Who is Francis Foster & Konstantin Kisin?
Francis Foster is a comic and author of "(Un)educated." Konstantin Kisin is a political commentator and author of "An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West." Together, they host the podcast "Triggernometry."
TLDR — Key Topics and Moments
- 01Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin discuss global instability and how the world seems more chaotic than ever, from UK social media arrests to the ongoing Gaza situation
- 02Deep dive into Iran drone strikes, false flag theories, and the difficulty of getting accurate information when there's an information vacuum that breeds conspiracies
- 03Analysis of potential regime change strategies in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, comparing the risks and outcomes of previous US interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya
- 04Discussion of Iran's regional influence through proxy funding of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, versus North Korea's isolationist approach
- 05Breakdown of best case and worst case scenarios for Iran policy, including economic impacts on oil prices and potential domestic political consequences
- 06Examination of the contradictions between Trump administration messaging on foreign policy and the lack of clear strategic vision communicated to the public
The Show
Joe sits down with Triggernometry hosts Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin for a conversation about global instability and geopolitics that's more grounded than typical hot take culture. These guys actually grapple with uncertainty instead of pretending they know what's happening.
The conversation kicks off with how unstable everything feels globally right now. Joe points out the UK arresting 12,000 people for social media posts, the Ukraine-Russia war dragging on longer than expected, and the absurdity of now talking about building a resort in Gaza. The hosts bring up legitimate concerns about drone strikes in the Middle East and whether some of them might be false flags designed to pull more countries into conflict with Iran. But here's the thing that separates these guys from typical cable news commentators: they acknowledge the information vacuum. When you don't have real data, conspiracies naturally fill that space. It's not crazy thinking, it's human psychology.
Konstantin and Francis break down the actual geopolitical strategy that might be at play. They talk about Venezuela as a case study where the regime adjustment actually worked. Maduro got removed, but the structure stayed in place with Deli Rodriguez now running things under American oversight. It's basically regime management rather than total regime change. The Dominican oil situation with Cuba training Cuban security forces to help turn a liberal democracy into a communist surveillance state is fascinating context. By cutting off Venezuela's cheap oil to Cuba, the island's economy is imploding, which could naturally lead to an uprising without direct US invasion.
Then they get into Iran, which is way more complicated. Iran isn't like North Korea wanting to be left alone. Iran actively funds Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. They're destabilizing the entire region. But that's also where the strategy gets murky. There's talk about a White House no-kill list of Iranian regime members they want to preserve for a potential regime adjustment similar to Venezuela. Konstantin lays out a best case scenario where you could have an authoritarian government that's still Islamic but less fanatical, more focused on prosperity than spreading jihad, and willing to work with the West. That's theoretically possible based on historical precedent with the Soviet Union having both hardliners and reformers.
What keeps coming up is the lack of clarity. Trump campaigned on no more unnecessary foreign wars and America First, but the current strategy seems to be the opposite. Joe and the guests keep saying nobody really knows what the endgame is here. Are they trying to push back against Chinese and Russian influence? Maybe. Are they trying to prevent Iran from getting nukes? Probably. But the contradictory messaging from the Trump camp, oil price spikes affecting midterm politics, and the risk of this all going sideways like Iraq and Afghanistan did makes everyone nervous.
They also touch on how cost of living crises in countries like the UK are creating conditions where socialist politicians can gain traction. If energy costs spike from Middle Eastern conflict and people can't afford food, the political consequences could be severe. It's second and third order thinking that most politicians don't seem to be considering.
Key Moments
Best Quotes
"When you have an absence of information, there's a vacuum and nature of a vacuum is that you need to have that vacuum filled. So that's where conspiracies naturally flourish."
"Everyone's got a take and they want that take to be the expert take, when really we don't know a thing about what's going on. The coin is in the air and we do not know how it's going to land."
"The moment the leadership is weakened, they're going to use it as an opportunity to launch their own revolution. You have all of these factions and then you think if you take out the guy at the top, the entire country is going to disintegrate like what happened in Iraq and Libya."
"Iran does not want to be left alone. Iran wants to dominate the region. That's why they fund Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthies. That's why the Gulf countries and Israel are very worried about them."
"Best case scenario you could have an authoritarian regime that practices traditional Muslim values but realizes that economic growth is more important than shouting Allahu Akbar every 3 minutes and blowing things up."
Products and Books Mentioned
Everything brought up in this episode — linked to Amazon.
Triggernometry Podcast
AmazonPolitical commentary podcast hosted by Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin covering global geopolitics and current events.
