The Grant Williams Podcast Ep. 117 - Tian Yang

The Grant Williams Podcast

Grant Williams

Investing, Business:investing, Business

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of The Grant Williams Podcast, I’m joined by Variant Perception’s Tian Yang for a sweeping discussion of what he calls a “late-cycle macro, early-stage regime shift.” Tian argues that the global economy is pivoting away from efficiency and toward sovereignty, as great powers prioritise control of supply chains, technology, and industrial capacity. Drawing parallels to McKinley, Roosevelt, FDR, and Eisenhower, he explains why state-driven investment, industrial policy, and fiscal dominance are becoming permanent features of the economic landscape. From AI-driven melt-up dynamics in markets to gold’s role as a geopolitical hedge, Tian lays out a framework for navigating a world where governments are increasingly shaping the direction—and outcomes—of economic growth. Every episode of the Grant Williams podcast, including This Week In Doom, The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, The Narrative Game, Kaos Theory, Shifts Happen and The Hundred Year Pivot, is available to Copper and Silver Tier subscribers at my website www.Grant-Williams.com. Copper Tier subscribers get access to all podcasts, while members of the Silver Tier get both the podcasts and my monthly newsletter, Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we get going, here's the bit where I remind you that nothing we discussed should be considered as investment advice.
0:16.4	This conversation is for informational and hopefully entertainment purposes only.
0:20.2	So, while we hope you find
0:21.7	it both informative and entertaining, please do your own research or speak to a financial advisor
0:27.1	before putting a dime of your money into these crazy markets.
0:35.2	You're about to listen to a very special preview edition of the Grant Williams podcast featuring my friend and guest Tian Yang of Variant Perception.
0:44.9	This conversation was built around a couple of reports they published recently, The Primacy of Sovereignty and their latest thematic, which had me scratching my head and just triggered so many thoughts
0:55.1	in my head that I thought it was a great opportunity to get Tian Yang back on for another conversation
0:59.5	about what those guys do. This conversation is an example of the many extraordinary
1:04.0	discussions in which I regularly engage with a series of smart, insightful and experienced people
1:08.6	across the financial, political and business spectrums. If you'd like to become a part of this growing community of subscribers looking to gain
1:15.2	an edge as we navigate an increasingly turbulent world, want to head over to grant-dashwilliams.com
1:20.4	and find out more about both my multiple podcast series and my written work, things that make
1:24.9	you go, hmm, a monthly letter that analyzes important issues,
1:28.1	affecting the world around us,
1:29.6	and providing clarity, insight, and understanding in an accessible way.
1:33.9	Find out more at grant-wiliams.com.
1:37.8	And in the meantime, on with the show.
1:50.6	Tien, great to see you, my friend.
1:52.2	It's been a minute since we saw each other.
1:53.3	Yeah, likewise.
1:54.1	Glad to be back.
	...

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