Anna Sundberg | Wife Of A Jihadist... Radicalisation To Atheism In Extremist Islam

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Curious Worldview Podcast - #169 w/ Jon Lee Anderson On Apple
Curious Worldview Podcast - #169 w/ Jon Lee Anderson On Spotify

https://atlasgeographica.com/jon-lee-anderson/

I once responded to a question in a grant application that the people I admired most were great adventurers, great writers and great journalists… the kicker naturally being, that the best was a combination of all three!

Well, in Jon Lee Anderson we have an exemplar for all three of those labels.

Listens past 10 minutes and you will see the adventurer, listen to the details of how he put together Che’s biography and you will understand the journalist but then to top it all off, read anything Jon Lee’s written and you will understand the great writer. 

This was a mighty moment for the podcast. I managed to hide my nerves behind a facade of professionalism… but Jon and I ended up spending more than 4 hours together as we inhabited a closed, cold, empty drinkers club on a January London morning. 

Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker Staff Writer

Che: A Revolutionary Life

• 00:00 – Who Is Jon Lee Anderson
• 02:20 – On The Same Stage Julian Assange Launched Wikileaks.
• 05:50 – 13 Year Old Runaway Vagabond In East Africa.
• 22:15 – Is Risk Necessary For It To Be An Adventure?
• 26:03 – Discovering A Part Of The World For The First Time.
• 32:44 – Serendipity & Jon Lee On Religion & Evil.
• 40:20 – First Bi-Line At The Lima Times.
• 47:37 – Jon Lee Reflects On His Upbringing & How He Thinks About Being A Father.
• 53:54 – Che Guevara.
• 1:24:00 – There’s No More Revolutionaries, Only Narcos…
• 1:32:45 – Haiti.
• 1:35:48 – What Does Jon Lee Admire Most & Least About Che Guevara?
• 1:45:48 – What Doors Do The New Yorker Open?
• 1:46:47 – Christopher Hitchens.
• 1:51:50 – Next Generation Of Journalists & Media Landscape They Inherit.
• 1:58:07 – Jon Lee Anderson Autobiography.
• 2:00:24 – Country Jon Lee Is Bullish On.

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Journalist Starter Pack – All Journalists Who Have Appeared On The Podcast
• Explorers Starter Pack – All Explorers Who Have Appeared On The Podcast
• David Grann – Lost City Of Z, New Yorker

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Curious Worldview Podcast - #168 w/ Patrick Watts On Apple
Curious Worldview Podcast - #168 w/ Patrick Watts On Spotify

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https://atlasgeographica.com/patrick-watts/

The following is with Patrick Watts who is one hell of an interesting fella, this was a really fun episode to record!

The podcast is about the themes from his debut book, The End Of The American Empire. 

The End Of The American Empire – UK Amazon

The End Of The American Empire – US Amazon

It’s just come out in US and UK markets, so don’t hesitate a second to go and get it. Amazon link is in the description… this is a self published book from Patrick, so my hope is that the curious worldview audience will really make a difference in moving the needle here.

• 00:00 – Who Is Patrick Watts
• 01:23 – US Politics (Biden, Culture & Trump)
• 11:23 – Theory Of Rhetoric
• 13:49 – Patrick Watts… Self Confessed Americanophile
• 17:54 – Distinction Between An Empire & State
• 21:33 – Behind The Scenes Self Publishing
• 47:58 – John Perkins & Confessions Of An Economic Hitman
• 54:25 – Why Empires Have Fallen Throughout History
• 1:16:49 – 50% Of Pregnancies In The US Are Unplanned
• 1:19:13 – US Is The Most Mediciated Citizenry On Earth
• 1:20:13 – What Does A Collapse Of The American Empire Look Like?
• 1:33:30 – Serendipity In Patrick’s Life
• 1:45:35 – Favourite Fictional Character & Country Particularly Bullish On

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Geopolitics Starter Pack
• John Perkins & Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

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Curious Worldview Podcast - #167 w/ Bill Browder On Apple
Curious Worldview Podcast - #167 w/ Bill Browder On Spotify

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Bill Browder is back for his #2 appearance on the pod!

This was recorded in his London offices, and builds upon the themes from our first conversation.

Bill discusses the very real threat of assassination by both Putin and China. He lays out his Rouges Gallery of both nations and individuals and offers what is a rather desolate and grim picture of the Russian culture and economy.

Bill Browder is the author of Red Notice & Freezing Order.

