Get ready for one of the most jam-packed episodes yet — RH 10.27.25 | China: Tariff Truce, AI Warbots, and Xi’s Power Play. In this edition of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we dive headfirst into a wild 24 hours inside the world’s most strategically ambitious superpower. From Beijing’s backroom deals to battlefield AI, this one’s loaded with energy, intrigue, and a touch of chaos.

We start with the week’s headline: the U.S. and China have hit “pause” on their economic slugfest. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng hammered out a framework deal that puts Trump’s threatened 100% tariffs on ice. That alone would be huge — but toss in a deferral on China’s rare earth export curbs and the long-awaited TikTok divestment deal, and suddenly the chessboard looks different. Trump’s already claiming victory mid-flight to South Korea, while Xi’s keeping his poker face. The markets? Loving it. Currencies up, dollar down, global sigh of relief… for now.

But here’s where it gets spicy. Behind the diplomatic smiles, Xi Jinping’s been stockpiling like it’s the apocalypse. Oil, gas, soybeans, metals — you name it, China’s hoarding it. Its crude reserves have tripled in size since February, and the Dongjiakou facility alone now holds 24 million barrels. They’re buying sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran, snapping up copper mines in Chile, nickel plants in Indonesia, and grain from Brazil. Beijing’s not just preparing for trade turbulence — it’s building a war-proof economy.

Then we zoom into the power plays inside China’s elite. Xi’s purged nine generals this month in what one exiled journalist calls a “wartime reorganization.” Think of it as a military loyalty reboot. Commanders from the Rocket Force and Navy are out, replaced by political loyalists who’ll follow Xi’s orders without question. It’s not corruption cleanup — it’s obedience conditioning. The kind of purge that screams “readiness,” not reform.

And that’s before we even touch on DeepSeek — the AI platform now powering China’s military. We’re talking robot dogs, AI-guided drone swarms, autonomous command systems — all running on Huawei chips. DeepSeek’s reportedly analyzing 10,000 battle scenarios in under a minute. It’s not sci-fi; it’s military-industrial reality. Pair that with predictive policing and full-spectrum surveillance, and you get a glimpse of China’s “intelligentized warfare” strategy — an algorithmic army built for the next era of conflict.

We also hit the global side hustle: Beijing just wrapped Blue Sword-4, a joint naval exercise with Saudi Arabia in Jubail. Combat drills, mine clearance, counter-drone ops — all part of China’s growing military footprint in the Gulf. Meanwhile, Trump’s making his own moves in Southeast Asia, locking down trade deals in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam to counter Beijing’s grip. And just when tensions seemed to cool, China offered humanitarian help after two U.S. Navy aircraft crashed in the South China Sea — a rare soft touch in an otherwise hard-nosed week.

This episode has it all — diplomacy, deception, digital warfare, and a dash of drama. Tune in to RH 10.27.25 | China and get the unfiltered rundown on how Beijing’s playing the long game — one barrel, one algorithm, and one purge at a time.

Strap in — this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast is one you’re going to want to hear. It’s October 27th, 2025, and Russia just decided to remind the world that it’s still trying to cosplay the Soviet Union. We’re breaking down Putin’s latest nuclear stunt, Trump’s sanctions bombshell, Ukraine’s drone warfare revolution, and how all of it ties together into what’s fast becoming the most dangerous geopolitical winter in years.

In this episode, we dig into Vladimir Putin’s chest-thumping debut of the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile that’s part science fiction and part safety hazard. Putin claims it can fly forever and strike anywhere — experts call it a “flying Chernobyl.” We get into the bizarre optics of Putin donning a military uniform, bragging about his “nuclear shield,” and warning of “overwhelming retaliation,” all while Russia’s economy quietly sputters under sanctions and its defense industry runs out of gas (literally).

