Loading…
Hosted by Balder Hageraats & Dario Hasenstab · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 183 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
The West is suffering from the "Western Bubble" and as a result, the world suffers from it as well. In this podcast, Balder Hageraats and Dario Hasenstab examine how Western countries are increasingly lost in their own delusions on the world stage and what must be done to bring them back to reality. Understanding and acknowledging this phenomenon is crucial. It allows both Western and non-Western actors to much better navigate the current era of global uncertainty. 🎙️ What we analyse: • Geopolitics & Global Power Shifts • Human Rights & Development Aid • Institutional Decline & Foreign Policy All analysed strictly through the lens of the Western Bubble. Executive Producer: Stefani Obradovic.
Balder Hageraats & Dario Hasenstab hosts The Western Bubble, a news show with 183 episodes published.
This week we look at a pattern that has been building for years and is now accelerating: the establishment panicking, and the increasingly desperate measures it is reaching for in response. The AfD ban report in Germany,
In this week's Autopsy we react to the controversy that followed the England-Argentina World Cup semi-final, when Argentine players held up a sign referencing the Falkland Islands. We are not a football podcast, and this
Three topics this week, none of them reassuring. Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain at the NATO summit in Ankara, apparently unaware that EU trade is negotiated through Brussels rather than individual membe
In this week's Autopsy we react to Count Binface, the satirical independent candidate and self-described space warrior, facing off against Nigel Farage in a local by-election. Count Binface, the alter ego of British scri
For our 150th episode we set aside the week's news cycle and talked about still does not get the attention it deserves: climate change, and why our political systems are structurally incapable of dealing with it. The pro
In this week's Autopsy, we react to a DW News segment reporting that German prosecutors have concluded Ukraine ordered the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. You can watch the full segment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch
This week now news story is exploding and everything is on fire. Ukraine, Iran, US politics: three stories, three cycles, all stuck. Also, we recorded four years to the month since our first episodes on the Russian invas
In this week's Autopsy, we react to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's visit to Donald Trump at the White House. Dario calls him the Trump brown nose. Balder, as a Dutch person, feels a particular kind of shame. The vis
This week Balder defends his own people. A YouTube video titled "Economists are full of shit" and the hundred-plus likes underneath it sparked this episode, and the underlying complaint is understandable: a generation th
In this week's Autopsy, we react to JD Vance's commencement address to the graduating class of the US Air Force Academy. The substance of the speech is troubling. Vance's central message on AI and warfare is essentially:
The FIFA World Cup 2026 opened last week. The United States had, on paper, the greatest soft power opportunity in World Cup history: a 250th independence anniversary, three host nations, 48 competing teams, and the eyes
In this week's Autopsy, we react to a debate from the Munk Debates in Canada, featuring Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer against Mike Pompeo and Victoria Nuland on the question of Iran. The full video is here: https://w
This week covers three topics that, at first glance, have nothing to do with each other. They are all the same story. We start with Germany's failure to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, losing out
In this week's Autopsy, we dissect a panel discussion from the Munich Security Conference 2026 featuring Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dario attended the same conference and observed her in person, which is part of what prompt
This week we take stock of a world in motion. Not in the dramatic, headline-grabbing way of the past few months, but in the quieter, structural way that tends to matter more in the long run. Countries are rearranging. Al
In this week's Autopsy, we dissect Obama's May 1st 2011 announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden. On the surface, a moment of closure. Underneath, a masterclass in how the Western Bubble sustains itself even when t
This week covers a lot of ground, but a single thread runs through all of it: the West's remarkable ability to undermine itself while convinced it is doing the opposite. We start with Trump's visit to China, a summit tha
In this week's Autopsy, we dissect a recent DW News segment featuring Eugene Rumer, a Russia and Eurasia expert from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, reacting to Russia's claim that Ukraine is launching drone strikes on
Are we actively outsourcing our critical thinking to algorithms? This week, we analyse the catastrophic impact of Artificial Intelligence on human cognition and geopolitical strategy. We start with a recent MIT study whi
In this week's Autopsy, we dissect a deeply uncomfortable manifesto from the CEO of Palantir, Alex Karp, regarding his new book The Technological Republic . Rather than sticking to software and data, Palantir's leadershi
Detected from recent episode content. Sponsor presence is a real signal of listener purchasing power and show monetisation.
No public pitch examples yet for this show.
Generate your own personalised pitchBased on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:
Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
The Western Bubble has a verified contact on file. Create a free PitchCentric account to access it and generate a personalised pitch in seconds. Research at least 3 recent episodes first and lead with a specific angle that serves their news audience.
The Western Bubble is hosted by Balder Hageraats & Dario Hasenstab. The show is categorised under news (politics) and has published 183 episodes.
The Western Bubble has published 183 episodes.
The Western Bubble regularly covers news, politics. It sits in the news category, with a politics focus.
The Western Bubble is accessible for guests with genuine news expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
The Western Bubble hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of The Western Bubble average 37 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates The Western Bubble's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched 9 days ago.