In the Company of Mavericks: Substack, War, Geopolitics & Hard Asset Investing with Charlie Garcia

As US/Israeli strikes on Iran transform the Middle East from a proxy conflict into direct kinetic warfare, the implications for global financial stability are profound — and demand a very different kind of analyst.

In this episode, Progressive's Jeremy McKeown and Charlie Garcia of Capital Mischief explore what this escalating crisis means for investors, and why the old playbook of paper-heavy portfolios may no longer be fit for purpose.

Charlie Garcia is a rare breed: a former military man turned geopolitical analyst who has advised six U.S. presidents, and whose Substack — Capital Mischief — has been running in overdrive tracking the fast-moving Middle East situation in near real-time. Writing with the narrative drive of a Tom Clancy thriller and the wit of P.J. O'Rourke, Garcia cuts through the noise to deliver high-signal intelligence that is as engaging as it is essential.

Together, they dig into the key questions: Is this escalation a localised event or the opening salvo of a larger systemic shift? How should investors re-price risk in an era of active, theatre-level conflict? And in these crazy markets, is a return to hard assets — gold, silver, and tangible stores of value — the only rational response?

A sharp, wide-ranging conversation at the intersection of war, geopolitics, and finance — we hope you find it both illuminating and entertaining.