In Episode 486 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and leading authority on energy and geopolitics Daniel Yergin about the surprising resiliency of the global economy in the face of major supply disruptions and the consequences of the US war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for global energy markets, energy security, electrification (including alternative energy generation and storage), and the balance of power in the Gulf.

The conversation begins with a simple question: Why have energy market disruptions from both the Iran conflict and the Ukraine War proved far more manageable than many analysts and decades of scenario planning predicted? Demetri and Dan examine what that resilience tells us about the transformation of global supply chains, energy diversification, inventory management, and the roles of the United States and China as the world's largest swing producers and consumers of energy.

From there, they turn to the broader geopolitical consequences of the crisis—the lessons China continues to draw from America's entanglements in the Middle East, Iran's bid to convert the Strait of Hormuz into a strategic chokepoint and long-term revenue source, the recalibration of Gulf security as American commitments to the region grows less certain, and the shifting alignments among the Gulf states, Iran, China, and the United States that will define the regional balance of power in the years ahead.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 06/29/2026