. Assad’s departure and the fall of his regime in Syria are the equivalent of a geopolitical earthquake and are already dramatically changing the balance of power in the Middle East.

Kamran and Demetri spend the first hour of this episode recapping these recent events, enumerating the key players who expect a seat at the table for any negotiation over Syria’s future, why the center of gravity in the Sunni Muslim world is shifting from Riyadh to Ankara, and what all of this means for Iran and the strategic vision that has guided the Islamic revolution since 1979.

In the second hour, Kofinas and Bokhari go one by one through every major country that will be materially affected by the outcome in Syria. They discuss the consequences and opportunities for Turkey, the new threats and challenges posed to Israel, what this new reality means for the Saudis, the interests of the United States and Russia, and why el-Sisi's regime in Egypt may be the next major Arab government to come under pressure in the years to come.

You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.

If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.

If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed

Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/

Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

Subscribe and Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod

Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas

Episode Recorded on 12/09/2024