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Best Geopolitics & foreign policy videos, as recommended on Hacker News

72 videos about geopolitics & foreign policy that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2011 and 2026. Mostly documentary, explainer, interview. Channels that come up most: VICE, CGP Grey, Wendover Productions, Kraut. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is This Is What Winning Looks Like (Full Length): Recommended during Afghanistan withdrawal threads as a sobering look at why the transition to local forces was failing.

• documentaryThis Is What Winning Looks Like (Full Length)VICE · 7 HN recommenders · 2014–2023
• lectureTiedustelueverstin arvio Venäjästä | 3.12.2018fin_topsu · 14 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• explainerThe EU Has Orbits, and the UK Fell Out of All of ThemCGP Grey · 7 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• lectureGwynne Dyer -- Geopolitics in a Hotter WorldThe University of British Columbia · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• lectureVladimir Pozner: How the United States Created Vladimir PutinYale University · 10 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• talkDr Shashi Tharoor MP - Britain Does Owe ReparationsOxfordUnion · 8 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• talk38C3 - From Silicon to Sovereignty: How Advanced Chips are Redefining Global Dominancemedia.ccc.de · 5 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• lectureTimothy Snyder: The Making of Modern Ukraine. Class 1: Ukrainian Questions Posed by Russian InvasionYaleCourses · 6 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerPropaganda Games: Sesame Credit - The True Danger of Gamification - Extra CreditsExtra Credits · 7 HN recommenders · 2015–2018
• interviewKGB Defector Yuri Bezmenov 1985 Interview. Explains KGB Manipulation of US Public Opinion20th Century Time Machine · 4 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• interviewFULL INTERVIEW with Yuri Bezmenov: The Four Stages of Ideological Subversion (1984)Nicholas Marshall · 4 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• documentaryOperation InfeKtion: How Russia Perfected the Art of War | NYT OpinionNew York Times Opinion · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• documentaryFrom the DMZ Into the Hermit Kingdom - Inside North Korea (Part 1/3)VICE · 3 HN recommenders · 2013–2023
• lectureWhy is Ukraine the West's Fault? Featuring John MearsheimerThe University of Chicago · 9 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerChina is erasing its border with Hong KongVox · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2019
• newsCall Between Alexey Navalny and FSB Officer Konstantin Kudryavtsev [English Subtitles]Bellingcat · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• interviewЯ позвонил своему убийце. Он призналсяАлексей Навальный · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
• explainerWhy China Is so Good at Building RailwaysWendover Productions · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2021
• commentaryChina & Uighurs: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• lectureYuri Bezmenov: Psychological Warfare Subversion & Control of Western Society (Complete)GBPPR2 · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• interviewCIA Officer in Charge of Taking Down the AQ Khan Network | James Lawler | Ep. 125The Team House · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• documentaryChai Jing's review: Under the Dome – Investigating China’s Smog 柴静雾霾调查：穹顶之下 (full translation)Christopher He · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2018
• commentaryThe Secret Chinese War for Your Opinion!serpentza · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2019
• talkBlack Hat USA 2013 - OPSEC failures of spiesBlack Hat · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2019
• documentaryThe KGB, The Computer and Me - The Cuckoo’s Egg StoryAustralian Phoenix CyberOps · 3 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• explainerThe Origins of Russian AuthoritarianismKraut · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• documentaryPandora's Box, E1: The Engineers' Plotnagualdesign · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• explainerIs the EU Democratic? Does Your Vote Matter?Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• talkUnderstanding the rise of China | Martin JacquesTED · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2019
• explainerThe US-Canada Border Is 5,500 Miles of Pure NonsenseCGP Grey · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2020
• interviewYanis Varoufakis with Professor Noam Chomsky at NYPL, April 16, 2016 | DiEM25DiEM25 · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2024
• explainerThe Five Freedoms of AviationWendover Productions · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• documentaryChina’s Vanishing Muslims: Undercover In The Most Dystopian Place In The WorldVICE News · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• commentaryBitcoin Is Protecting Human Rights Around the WorldReasonTV · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2021
• comedyYes Minister — Why Britain Joined the European UnionHostis Humani Generis · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
• talkIowa Swine Day 2022: Agriculture at the End of the WorldIowa Pork Industry Center · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• explainerThe Chinese Student CrisisPolyMatter · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2022
• commentaryTrump's Biggest FailureKraut · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerHow Corruption Destroys Armies - Theft, Graft, and Russian failure in UkrainePerun · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• talkDEF CON 24 - Chris Rock - How to Overthrow a GovernmentDEFCONConference · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2019
• documentaryThe Brexit effect: how leaving the EU hit the UK | FT FilmFinancial Times · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• newsTikTok in China versus the United States | 60 Minutes60 Minutes · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• talkRalph Langner: Cracking Stuxnet, a 21st-century cyber weaponTED · 2 HN recommenders · 2011–2021
• explainerUnderstanding the Russian mindsetCaspianReport · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• talkGeorge Friedman, "Europe: Destined for Conflict?"Chicago Council on Global Affairs · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2022
• documentaryAre NEW Chinese buildings really FALLING DOWN?ADVChina · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• documentaryHow Semiconductors Ruined East GermanyAsianometry · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• explainerChina's 7nm Chips: SMIC N+2Asianometry · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• explainerThe Most Complex International Borders in the WorldWonderWhy · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2018
• explainerDemographic Collapse — China's Reckoning (Part 1)PolyMatter · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2021
• documentaryHypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam CurtisAdam Curtis Documentaries · 1 HN recommender · 2024–2026
• interviewKGB defector Yuri Bezmenov's warning to America (1984)Offensive Freedom · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2022
• commentaryThe CIA is a Terrorist OrganizationSecond Thought · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2024
• interviewKGB defector Yuri Bezmenov's warning to AmericaPersian Humanist · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2024
• documentaryWe Went To North Korea To Get A HaircutBoy Boy · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2026
• explainerSome Countries Exist Only on PaperCGP Grey · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2020
• commentaryNoam Chomsky - The Crimes of U.S. PresidentsChomsky's Philosophy · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2025
• interviewFormer KGB Agent Yuri Bezmenov Explains How to Brainwash a Nation (Full Length)Federaljacktube · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2017
• interviewChina vs EU on debt conditionsGeshan Dissanayake · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2023
• commentaryEmpire Files: How Palestine Became ColonizedTeleSUR English · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2022
• documentaryHow China Tracks EveryoneVICE News · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2026
• documentaryMcNamara meets with Castro (Fog of War)8bitRicky · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2024
• documentaryThe Gun Markets of Pakistan with Suroosh AlviVICE · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2020
• commentaryPutin's new Russian MHD weapons explained (1st part)Jean-Pierre PETIT · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2023
• lectureDECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decayeon3 · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2023
• newsHow China Is Changing Your Internet | The New York TimesThe New York Times · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2017
• interviewSarah C. M. Paine — Why dictators keep making the same fatal mistakeDwarkesh Patel · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2025
• interviewPutin's Revenge: Julia Ioffe (interview) | FRONTLINEFRONTLINE PBS | Official · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• documentaryThe Lobby P1: Young Friends of Israel l Al Jazeera InvestigationsAl Jazeera English · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2022
• newsPutin's famous Munich Speech 2007Voevoda · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2026
• documentaryUkraine on FireGlobal Tree Pictures · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2022
• comedyRussian Invasion - Salami Tactics | Yes Prime MinisterBritish Comedy · 1 HN recommender · 2025–2026