Punching Upwards

PU 36: Dire Straits of Hormuz

The Straits of Hormuz are closed, blocking about 20% of oil shipments from reaching the global economy. But what does closed actually mean? Punching Upwards, Episode 36 for 17 May 2026 Topics: Politics [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/politics]/ War in Iran [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/war-in-iran] 🦉 No AI Content [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/no-ai-content] 📢 Podcast RSS Feed [https://fab.industries/podcast.rss] Routes through the Straits of Hormuz according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Routes through the Straits of Hormuz according to the BBC (BBC) Credits Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Fadi Mansour, Bennet Piater, Eric and Sir Galteran for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it! See Also * Punching Upwards 30: Aviation and the War in Iran [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-30-aviation-and-the-war-in-iran] * Punching Upwards 26: Trump Falls Into the Smart Bomb Trap [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-26-trump-falls-into-the-smart] Sources * Confusion in the Strait of Hormuz [https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/m002vx3l], BBC World at One, 4 May 2026 * Tensions flare near Strait of Hormuz as one ship is seized and another is sunk [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/tensions-flare-near-strait-of-hormuz-as-one-ship-is-seized-and-another-is-sunk], PBS News, 15 May 2026 * Trump pauses Hormuz plan 50 hours after he announced it - what happened? [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6p5q2dx1po], The BBC, 6 May 2026 * Two India-bound LPG carriers exit Hormuz as BRICS gathers in New Delhi [https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1157184/Two-India-bound-LPG-carriers-exit-Hormuz-as-BRICS-gathers-in-New-Delhi], Lloyd’s List, 15 May 2026 * Report: Vessel Captured off Fujairah is a Floating Armory [https://maritime-executive.com/article/report-vessel-captured-off-fujairah-is-a-floating-armory], The Maritime Executive, 14 May 2026 * Chinese oil tanker exits Strait of Hormuz, heads for Zhoushan, data shows [https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinese-supertanker-attempts-hormuz-passage-data-show-2026-05-13/], Reuters, 13 May 2026 * Russian superyacht sails through Strait of Hormuz despite blockade [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2pn8zdxdjo], The BBC, 28 April 2026 * Tui Cruises says two of its ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/tui-cruises-says-two-ships-passed-strait-hormuz-2026-04-19/], Reuters, 19 April 2026 * Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz [https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/12/politics/hormuz-trump-administration-underestimated-iran], CNN, 13 March 2026 * Iran begins laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, sources say [https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/10/politics/iran-begins-laying-mines-in-strait-of-hormuz], CNN, 10 March 2026 * Report: Two Types of Iranian Mines Detected in Strait of Hormuz [https://maritime-executive.com/article/report-floating-and-bottom-mines-detected-in-strait-of-hormuz], The Maritime Executive, 23 March 2026 * Maham 3 Seamine [https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/naval-devices/maham-3-seamine], Collective Awareness to UXO, undated * Maham 7 Limpet Mine [https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/naval-devices/maham-7-limpet-mine], Collective Awareness to UXO, undated * The Strait of Hormuz in 8 Charts [https://www.csis.org/analysis/strait-hormuz-8-charts], Center for Strategic & International Studies, 22 April 2026 * There’s another big reason why shipping companies and insurers aren’t willing to risk the Strait of Hormuz [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/09/one-big-reason-ships-and-insurers-are-unwilling-to-risk-strait-of-hormuz.html], CNBC, 9 March 2026 * Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz over EU oil sanctions [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9032948/Iran-threatens-to-close-Strait-of-Hormuz-over-EU-oil-sanctions.html], The Telegraph, 23 January 2012 * West displays Gulf military power to defiant Iran [https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/west-displays-gulf-military-power-to-defiant-iran/], The Seattle Times, 25 January 2012 The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast [https://fab.industries/podcast] — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

