World Brief with Zach McCormick

Send us Fan MailDid Maduro’s capture just change the global financial order?Potentially yes, here’s why:While Venezuela has played host to Russian, Chinese, Iranian, Hezbollah and Tren De Aragua agents for some time, it is also home to a shadowy network of finance that extends from London to Langley and which has been instrumental in facilitating the ‘black market’ for sanctioned nations (and groups). Of course, not everyone is convinced and critics of the Maduro ‘extradition’,  question the legal basis of the operation and argue that it was a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty noting how little tolerance any Western power would have for such an action being conducted upon its shores.But supporters push back calling it a response to years of de facto ‘acts of war’ perpetrated by the Maduro regime and that, legally speaking, because he and his wife had been indicted by a Federal Prosecutor,   Maduro’s capture was simply an arrest of a federal fugitive and was functionally no different than the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani stronghold or the arrest of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.  What seems clear is that United States has severed one of the main economic arteries used by shadow-governments intent on wielding power over citizens of the world. Do you think Maduro’s capture was intended to ‘decapitate’ a financial ‘shadow network’ or something else?Let us know in the comments and for the deep dive head over to the substack at WorldBriefZMC and be sure to cast your vote in the poll. 

Send us Fan MailWill the silver surge save younger generations and the middle class? Yes. Here’s why. Gen Alpha, Z and the Millenials are almost completely priced out of everything from homes to quality groceries and yet it’s upon their shoulders that the next phase of the economy depends.Silver’s surge signals a possible correction to this lopsided situation which could allow these younger generations to finally enjoy a good quality of life.This is because many of their money  problems have been caused by a grossly imbalanced money system - based almost entirely on the perceived value of the dollar. Central banks have worked very hard to convince everyone that the dollar can still  buy a lot. But this is not true anymore and the spike in the price of silver shows this most clearly. Because it’s mostly based on perception, if the people stop having confidence in the dollar the banking cartel which ‘prints’ it will lose its lever of control. Should such a loss occur, it could trigger a natural reversion to a more equitable economic system (similar to the way things were in the US before the Federal Reserve and income tax were created). This would be great for the younger set but would also benefit other age-brackets by stimulating sustainable local productivity everywhere. And so, as silver more than doubles in December of 2025, it signals hope for the future. What do you think about the surge in the price of silver? Let us know in the comments and for the deep dive head over to our Substack at WorldBriefZMC and be sure to cast your vote in the poll. 

Send us Fan Mails England getting rid of jury trials? Yes. According to a plan put forward by justice minister David Lammy, England will no longer allow accused to have a trial by a jury of their peers for minor and mid-tier crimes. Supposedly this move is needed to clear backlogs and prevent more serious cases from being delayed by the less serious ones. strangely, the proposal would not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland with no explanation given as to why. Critics, including actual practitioners, have cried foul noting that the backlogs could be fixed via simply funding pre-existing offices and that this is merely a pretext for stripping away one of the most fundamental of democratic rights. This announcement comes on the heels of widely unpopular new English anti-free speech laws and arrests for “wrong think”, and the timing of this latest move has many UK citizens concerned.  Do you think that citizens should be stripped of the right to a jury trial? Let us know in the comments and head over to our Substack at WorldBriefZMC for the deep dive and be sure to cast your vote in the poll. 

Send us Fan MailDid Wikipedia just get dethroned?Maybe, Grokipedia has just launched as a direct competitor to the original online, open source encyclopedia, but only time will tell if it kicks Wikipedia off its pedestal. Elon Musk has touted Grokipedia for seeking “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. To accomplish this, Grokipedia will purportedly use its AI namesake to act as a gatekeeper and will tell you if it will allow you to publish an entry. Not everyone loves the idea -- we talk about why.Will you be trying Grokipedia out and if so, for what? Let us know in the comments and for the deep dive head over to the Substack at WorldbriefZMC and be sure to vote in the poll! 

Send us Fan MailDid Amazon’s web servers just take out a massive chunk of the internet? Yes, and this isn’t an exaggeration. On October 20, 2025 a major outage in Amazon’s web server business (known as “AWS”), caused nearly every major online service to fail or malfunction. Major names like Snapchat, Signal, WhatsApp, Lloyds of London, the Bank of Scotland, Venmo, Coinbase, Roblox, Fortnite, Hulu and Spotify (to name just a few) all reportedly experienced major malfunctions and disruptions over the course of several hours.For the deep dive head over to the Substack at WorldBriefZMC and be sure to vote in the poll. 

Send us Fan MailIs the Silver Squeeze going to jack up iPhone prices?  Probably, and it wouldn’t just be smartphones that see a jump. So what’s going on? Basically people are suddenly afraid that real silver is running out. This affects electronics because silver is used in just about every electronic device we use. If the price of silver goes up then so too will the electronics that use it. But why now? The organization, (the London Bullion Market Association or “LBMA”) that dictates what silver should cost is having crisis of confidence and buyers are worried it can’t actually deliver physical silver. This has “frozen” trading and silver prices have jumped quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. If the trend continues it could start effecting retail electronics soon. Do you think the silver squeeze will affect the price of iPhones? Let me know in the comments and check out our Substack at WorldBriefZMC  for the deep dive. 

Send us Fan MailAfter only 27 days on the job, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has just announced his resignation. But it’s the reason why that has many so concerned. That’s because the French government (led by the embattled French President Emanuel Macron), promised its people far more than it could ever deliver and now it can’t pay the bill.This has led to hundreds of thousands of workers to go on strike as government subsidized pensions, jobs, housing and holidays are all on the chopping block. For the deep dive head over to our Substack at WorldBriefZMC for more and don't forget to vote in the poll!

Send us Fan MailLast week the Vietnamese Central Bank closed 86 Million bank accounts for, among other things,  not turning over biometric data. Is this a sign of things to come?For the deep dive head over to the substack at WorldBriefZMC

Send us Fan MailWill the UK force citizens to get digital IDs? Probably. Reports suggest that Prime Minister Starmer will announce Friday that every single adult in the UK must get a digital ID. There have been some suggestions that the scheme WON’T be mandatory in the literal sense - but that one will be required  to access the internet, housing, employment, banking, transportation or any other essential service. In other words “mandatory”. Though the final details aren’t yet officially public it seems clear that digital ID’s would rely upon mobile devices - apps - and would be linked to a citizen’s phone number, bank account, medical file and employment and housing history. The premise being that nothing could be done in everyday life without it. The startling move is being billed as a means to combat illegal immigration but skeptics and human rights groups have rejected this a mere pretext. They point out  that, if the British government was really committed to resolving that issue, it could do so easily - without digital ID’s.Critics of the plan note that, no electronic device is truly “safe” and the consolidation of so much information into one space creates major security risks. Still others note that, these types of mechanisms have already been employed in other countries as a means of maintaining control over their populations in a distinctly undemocratic manner. What do you think? Let me know in the comments and for the deep dive head over to the Substack page at WorldBriefZMC and be sure vote in the poll. 

Send us Fan MailAre people becoming allergic to red meat?Yes, it’s called “Alpha- Gal Syndrome” (AGS) causes people to become violently ill when red meat including beef, pork and lamb are consumed. The affliction is purportedly spread by “lone star ticks”  and there is no cure. Listen to this episode to find out more and for the deep dive head over to our substack at WorldbriefZMC.