The Mortal Giants Podcast - comes to you courtesy of Canada’s National Observer.
After almost a century of post-war prosperity and unrivaled American power, we've entered a new era, growing uncertainty and realignment as many of the world's nations now seek to challenge that dominance. And the race for American dominance in the development of artificial intelligence by just a tiny handful of tech billionaires has seemed to put us all on yet an even more perilous path.
If the world is changing at a dizzying pace, the forces driving that change are markedly different than they were a century ago.
In this, our first season, we're going to look at the impact of China in the years ahead. We will look at China's astonishing progress in new energy technologies, battery innovation and EV production, as well as its conflict with American power over semiconductors and microchips and the geopolitical significance of Taiwan. And we will look at the transformative force, for better or worse, of one single man, Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China.
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Episode 1 - Mortal Giants
Mortal Giants, a podcast about the fragility of power in the 21st century. After almost a century of post-war prosperity and unrivaled American power, we've entered a new era of growing uncertainty and realignment as many of the world's nations now seek to challenge that dominance. For better or worse, one man, Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China will be a transformative force on the issues facing the world.
Sandy Garossino hosts this episode with her guest Vina Nadjibulla. Sandy is a long-time columnist for Canada's National Observer, and a former Crown Prosecutor. Vina is vice-president of Research and Strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation.
Episode 2 - Microchip Monopoly
In this episode of Mortal Giants we're going to look at the new race for power – literally. The United States is challenging Asia for dominance in production of the tiny semiconductor chips that help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and will expand and advance artificial intelligence. And technological power will be the key to national power in this century. And to the competition between the U.S. and China.
Episode 3 - Taiwan Tension
The island of Taiwan and its strait the Taiwan Strait are the gateway to the South China Sea which stretches from Taiwan to Malaysia. One third of the world’s shipping traffic sail through these waters every year. And because of this Taiwan is one of the most dangerous flashpoints in global politics today. China believes Taiwan is part of China and that includes the Taiwan Strait. Many countries support Taiwan as an independent country and the Strait as international waters. One school of thought is that China’s Xi Jinping is moving closer to invading Taiwan and the U.S. has vowed to defend it. Oh, and there’s another thing, remember from Episode 2, Taiwan produces over 60 per cent of all semiconductors and 93 per cent of the most advanced chips.
Episode 4 - Emperor Xi
This episode looks at how the Communist Party of China has changed over the past century and how today’s party is very much the party of its President, Xi Jinping. From a period where its remarkable growth was an economic miracle for the country, and there seemed to be more freedom for its citizens, to the beginning of the 2000s when the party got tougher again and Xi Jinping became President in 2012 and began consolidating his power over the party. He is also close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. What does this mean for China’s relationship with the world today and in the future?
Episode 5 - Power Switch
The world is grappling with how best and how fast to fight climate change. China stands out for its enormous investments in renewable energy – at home and around the world. In 2022 China spent over half a trillion dollars on the energy transition – about half the global total. Yet China continues to expand its coal operations and its emissions are growing. The U.S. the EU, Japan and Canada are working to catch up.
Episode 6 - Trump and the Post-American World
Sandy Garossino and Vina Nadjibulla are back with the Mortal Giants podcast. Sandy and Vina are having conversations about the fragility of power in the 21st century. And that became even truer after the U.S. election that will return Donald Trump to the presidency in January 2025.
Episode six is aptly titled, Trump and the Post-American World. Sandy and Vina talk about which world powers will lose and which will gain in the Trump presidency.
“I think if Ukraine is probably the biggest loser, European Union would be the second biggest loser from this election because President Trump has shown a lot of hostility towards the European Union and the concept of a united Europe and has no interest to deal with Brussels and EU as a bloc. He prefers to work bilaterally with certain European leaders like the president of Hungary,” Vina said.
“I think a lot will depend on whether or not Europe is able to unite in the way that the French president is now saying, well, if it's America first, then we also need to have Europe first approach,” she said.
Episode 7 - Strange Bedfellows: Russia, North Korea and the War in Ukraine
In Episode seven of Mortal Giants, Strange Bedfellows, Russia, North Korea and the War in Ukraine, Garossino talks with Vina Nadjibulla about this new chapter in the war in Ukraine that began in February of 2022.
“We have to go back to the June 2024 trip that President Putin took to North Korea. At that point, North Korea and Russia revived a Cold War defense agreement, a mutual security agreement. And we've seen a lot more cooperation between North Korea and Russia. North Korea has already been supplying Russia with much needed munition& and even missiles. And of course, Russia has been giving North Korea money, food and fuel,” Vina Nadjibulla said.
China has been North Korea’s main economic and security partner for 60 years, says Nadjibulla.
“It's done so in a very strategic way, sort of like a very calibrated way. China gives North Korea a little bit, but not too much. Whereas now we are seeing Russia, which is a much more unpredictable actor. And the big question mark for everybody, is in addition to financing fuel and food, will Putin also give North Korea sensitive military technology?”
Episode 8 - Beyond the Headlines: The India Canada Diplomatic Storm
On this week’s Mortal Giants Sandy Garossino and Vina Nadjibulla discuss the deteriorating relationship between Canada and India, a rift that became public after September 2023 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader in B.C. The Indian government called the accusation “absurd.” Then both governments expelled diplomats.
Garossino and Nadjibulla take us step-by-step through the escalating rhetoric between the two governments and the events that led to the RCMP holding a news conference on Thanksgiving weekend in 2024 to lay out the findings of their investigation — that the Modi government created a network of to follow and harass and perhaps even orchestrate the murders of Sikh separatists in Canada.
Episode 9 - New World Disorder
There can be little doubt now that the curtain is falling on the post-World War II American-led rules-based order. The international trade, military and government agreements that have secured an unprecedented era of growth and prosperity for Canada, for the Western world, are crumbling before our eyes. While the US President is working to impose some form of settlement of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he's openly challenging Canada and Greenland and has asked his military to reclaim the Panama Canal.