PU 35: The Horror of Computerised War

How the Pentagon switched decision making from humans to machines. And what it means for the future that computers now decide who lives and dies. Punching Upwards, Episode 35 for 10 May 2026 Topics: Politics [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/politics]/ War in Iran [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/war-in-iran] 🦉 No AI Content [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/no-ai-content] 📢 Podcast RSS Feed [https://fab.industries/podcast.rss] Credits Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Fadi Mansour, Bennet Piater, Eric and Sir Galteran for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it! See Also * Punching Upwards 34: Scam Altman [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-34-scam-altman] * Punching Upwards 27: LLMs Are a Dead-End [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-27-llms-are-a-dead-end] * Punching Upwards 26: Trump Falls Into the Smart Bomb Trap [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-26-trump-falls-into-the-smart] * Punching Upwards 24: The ELIZA Effect [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-24-the-eliza-effect] Sources * Multi-Domain AI: The Future of Command and Control (CDAO at AIPCon 9) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrtDgoqWmgM], Palantir, 13 March 2026 * New analysis of deadly girls’ school strike in Iran [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGcGhNRIu4], LiveNow from Fox, 11 March 2026 * Speeding Up the “Kill Chain”: Pentagon Bombs Thousands of Targets in Iran Using Palantir AI [https://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/18/ai_warfare], Democracy Now!, 18 March 2026 * Star Trek (The Original Series), Season 1, Episode 23: A Taste of Armageddon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Taste_of_Armageddon], Wikipedia * AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/26/ai-got-the-blame-for-the-iran-school-bombing-the-truth-is-far-more-worrying], 26 March 2026 * The AI War on Iran: Project Maven, a Secretive Palantir-Run System, Helps Pentagon Pick Bomb Targets [https://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/31/project_maven_manson_bloomberg_ai_warfare], Democracy Now!, 31 March 2026 * Old intelligence and AI? Behind the deadly attack on an Iranian girls’ school that left 175 dead [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/iran-school-attack-ai-investigation-b2937456.html], The Independent, 12 March 2026 * Deadly strike on Iranian primary school raises questions about AI, accountability [https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346519/deadly-strike-iranian-primary-school-raises-questions-about-ai-accountability], South China Morning Post, 13 March 2026 * The Algorithm of War: How Palantir and Anthropic Became Co-Belligerents in America’s Iran Campaign [https://medium.com/@azha.khan.6/the-algorithm-of-war-how-palantir-and-anthropic-became-co-belligerents-in-americas-iran-campaign-c4e211fa6f37], Hilal Ahmad Khan, 12 March 2026 * The Alignment Paradox: Claude AI and the Minab School Strike [https://www.reddit.com/r/Anthropic/comments/1rnsne2/the_alignment_paradox_claude_ai_and_the_minab/], Reddit, 8 March 2026 * Report: Palantir took over Project Maven, the military AI program too unethical for Google [https://thenextweb.com/news/report-palantir-took-over-project-maven-the-military-ai-program-too-unethical-for-google], The Next Web, 11 December 2019 * Project Maven to Deploy Computer Algorithms to War Zone by Year’s End [https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/1254719/project-maven-to-deploy-computer-algorithms-to-war-zone-by-years-end/], U.S. Department of War, 21 July 2017 * Palantir Expands Maven Smart System AI/ML Capabilities to Military Services [https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240920746094/en/Palantir-Expands-Maven-Smart-System-AIML-Capabilities-to-Military-Services], Palantir press release via Business Wire, 20 September 2024 * Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence: Meet the Gods of AI Warfare [https://www.wired.com/story/project-maven-katrina-manson-book-excerpt/], Wired, 23 March 2026 * The AI Doomsday Machine Is Closer to Reality Than You Think [https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/02/pentagon-ai-nuclear-war-00496884], Politico, 2 September 2025 * “God, It’s Terrifying”: How the Pentagon Got Hooked on AI War Machines [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-12/iran-war-tests-project-maven-us-ai-war-strategy], Bloomberg Businessweek, 12 March 2026 * The Evolution of Time Sensitive Targeting: Operation Iraqi Freedom Results and Lessons [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA476994.pdf], John M. Fyfe, Airpower Research Institute, February 2005 The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast [https://fab.industries/podcast] — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