Meanwhile in Washington, President Trump drops the hammer on Russia’s two biggest oil giants — Rosneft and Lukoil — in what analysts say is the most consequential sanctions move of his second term. Oil prices spike six percent, India and China pause purchases, and the Kremlin starts sweating. But in true Cold War déjà vu fashion, China steps up with a backdoor energy route, helping Russia move liquefied gas through Beihai like nothing happened. It’s sanctions chess at its finest, and Beijing’s playing for both sides.

Then there’s Ukraine — the underdog that just won’t quit. The country’s drone war has evolved from garage-built prototypes to billion-dollar mass production. We tell the wild story of Fire Point, the drone company that started as a film casting agency and now manufactures long-range, low-cost kamikaze drones taking out Russian oil refineries. Think less “startup pitch” and more “Skynet with a GoFundMe.”

But Russia’s hitting back hard. Massive drone swarms are pounding Ukraine’s grid, aiming to freeze the country into submission. We’ll unpack how these attacks threaten to plunge Ukraine into a “dark winter,” with rolling blackouts and targeted strikes on heating infrastructure.

We also cover the quiet moves that don’t make headlines — like Russia turning an old Baltic ferry wreck into an underwater spy base, sabotage fires spreading across its own cities, and North Korea’s foreign minister arriving in Moscow for a mysterious visit just as Trump heads to South Korea. It’s all part of a global chessboard that’s getting tighter and meaner by the day.

If you want an unfiltered, high-energy breakdown of how nukes, sanctions, drones, and old-school espionage are shaping the next phase of this war, this episode is it.

A weekly deep dive into the latest spy stories and intelligence updates from across the globe. We spotlight the hidden dynamics driving security crises, geopolitical maneuvering, and covert operations—all with a sharp, unvarnished perspective. From cyber threats to clandestine influence campaigns, this episode pulls together the week’s most critical developments, cutting through the noise and spin. Join us as we uncover the storylines shaping tomorrow’s conflicts, power plays, and intelligence battles.

This is a deep dive on drones ahead of an episode where Glenn and I sit down with a drone expert. Read up to get the most from that discussion with this deep dive into the various drone families and capabilities in Ukraine today.

🎙️ Welcome to the most detailed breakdown of drone warfare in the Russia–Ukraine War you’ll find anywhere.

In this deep-dive podcast episode, we explore how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have transformed the battlefield from the skies of Kyiv to the trenches of Bakhmut. From consumer quadcopters to long-range kamikaze drones, this conflict has become a real-time testbed for drone combat at scale. If you want to understand how drones are actually used in war—by both Ukraine and Russia—this episode is essential.

🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Bayraktar TB2s and the Rise of Affordable UCAVs: Why Turkish drones dominated early in the war, and how Russian air defense systems adapted.

• Shahed-136 and the Era of Cheap, Long-Range Kamikaze Drones: How Iran's drone exports changed Russia’s strike strategy, and what it means for global security.

• FPV Drone Warfare and DIY Kamikazes: How $300 first-person-view drones are taking out tanks, artillery, and fortifications—and the psychological effect they’re having on soldiers.

• Lancet Loitering Munitions and the Hunter-Killer Drone Combo: Russia’s deadly precision-strike solution and how it’s reshaping Ukrainian artillery survivability.

• Drone Walls, EW Battles, and Fiber-Optic Control: The unseen war in the air—electronic warfare, signal jamming, and how both sides are fighting drone vs. drone with novel tech.

• Ukrainian Innovation and the “Army of Drones”: A look at Ukraine’s distributed drone manufacturing ecosystem and the plan to scale production to 4–8 million UAVs per year.

• Global Drone Supply Chains: The hidden role of China in supplying components, and how Western, Iranian, and Turkish manufacturers are influencing drone proliferation.

• What NATO, Taiwan, and the Pentagon Are Watching: Strategic implications for future conflicts in the Pacific, Middle East, and beyond.

