Russia’s Endgame, The Truth About the War in Ukraine - Nikola Mikovic
Release Date: 10/23/2025
Why America Feels Divided (It’s Not What You Think)
The Daniel Stih Podcast
This episode is the conversation that led to my solo essay and episode, Division Isn’t a Mystery. It’s a System. In this mostly unedited discussion, I’m joined by John Abrons to think through why so many issues in America feel increasingly divided — why common explanations miss what’s actually happening beneath the surface. Rather than debating positions or defending beliefs, the conversation focuses on how polarization forms, how systems reward behaviors, and disagreement gets collapsed into sides and certainty. The discussion is intentionally messy. It reflects real...
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Why America is Divided : Division Isn’t a Mystery — It’s a System
The Daniel Stih Podcast
America feels divided in a way that goes beyond disagreement. Disagreement is normal. What we’re experiencing feels different, urgent, harder to resolve. In this solo episode, Daniel Stih expands on his essay Division Isn’t a Mystery. It’s a System. Rather than arguing issues or taking sides, the episode examines the mechanics and patterns that repeatedly turn different events into polarization. Why division doesn’t require conspiracy or bad actors How extreme events dominate our perceptions and choices The role of algorithms Why reacting strongly narrows, instead of expands,...
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Why Battery Fire Safety on Airplanes Is Backwards
The Daniel Stih Podcast
Lithium battery fires on airplanes are rare. When they happen, they’re dangerous, disruptive, and costly. What’s interesting is how we’ve chosen to deal with that risk. The aviation safety strategy for this focuses on what to do after a device is on fire — containment bags, emergency procedures, and diversion. Those measures work. They’re also fundamentally reactive. In this episode, I offer a clean way to think about the problem — using lithium battery fires as a case study. We’ll examine: What actually causes lithium battery fires (thermal runaway) Why phone and laptop...
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When Style Outpaces Function
The Daniel Stih Podcast
What the iPhone’s latest UI change reveals about a recurring design failure mode A recent iPhone UI update sparked a broader question: what happens when style starts to lead function? I explore why highly stylized interfaces can feel exciting at first—yet introduce subtle friction, reduce clarity, and age poorly under real-world use. This isn’t about taste or Apple. It’s about understanding a recurring design failure mode that shows up across software, products, and systems. Walk away with this question: Does this design choice improve clarity under real-world conditions—or just...
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Why Responsible Borrowers End Up Worse Off
The Daniel Stih Podcast
If you’ve ever looked at credit cards, student loans, or mortgages and thought, “If I pay responsibly, why does this feel harder over time—not easier?” this episode is for you. Modern credit is framed as a tool for stability, education, and homeownership. But in practice, it often turns responsible borrowing into long-term extraction. This episode isn’t a rant about banks or a pitch for free money. It’s to understand a basic contradiction in how credit works. By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with one clear mental model: why modern credit has stopped functioning as...
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Greenland : Why the U.S. Has No Peaceful Way to Compete
The Daniel Stih Podcast
If you’ve ever looked at U.S. strategy toward China, the Arctic, or Greenland and thought, “We say we don’t want war — so why does every serious option still feel like pressure, coercion, or force?” this episode is for you. The United States keeps running into the same contradiction: We say we want to compete without war We say we want to support allies without dominating them We say strategic places like Greenland matter And yet, when you look at the actual tools available, almost everything points in one direction. In this episode, I use Greenland as a test case—not because...
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How Money Is Created & The Federal Reserve - Steve Keen
The Daniel Stih Podcast
Most people think banks lend money. They don’t. They create it. I sit down with economist Steve Keen to explain how money, banking, and the Federal Reserve actually work. Our conversation tackles one of the biggest sources of confusion in economics: where money comes from, what the Federal Reserve was designed to do, and why financial crises keep repeating—even when the tools change. This episode is about mechanics, incentives, and systems. We cover: Where money really comes from Why banks don’t lend existing money How money is created when a loan is approved How this explains...
