Niccolo on Patrick Casey's Restoring Order: Syria and the Fall of the Assad Regime

Plus: I Hold the Microphone Like a Grudge!

Two weeks ago, I recorded an episode for

Patrick Casey

’s Restoring Order show. Here’s the summary of what we discussed taken straight from his site:

In the first half, I begin by asking Niccolo what the hell transpired over the last week in Syria. We discuss Abu Mohammad al-Julani and the relationship between HTS and Iran. I ask Niccolo if Russia and Iran could have done more for Assad. We then get into who benefitted from Assad’s downfall – and who didn’t. We also discuss Niccolo’s Turbo America concept.

In the second half of the show (link in bio and reply), we shift gears to talk about the the problem with wishcasting. I then play devil's advocate, offering a counterpoint to Niccolo's Turbo America idea. He explains why America is unlikely to attempt something like the Iraq War (and subsequent attempt at nation-building) again. We also cover China and Israel.

The episode is a little over an hour long and you can listen to the first 35 minutes for free here:

The Assad Regime Falls ft. Niccolo Soldo

Readers here often request access to full episodes for free, but that is almost always difficult to pull off. I’ll ask Pat to see if we can do something about this one.

Note: I need one more day to complete the essay on the collapse of the Syrian Government. Little kids running around do not make for the most conducive of work environments. I will do my best to get it out sooner rather than later tomorrow as it will be Christmas Eve.

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As Rakim rapped: I hold the microphone like a grudge!

I recently purchased this new piece of equipment because I want to experiment with audio for this Substack. My first foray will be to do short, solo episodes that will be historical vignettes. I am planning on recording around 5 episodes on obscurish historical subjects that will aim to be no longer than 20 minutes in length. I have wanted to do this for some time, but wasn’t sure exactly how I should approach it. I sort of have it figured out in my mind, but it’s in the doing that we learn what works and what doesn’t.

I have been playing around with some audio editing software as well. Expect a first episode to be posted in a few days (I already have the subject material). Some of you may like it, some of you may not. This experiment might fail or it might succeed. Time will tell. My focus on the audio side will be on this approach, so do not expect interviews or discussions about news and current events (at least for now), as the market is already saturated.

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Provided that I don’t fall ill over the next few days (I have a habit of doing this during Christmas Week), I will be publishing the next few entries in the Spanish Civil War series, believe it or not!