🛠️ Featured Drone Families & Manufacturers:

• Bayraktar TB2 (Turkey)

• Shahed-136 / Geran-2 (Iran/Russia)

• Orlan-10 & Lancet (Russia)

• DJI Mavic, Phantom, Matrice (China)

• Switchblade 300/600 & Phoenix Ghost (USA)

• Warmate & FlyEye (Poland)

• Vector (Germany)

• Leleka-100, PD-2, Shark, Punisher, Bober (Ukraine)

💡 Why This Matters:
Drone warfare is no longer theoretical. From disposable quadcopters to advanced autonomous strike drones, unmanned systems are reshaping tactics, logistics, and geopolitics. This podcast breaks down everything you need to know—whether you're in defense, security, tech, policy, or just trying to make sense of modern war.

📬 Subscribe to our daily newsletter for exclusive breakdowns, battlefield tech reports, and intelligence briefs:
👉 www.restrictedhandling.com

✅ Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT if this episode helped you learn something new.
🔔 Hit the notification bell to catch future episodes on drone warfare, military technology, and emerging global threats.

The latest episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast takes you deep into the fast-moving world of U.S.–China tension — a geopolitical rollercoaster featuring trade threats, tech crackdowns, cyber espionage, and a looming Trump–Xi showdown that could reshape global markets.

Today’s episode dives into the heart of the storm as Beijing’s new rare-earth export licensing system goes live, giving China near-total control over critical materials used in everything from EVs to fighter jets. It’s a strategic chokehold disguised as a trade rule, and the U.S. isn’t having it. President Trump fires back, threatening 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1 if Beijing doesn’t back down. This sets the stage for a high-stakes face-off between two leaders who thrive on brinkmanship.

We break down the behind-the-scenes negotiations in Malaysia, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng are trying to prevent an all-out tariff war. Spoiler: it’s tense, and neither side looks ready to blink. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping’s government is tightening its grip at home. We cover his massive military purge, the surprise promotion of anti-corruption enforcer Zhang Shengmin, and the new five-year plan built around AI, advanced manufacturing, and total self-reliance. Xi’s message is simple — China won’t depend on anyone, least of all the U.S.

From South Korea’s anti-China protests to Europe’s flood of cheap Chinese imports, the ripple effects of Beijing’s strategy are shaking capitals across the globe. We explore how European leaders are torn between protecting their markets and avoiding Chinese retaliation — and how online giants like Shein and Temu are exploiting trade loopholes to dominate the fashion and consumer scene.

Then we zoom out to the broader chessboard: China’s state oil giants pausing Russian crude imports, the massive cyber espionage campaign exploiting Microsoft’s ToolShell vulnerability, and Beijing’s “scientific research” ships creeping into Japan’s waters. Add in Xi’s floating “fish farms” in the Yellow Sea and a propaganda-friendly crackdown on scam networks in Myanmar, and you’ve got the full picture of a China that’s flexing hard — at home, online, and on the seas.

It’s all here: the rare-earth squeeze, the tariff brinkmanship, the espionage drama, and the digital shadow war shaping the next phase of great-power competition.

Tune in for sharp insights, dry humor, and the kind of geopolitical storytelling that cuts through the noise. The Restricted Handling Podcast — where intelligence meets attitude.

The latest episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast dives straight into the firestorm blazing across Russia’s political, military, and economic landscape — and trust us, this one’s got everything: sanctions, airspace violations, oil chaos, and even a cameo from North Korea.

This isn’t your typical dry geopolitics briefing. We break down how President Donald Trump’s long-threatened sanctions finally dropped like a sledgehammer on Russia’s war economy — and how the shockwaves are rattling markets from Moscow to Mumbai. The U.S. has officially blacklisted Rosneft and Lukoil, cutting off the cash lifeline that’s been fueling Putin’s war. It’s not just symbolic; it’s seismic. China’s oil giants — PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC — have hit pause on Russian crude, while India’s top refineries are quietly backing away too. The result? A nervous Kremlin, oil prices soaring over five percent, and Putin’s propaganda machine scrambling to pretend it’s all fine. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

But that’s not all. The European Union doubled down within hours, dropping its 19th sanctions package like a coordinated one-two punch. Europe’s banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports by 2027, blacklisting another hundred ships from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” and cracking down on Moscow’s financial middlemen. Brussels is also moving ahead with its plan to make Russia pay for Ukraine’s survival — literally — by using frozen Kremlin assets to fund a massive €140 billion loan.