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Why Venezuela Doesn’t Make Sense (Oil, Gas Prices, and Geopolitics Explained)
The Daniel Stih Podcast
Most explanations about Venezuela fall into two simple stories: • “They removed a bad guy.” • “This will lead to cheaper gas.” Both sound plausible. Neither survive with how oil markets, geopolitics, and incentives work. Examine the mechanics underneath the story: How “bad actor” narratives simplify a complex structural conflict How oil prices are set and why Venezuela’s oil won’t lower gas prices Why strategic alignment, precedent, and rule-setting matter more than bad actor behavior and pump prices This is not a defense of any government or leader, and it does not...
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If the Economy Is Strong, Why Is Everyone Struggling?
The Daniel Stih Podcast
If the economy is “strong,” why does everyday life feel harder than ever? In this episode, I break down the disconnect between official economic indicators like GDP and job numbers, and why prices rise faster than paychecks. Clarity comes first. Solutions come after understanding the problem. Watch on
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From Celebrity Chef to Functional Nutrition: The Organ Meat Solution - James Barry
The Daniel Stih Podcast
Most people believe they’re eating “healthy.” Many are still nutrient deficient. In this episode, I sit down with James Barry, founder of Pluck, a unique all-purpose seasoning made from grass-fed, pasture-raised beef organ meats — liver, kidney, spleen, heart, and pancreas — so you get the nutrition withouthaving to eat organ meat. Why modern diets are often nutritionally incomplete What makes organ meats uniquely powerful Why most people avoid them and how to get the benefits anyway The difference between muscle meat nutrition and organ meat nutrition This is a conversation...
info_outlineWhy is the war in Ukraine still going, and what does Russia really want? I sit down with Nikola Mikovic, a freelance journalist based in Serbia who specializes in the foreign policies of Russia and Ukraine. From Moscow’s motives and Europe’s energy crisis to the quiet influence of China, this conversation reveals what mainstream headlines miss.
- What drives Russia’s foreign policy
- Sanctions and energy
- How China is quietly shaping the war’s outcome
- What it would take to end the conflict
Follow-up: Daniel shares his own peace-based economic solution in a short solo episode — “Daniel’s Solution to End the War.”
Watch, think critically, and join the discussion in the comments below.
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Creator’s Note (updated):
After recording, I read a piece in today’s newspaper: Silicon Valley ‘Warlord’ Gets Pentagon’s attention.” It reinforces one of the points we talked about - the only winners in this war are the United States and China. (The US benefiting from arms sales; China from selling cheap energy to Russia due to sanctions). In the article, Steven Simoni, co-founder of Allen Control Systems that makes an AI-powered, autonomous machine gun says, “I hate war, but war is always going to happen. Someone’s going to make this product at some point.”
Wow! That’s the best solution a Silicon Valley startup CEO can come up with for stopping the war? It’s likely the more profitable one. Either these “smart” guys are not as smart as we give them credit or they are just plain greedy. The company raised $40 million in finding recently in a round led by Craft Ventures, the firm co-founded by President Trump’s AI czar David Sack.
Under the hood, the circuit board has a printed image of him and co-founder Simoni. Co-founder Like Allen said. “If Russia or China recovered one of these they will have to see our faces.” I think they forget that China reverse engineers products, makes them cheaper to manufacture, more affordable and available to anyone who wants one.
Allen said, “As an engineer, you can basically help the good guys, help the bad guys, or do nothing.”
I’m sure these guys have good intentions. They just lack critical thinking - what happens when you put profit before trying to find an honest and effective solution. He made the assumption there are only two choices. There are always additional ones. These guys have’t considered the real reasons for the war, and how they might use their influence and prestige as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and their invitations to private parties at the White House, to encourage the White House to initiate an alternative solution to ending this war, as suggested with my guest on this episode.
Curious what you think — does this change how you see the issue?
Thank you for listening. Please leave a comment.