Uneduc(at)ed
AmazonBook by Francis Foster exploring education, politics, and social commentary.
An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West
AmazonBook by Konstantin Kisin about immigration, Western culture, and political philosophy.
Perplexity AI App
AmazonAI search and information tool available as a downloadable app.
Squarespace
AmazonWebsite building and domain registration platform for creating professional websites.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
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Full Transcript (click to expand)
Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out. >> The Joe Rogan Experience. >> TRAIN BY DAY. JOE ROGAN PODCAST BY NIGHT. All day. >> Okay. So, when we scheduled this, the there's nothing happening. It was so peaceful. >> Every time we're here, something crazy is going on, man. >> Yeah. Uh maybe we manifest it. >> To be honest, it did. 2026 did start with a bang. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Well, a lot of things, you know, it's just nothing seems stable everywhere. Everywhere in the world seems [ __ ] right now. Like this is the like in all of my years, this seems the most unstable globally. >> Like I never worried that the UK was going to be like complete chaos, arresting 12,000 people for social media posts and abandoning trial by jury, all all that [ __ ] I never thought the Ukraine Russia war would go on this long. Never thought. >> Never thought they would just continue bombing Gaza and then what's happening now? They just sort of stop and now they're talking about putting a resort there. What are like you hear that and you go, are you [ __ ] serious? >> Right. >> Tim Dylan has a I won't won't give the bit away. He has a [ __ ] phenomenal bit about staying in that resort. >> Yeah. And you boys have been busy as well, Joe. >> Yeah. And then I was going to get to that, the embarrassing part. Uh uh in the middle of Ramadan, you take out the leader of a Muslim country and uh >> they're hangry already and you're [ __ ] with it. >> Well, and they're really Yeah. They can't even drink water, right? And then, you know, I was listening to Tim Dylan's podcast today. Uh he's got a great podcast with uh Ryan Grim and one other gentleman. But one of the things that they brought up was that some of these drone attacks, it doesn't even seem like they're from Iran. Some of these drone attacks on Gulf States >> like that. One of them um I I don't want to speak out of tune out of turn because I don't I'm not exactly sure which ones they're talking about. They're talking about one of them on um either it's a oil refinery. I think it is an oil refinery that it doesn't seem like it came from Iran. >> So, okay. >> Where did it come from? >> That's a good question. >> One of their proxies. >> That's a good question. >> Well, the the fear is a false flag. That's the fear. Like if you really wanted to get really scared of what we're dragged into, >> you're dragged into an ally that's not telling you the truth and is also doing some other stuff. >> Well, I'm not even a saying that that's the case, but a lot of people are assuming that that's what it is. >> But that's what happens when you have an absence of information, >> right? >> And so the moment you have an absence of information, there's a vacuum and nature of a vacuum. You need to have that vacuum filled. So that's where conspiracies naturally flourish because 100% because if people don't have information then they're going to basically theorize, >> right? >> And part of people theorizing is conspiracies are going to start flourishing. >> Well, I think they were basing it on the where the drone came from like let's see if we can find some information on that. Jamie, >> I will try. I was it was Jeremy Scill was the other >> That's right. >> reporter on the video. I just find it amazing now how many people have like a hard take on like what's going I'm like what the we don't know a [ __ ] thing about what's going like the coin is in the air right and we do not know how it's going to but everyone's got a take everyone knows >> like we do not [ __ ] I don't I don't think anyone knows like I understand if you if you work at the White House or if you work in Russian propaganda or you work in Chinese propaganda like or if you work in Iranian like you you've got to get your point of view across to try and persuade people but if you're actually trying to work out what's genuinely happening. I don't think anyone knows how. This is a gamble of gigantic proportions >> and nobody knows how it's going to end. Like it's just so unpredictable. And I can tell you a great story that is like positive for the for the West, let's say, or for America. I can tell you a terrible story and they both sound very convincing and no one knows which one of them is true. >> Yeah, that's a very good point. Uh th this is the hottake culture, right? Everyone has a take and they want that take to be the expert take. >> So uh specific drone attack incidents that call potential false flags. Saudi Arabia uh Saudi uh Saudi Aramco rather um oil facility attack. So Iranian officials deny striking the Saudi Aramco processing facility and instead suggest Israel may have carried out that attack as a false flag to inflamed Gulf opinion and pull Saudi Arabia more directly into the war with Iran. So Ryan Grim explicitly says he thinks Iran's claims that Israel hit the Aramco facility need to be taken seriously and that it's very possible Israel did it. And this was the other one, the drone strike on the British base in Cyprus. That w...
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