We’ve also got fresh action from London, where U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting Zelensky and the “Coalition of the Willing” for a high-stakes summit. Expect missiles, money, and momentum. Meanwhile, Germany’s economy minister touches down in Kyiv to rebuild Ukraine’s power grid and deepen defense cooperation — because, let’s face it, rebuilding a country mid-war takes both grit and good business.

And the Kremlin? It’s lashing out. From paranoid arrests inside Russia to another reckless airspace violation over Lithuania, Putin’s regime is acting cornered — and dangerous. We’ll tell you why NATO’s scrambling jets again, what’s really going on inside Russia’s shrinking economy, and how North Korea just pledged to send even more troops to fight alongside Moscow’s battered forces.

All that and more, delivered with the trademark Restricted Handling blend of intelligence insight and pop-culture bite. If you want geopolitics without the boredom — think sanctions with swagger and strategy with attitude — this is the episode you don’t want to miss.

Tune in now for RH 10.24.25 | Russia Sanctions Bite, Allies Unite, Skies Heat Up.

Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast — your unfiltered daily briefing on the moves, motives, and mayhem shaping global power. In today’s episode, “RH 10.23.25 | China: Purges, Power Plays & Rare Earth Wars,” we’re diving deep into Beijing’s latest high-stakes maneuvers that have the world watching and Washington sweating.

The episode opens with the fallout from Xi Jinping’s military purge, a political earthquake that continues to shake the foundations of China’s armed forces. We break down how Xi is clearing out his old guard — even loyalists from his Fujian days — to tighten control ahead of the CCP’s newly unveiled 15th Five-Year Plan. Think of it as a real-life political thriller: generals disappearing, airspace locked down, and a capital city buzzing with paranoia.

Next up, we get into the details of China’s new five-year plan, officially adopted at the Fourth Plenum. It’s not just bureaucratic jargon — this blueprint sets the course for the world’s second-largest economy through 2030. The focus: tech self-reliance, high-end manufacturing, and full military modernization by 2027. Xi is betting big that homegrown innovation and Party loyalty can outmatch American sanctions and semiconductor controls. Spoiler: that plan’s already in motion.

From Beijing’s conference halls, we shift to the battlefield — literal and digital. On the ground, Myanmar’s junta is roaring back with Chinese-supplied drones and aircraft, retaking key towns like Kyaukme and Hsipaw in a show of renewed strength. In the skies and seas, China’s refueling and resupply ops at Scarborough Shoal mark another quiet but bold escalation in the South China Sea — a move that lets Chinese Coast Guard ships stay indefinitely inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Kinmen and Matsu islands are the next potential flashpoints. We break down how Beijing may use its new economic plan to claim “integration” over these strategically placed territories, just a stone’s throw from China’s Fujian coast. It’s economic warfare disguised as development — subtle, slow, and effective.

We also unpack the rare earth showdown dominating global markets. China’s new export licensing system has the West scrambling, forcing Washington, Brussels, and Canberra to rethink supply chains. Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading to Malaysia for emergency trade talks with U.S. officials, hoping to cool things off before next week’s Trump–Xi summit. But with tariffs, blacklists, and retaliatory controls flying around, “cool” isn’t exactly the word of the week.

And on the cyber front — the hits keep coming. Chinese hackers have exploited Microsoft’s “ToolShell” vulnerability, infiltrating telecom networks and government systems across Africa, South America, and the Middle East in record time. Forget spy thrillers — this is real-world cyber warfare unfolding live.

If you want the latest intel on China’s political drama, economic warfare, and cyber operations — delivered with sharp analysis, high energy, and zero fluff — this is your episode.

Subscribe, share, and tune in daily for the stories behind the headlines — because in geopolitics, nothing stays classified for long.