Geopolitics and Security
International affairs, wars, militaries, intelligence, and diplomacy, including Israel's wars and external security.
#6071: Outside the English Bubble: Where to Find Dubbed Asian Documentaries
There's no Netflix for dubbed world documentaries. But AI dubbing on Bilibili and YouTube is about to unlock the part of a country that talks to itself.
#6068: Chinese AI Models: Refusing vs. Reframing
New studies show Chinese AI models have shifted from refusing sensitive questions to answering them — in the Party's voice.
#6066: Israel Votes, Part 2: What the Parties Stand For
Most Israeli parties haven't published a platform in years. Here's what they actually say they'll do — and where they stay silent.
Also available in:עברית
#6064: Israel Votes, Part 1: Who Is Actually Running
Thirty-eight lists, a first on-time election since 1988, and a ballot full of parties that didn't exist eighteen months ago. Here's the map.
Also available in:עברית
#6062: Who Actually Shapes Chinese AI Thinking?
Beyond the lab CEOs: the researchers and ideas defining how China builds — and argues about — artificial intelligence.
Also available in:中文
#6041: How CENO Moves a Web Page Into a Censored Country
A walk through CENO's actual plumbing: signed caches, volunteer bridges, and why the chain is deliberately short.
#6039: Who's Actually Building Frontier AI Outside the US and China?
Mistral sits 20 points off the frontier. Korea runs a bake-off. The UAE open-sources everything. What's actually driving sovereign AI?
#5980: 95% of Intelligence Comes From Open Sources
Dead drops, illegals, and the Cambridge Five — do spy agencies share one discipline, or does each have a fingerprint?
#5953: How Militaries Decide What to Buy
Twelve Apaches, a billion shekels, and a question nobody answered: where do weapons requirements actually come from?
#5952: Inside Malmab: Israel's Most Secretive Security Body
Israel's classified defense security body and what its extreme information practices teach about protecting secrets.
#5923: Plus Codes: Free Addressing Nobody Uses
A free, offline, 14-metre addressing system exists — so why do ambulances still can't find the house?
#5906: Running a Company Like a Spy Agency
What if an ordinary company ran on intelligence-style need-to-know? Oak Ridge and a 1977 CIA self-audit already ran the experiment.
#5893: Command Centers That Drive: From Transit Vans to 32-Ton Trucks
How do you fit a headquarters into a truck? We trace mobile command centers from a 23-foot Transit van to FEMA's HEMP-hardened fleet.
#5872: When Citizen Engagement Becomes Paperwork Theater
Four names for the same thing: when cities consult residents to produce receipts, not change. A look at participation-washing.
#5860: Who Can Actually Train an LLM From Scratch?
Only a handful of organizations can truly train a model from random weights. Here's why nobody can count them.
#5852: What "Free of Ordnance" Actually Means
A medal suggests the job is done. In Gaza, the clearance hasn't even been permitted to start.
#5841: What's Actually Inside a Secure Line?
What makes a secure line secure — and why the call was never the vulnerable part.
#5838: What Customs Officers Actually Read at the Booth
Two spouses, one passport line, two completely different rooms — and a 1980 study that upends what officers think they see.
#5832: When Your GPS Is Lying: Aviation's Spoofing Problem
GPS spoofing is feeding pilots fake positions — and the panel stays green. How crews detect it, and why the airport stand sign can't save you.
#5791: How to Become an Honorary Consul for a Tiny Nation
A retired consultant in Wales represents Kiribati from his house. Can you engineer that on purpose? The playbook, the vetoes, and the plaque.