PU 34: Scam Altman

A deep dive on investigative journalist Ronan Farrow’s profile of Sam Altman’s leadership at OpenAI. The piece lays bare many of the enduring issues that make Silicon Valley so problematic. Punching Upwards, Episode 34 for 3 May 2026 Topics: Technology [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/technology]/ Artificial Intelligence [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/artificial-intelligence] 🦉 No AI Content [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/no-ai-content] 📢 Podcast RSS Feed [https://fab.industries/podcast.rss] Credits Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Fadi Mansour, Bennet Piater, Eric and Sir Galteran for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it! See Also * Punching Upwards 27: LLMs Are a Dead-End [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-27-llms-are-a-dead-end] * Punching Upwards 24: The ELIZA Effect [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-24-the-eliza-effect] * Punching Upwards 22: Moltbook Madness [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-22-moltbook-madness] * Punching Upwards 15: State Secret or Vibe Physics? [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-15-state-secret-or-vibe-physics] * Punching Upwards 8: Robotics Slop [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-8-robotics-slop] Sources * Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted], The New Yorker, 6 April 2026 * The New Yorker investigates Sam Altman’s alleged deceptions at OpenAI [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uf_eDlf7h8E], CNN, 7 April 2026 * OpenAI CTO Mira Murati says she’s leaving firm to do her “own exploration” [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/25/openai-cto-mira-murati-resigns], The Guardian, 25 September 2024 * “Unconstrained by truth”: Sam Altman profile casts doubt on his trustworthiness [https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/sam-altman-new-yorker-profile/], News Nation, 6 April 2026 The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast [https://fab.industries/podcast] — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

PU 33: The Stop Nick Shirley Act

YouTuber Nick Shirley says California’s proposed AB2624 law was made to stop him and other independent journalists from reporting on fraud. How much of that is true? Punching Upwards, Episode 33 for 26 April 2026 Topics: Politics [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/politics] / Free Speech [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/free-speech] 🦉 No AI Content [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/no-ai-content] 📢 Podcast RSS Feed [https://fab.industries/podcast.rss] Credits Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Fadi Mansour, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Bennet Piater and Sir Galteran for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it! See Also * Punching Upwards 23: The Minnesota Welfare Fraud Scandal [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-23-the-minnesota-welfare-fraud] * Punching Upwards 21: The Death of Alex Pretti [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-21-the-death-of-alex-pretti] * Punching Upwards 19: The Death of Renee Good [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-19-the-death-of-renee-good] Sources * California bill AB-2624: Privacy for immigration support services providers [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2624], California Legislative Information, 9 April 2026 * Tweet by Nick Shirley [https://x.com/nickshirleyy/status/2045543993770180992], 18 April 2026 * California moves forward with its ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ [https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/california-moves-forward-stop-nick-160753178.html], Yahoo News, 14 April 2026 * Dems ripped for ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ that could ‘shield’ fraud and abuse in California [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-dems-ripped-bill-dubbed-stop-nick-shirley-act-could-penalize-independent-journalists], 15 April 2026 The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast [https://fab.industries/podcast] — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

PU 32: Germany's Digital Strategy Is Absolutely Bonkers

Driven by a national delusion that Germans are somehow naturally very bad at digital technology, the country’s government is rushing headfirst into a disastrous implementation of AI in government. Punching Upwards, Episode 32 for 19 April 2026 Topics: Politics [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/politics] / Artificial Intelligence [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/t/artificial-intelligence] 🦉 No AI Content [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/no-ai-content] 📢 Podcast RSS Feed [https://fab.industries/podcast.rss] Credits Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Fadi Mansour, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Bennet Piater, Sir Galteran and Fairero Voltier for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it! See Also * Punching Upwards 27: LLMs Are a Dead-End [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-27-llms-are-a-dead-end] * Punching Upwards 24: The ELIZA Effect [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-24-the-eliza-effect] * Punching Upwards 22: Moltbook Madness [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/p/pu-22-moltbook-madness] Sources * Digitalminister im Bild-Interview: Wildberger über KI-Jobverlust, Bürokratie und Digitalisierung [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3020v69PY4], Bild, 30 March 2026 * Deutschland gewinnt internationalen KI-Preis [https://bmds.bund.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/detail/deutschland-gewinnt-internationalen-ki-preis], Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, 4 February 2026 * KI in der Verwaltung [https://bmds.bund.de/themen/kuenstliche-intelligenz/ki-in-der-verwaltung], Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, undated The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast [https://fab.industries/podcast] — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe [https://punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]