Red Notice is one of my favourite autobiographies. It is an incredible story from how Bill went from the descendent of one of America’s most famous communists to becoming one of the most famous capitalists in Russia. At Hermitage Capital’s peak (Bill’s investment firm) he was the largest source of Western Capital in Post-Soviet Russia… his experiences around the voucher system alone make the book a must read. Or podcast a must listen ;)

• 00:00 - Safety & Threat Of Assassination
• 08:00 - Long Term Impact On Russian Culture
• 17:22 - Current State Of The Russian Economy?
• 21:46 - The Global Magnitzky Act
• 26:46 - Bill Browder's Rouges Gallery & Anti Rouges Gallery

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Jim Henry – Blood Bankers
• Desmond Shum - Red Roulette
• John Perkins – Confessions Of An Economic Hitman
• Nic Shaxson – The Tools Of The Offshore Accountant
• Bradley Hope – Jho Low & 1MDB Financial Fraud
• Nathan Lynch – Money Laundering In Australia
• Oliver Bullough – Moneyland
• Podcast Starter Pack – Offshore Finance

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Curious Worldview Podcast - #135 w/ Anna Sundberg On Apple
Curious Worldview Podcast - #135 w/ Anna Sundberg On Spotify

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Anna Sundberg co-authored a book of memoirs titled ‘My Beloved Terrorist’.

This book is an incredible and rare story of how a young woman from Halmstad, who is otherwise your ABBA stereotype of a blonde swede with blue eyes, became radicalised in Islam and ultimately married the jihadist terrorist leader, Said Arif, who was captured by the Syrian secret police and had included in his network, the likes of Osama Bin Laden. 

This is the first time she’s ever told this story in english and following the central timeline of her experiences she answers questions about why Islam was even compelling at all the first place, secular Sweden, how steeply and quickly one can become radicalised, a day in the life of a jihadist wife, living in Chechnya, Syria, Berlin, being an extremist muslim in all these places and Sweden, re-entry into Sweden, De-Radicalisation, culture and more.

• 00:00 – Who Is Anna Sundberg
• 01:42 – Formative Experiences & Sweden Back In The Day
• 10:42 – Becoming Radicalised
• 22:47 – Feelings Of Regret & Wanting To Escape
• 25:59 – Back To The Timeline & Extremely Conservative Islam
• 1:00:38 – Taking A Break
• 1:01:01 – Discovering Your Husband Was A Terrorist
• 1:11:07 – Day In The Life Of A Jihadist Wife – Leading Up To 9/11 – Moving To Syria
• 1:53:57 – Leaving Islam, Back In Sweden – Losing Faith
• 2:14:26 – Re-Entry Into Sweden & De-Radicalisation
• 2:40:25 – Discussing Swedish Culture & Whether Anyone Can Become Radicalised

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/anna-sundberg/

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Diamant Salihu
• Martin Schibbye

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Curious Worldview Podcast - #158 w/ Magnus Ranstorp On Apple
Curious Worldview Podcast - #158 w/ Magnus Ranstorp On Spotify

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Magnus Ranstorp is a Swedish academic, hostage negotiator, teacher and author who has been researching and writing about terrorism for more than 30 years.

He is an encyclopaedia on modern terrorism and political violence. He was also the first author to seriously map out the Lebanese Hezbollah and its connection to Iran, Syria and international terrorism.

And so, the insights and experience Magnus brings to the current moment are extremely valuable. 

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Magnus Ranstorp Memoirs

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🎙️: A Curious Worldview Podcast - https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/1485736

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Marlene Laruelle is a Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University in Washington DC. 

She is an expert on the culture and anthropology of Russia and many of the Stan central asian countries. She’s written 10 books on these subjects and was just the most incredible guest to have had on the show.

The podcast starts in Kyrgyzstan and then moves onto religion and what Marlene thinks is a global wave of de-secularisation… we then move up into Murmansk and the frozen tundra cities of Siberia’s north to then Marlene’s thoughts on Russian demographics and finally she lays out the current state of affairs in the Russian-Ukraine war. 

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• https://marlene-laruelle.com/
• https://www.illiberalism.org/
• https://therussiaprogram.org/

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🎙️: A Curious Worldview Podcast - https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/1485736

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🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/heidi-blake/

New Yorker Article - Great Carbon-For-Cash Hustle

Heidi Blake is a writer at the New Yorker, author of two books, and recently wrote the most amazing magazine piece about the carbon offsetting market and some of the greenwashing schemes at its core. 

In this podcast we cover top to bottom Heidi’s story in the New Yorker, details about the characters involved, greenwashing, offshore finance, south pole, and the huge potential but also gaping flaws of carbon offsetting. 

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:10 – Carbon Trading Schemes & How Incentives Lead To Greenwashing
• 10:12 – South Pole & Heuberger (Business At The Core Of The Story)
• 23:57 – What Is The Global South?
• 25:37 – Kariba Project (Archetypal Story For How This Works)
• 30:10 – How Much Corporate Dollar Is Spent On These Schemes?
• 35:10 – There May To Much Complexity To Ever Overcome?

