Pakistan: a kingmaker, or a pawn in the Gulf...or both?!

The Bishnoi Gang is quietly squeezing Canada

In this episode, Dave and Gav look at the rise of the irrepressible Bishnoi Gang and what it says about the continuing evolution of transnational crime. They trace how a gang rooted in northern India developed reach far beyond its home turf, and connect that story to scandals surrounding Cricket Canada, where allegations of corruption and questionable leadership have cast a dark shadow over the sport. The result is an episode about the depressing ease with which institutions can be bent to serve interests they were never meant to protect and harm those they are intended to represent. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to share, subscribe, and leave us a comment. We always appreciate the support from our growing On the Fringe community. Thank you, as always for listening to On the Fringe. We sincerely appreciate it! All the best from both of us, Dave and Gav This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Why you should be paying attention to the Sudanese Civil War

This short episode follows up on part 1: We’re living in the age of the Terminator [https://substack.com/@onthefringe1/note/p-201697539?r=52ogc9&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web] In recent weeks, autonomous drones flown by the Sudanese Armed Forces (and likely the Ethiopians) went head-to-head, marking the first record event of two autonomous weapons facing off. Both drones came from the same manufacturer, Bayraktar, a Turkish defense company. Could this be a sign of how future wars are fought? One supplier sourcing material to two opposing sides, or autonomous weapons leading combat operations? Listen in and find out! If you enjoyed the episode, shoot us a message, like, comment, and share the podcast. We sincerely appreciate it! All the best from both of us On the Fringe, Dave and Gavin This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

We're living in the age of the Terminator

Will algorithms be better decision makers than humans when it REALLY counts? Some countries are betting on it, while others are taking baby steps. We’ve got a short episode about what autonomous weapons are, what they do, and why they could be consequential to the future of war and humanity, much like other parts of the AI boom that we are living in. Please do us a favor and share or drop a comment. We love hearing from our audience! All the best from both of us On the Fringe, Dave and Gav This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The Counterfeit by Dr. Ralph DeFalco

In this episode, Dave and Gav sit down with Dr. Ralph DeFalco, author of The Counterfeit, to talk about Chinese influence campaigns, economic coercion, and the blurry line between fiction and forecasting in the intelligence world. Dr. DeFalco is a U.S. national security operative with more than fifty years of experience. Their conversation explores how speculative fiction can function almost like strategic modeling, where imagined crises have a habit of becoming uncomfortably plausible a few years later. Dr. DeFalco talks about plotting a novel as a labour of love and how he drew from history to create a believable and authentic environment. On the Fringe also taps into how influence actually works in practice and why democracies continue to struggle to respond to slow-moving forms of pressure. One thing I (Dave) forgot to mention in the interview is that I felt the book shines a light into Chinese society under the CCP, specifically about how the Chinese Communist Party secures the Chinese state, how Chinese intelligence operations are conducted, and how information is tightly controlled in China behind the great firewall. If you’re hooked, here’s a link to bookshop.org to purchase the book. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-counterfeit/0fce8c4d1d587850?ean=9781935448563&next=t](we make ZERO commission) As always, thanks as always for joining us On the Fringe and don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and share. All the best from both of us, Gav and Dave If you enjoyed it, share it. We TRULY appreciate it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

He said blockchain would revolutionize the world..and it revolutionized his

A former Google software Engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, got arrested and charged by the Feds in New York for wire fraud, insider trading, and a laundry list of financial crimes for using his position as a software engineer at Google to make crooked bets on Polymarket. The boys dive into the ongoing legal saga surrounding prediction markets and financial regulations in the United States, and make a long-term bet that this is still going to all wind up in the Supreme Court. But ol’ Michele’s going to jail. What’s your take on the future of prediction markets? Will they be state, or federally regulated? If you enjoyed the episode, restack, share it, and let us know. We sincerely appreciate it! All the best from both of us On the Fringe, Dave and Gav This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://onthefringepodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]