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Duncan Mavin – Lex Greensill Scandal
• Oliver Bullough – Moneyland

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🎙️: A Curious Worldview Podcast - https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/1485736

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🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/matthew-friedman/

This is a podcast about human trafficking and modern slavery.

The guest is Matthew Friedman, and he is the CEO of the Mekong Club, which is an organisation that mobilises the private sector to take action against human trafficking and modern slavery.

In this conversation, Matthew reveals unsettling story after unsettling story of human trafficking, modern slavery and scams. And in and among it all, he explains how it could be possible that today there are more slaves than has ever been before.

Time Stamps For Matthew Friedman

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 01:32 - Horrific Story From Nepal/India
• 05:25 - UN Versus NGO's Versus Private Sector
• 11:19 - There Is More Slavery Today Than There Ever Has Been
• 15:40 - What Does Matthew Do To Stop Resentment?
• 20:25 - How Are Slavery Statistics Collected?
• 22:30 - How Does Rising Middle Class In Developing Economies Affect These Numbers?
• 28:50 - Pig Butchering & Harmcore
• 38:56 - Coming Face To Face With The Criminals
• 46:50 - The Role Of Offshore Finance & Money Laundering
• 52:40 - The Geography Of All Of This
• 1:00:10 - Red Light District In Amsterdam & 'Taken' & Jeffrey Epstein
• 1:11:30 - Africa
• 1:14:20 - China & Specific Example Of Manufacturers Exploiting Slavery & Greenwashing
• 1:29:30 - Role Of Serendipity In Matthew Friedman's Life & Bullish Country & Conversation Between 2 People

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Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• Investigative Journalism Starter Pack
• Martin Schibbye - Cards Of Qatar

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• David De Jong Twitter

🎙️: A Curious Worldview Podcast - https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/1485736

The following is with David De Jong who is the Middle East Correspondent for the Dutch Newspaper, FD. He lives in Israel, and has been reporting from the ground since the early hours of October 7th.

Some of you may recognise him from an earlier appearance he made on this podcast, talking about his book Nazi Billionaires, but for this episode we exclusively talk about David’s first hand experience over the last 2 and a half weeks, which includes the horror of being among the first reporters on the ground to some of the sites hit worst from October 7th through to disinformation and how to think about the media coverage of this conflict so far. 

00:00 – Introduction
01:09 – Recalling The First Few Days First Hand Experience
18:24 – Sentiment Changes Among Israelis
28:38 – ‘It’s Getting Harder For Jewish & Arab Israeli’s To Live Together’
34:00 – How Do You Get Reliable Reporting From Gaza?
36:48 – Social Stigma Among Israelis
40:54 – Dissecting The Media Coverage

Curious Things Mentioned During The Episode

• David De Jong Twitter
• Curious Worldview Newsletter
• David De Jong Nazi Billionaires

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🎙️: A Curious Worldview Podcast - https://curiousworldview.buzzsprout.com/1485736

After climbing the peak of China's Elite, Desmond Shum had to flee his country of birth out of fear of being disappeared.
 
He was on the inside of the political apparatus along with his former wife, a multi billionaire who would later go on to be disappeared, and together, but in the years before they built their empire of the backs of being cosy with the most powerful elites right up the tippy top of the CCP mountains-cape. 

These relationships coupled with an incredible ambition and nouse for business led Desmond to multiple business deals that were not only extremely lucrative, but also interesting as a case study into the tide lifting all boats phenomenon that was a booming china ins the early 2000’s.

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 05:13 - Dealing With Abuse & The Chinese Caste System
• 16:39 - Status, Vanity, Social Awareness & How Desmond Used It To His Advantage
• 31:13 - Navigating China's Politics & Attention To Detail
• 37:19 - Corruption & Guanxi
• 49:13 - Desmond's Lifestyle When He Was At The Top
• 53:48 - Dynastic Wealth & Desmond's Relationship With Whitney & His Son
• 58:58 - Whitney's Disappearance
• 1:04:13 - Whitney's Elite Guanxi
• 1:12:18 - Desmonds Biggest Deals & The Tide That Lifts All Boats
• 1:26:13 - Whitney's Disappearance
• 1:29:28 - How Rich Chinese Hide Their Money  
• 1:38:03 - Does Desmond Still Feared Being Disappeared?
• 1:39:23 - Fallout After Publishing Book & Discussing Jack Ma
• 1:45:43 - China's Future
• 1:47:23 - 'I Signed My Life Away When I Decided To Publish The Book'

🎙️: https://atlasgeographica.com/desmond-shum/

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