Learn geopolitics. Understand the news.

Orbis teaches geopolitics and history in short lessons, with a daily briefing, a 3D globe of the world's flashpoints, and flashcards so it sticks.

Free for 7 days, cancel anytime. iPhone and Android.

The whole world, on a globe you can turn.

The World tab is a 3D globe of the things that shape events: active wars, chokepoints, shipping lanes, pipelines, oil fields and mines. Tap any of them and Orbis opens its dossier.

  • The Orbis globe in day view, with flashpoints, chokepoints and dashed trade routes across Africa, Europe and Asia.

    Everything on one globe

    Nine flashpoints, eight chokepoints, ten trade routes and eleven pipelines. Turn layers on and off to see how they overlap.

  • A satellite view of East Asia with labelled trade routes, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca.

    Trade routes and chokepoints

    Follow the lanes that carry oil, ore and containers to China, Japan and Korea, through the Taiwan Strait and the Strait of Malacca.

  • A satellite view of the Persian Gulf marking the Ghawar field, Rumaila, the North Field and the Strait of Hormuz.

    Tap anything for its dossier

    Every oil field, strait, pipeline and conflict opens a page with the numbers, the history and the lessons that explain it.

Every headline has roots.

A border skirmish, a chip embargo, a currency in freefall: none of it comes from nowhere. Orbis connects today's news to the geography, history, and power plays underneath it, so a headline stops being noise and starts making sense.

  • A fresh briefing every morning
  • Every story linked to the lessons that explain it
  • Markets, with a plain note on what moved and why
Today's briefing in Orbis: six headlines from the Middle East and Europe, and the conflicts moving this week.
The Orbis markets page explaining what moved Brent crude, the Nasdaq 100 and the US 10-year, and why.

Short lessons that explain why things happened.

Five to fifteen minutes each. Every lesson is built around causation, not dates to memorize: why Hannibal won every battle and still lost the war, why Gran Colombia split into four countries.

  • 5 to 15 minutes a lesson
  • Maps and primary sources inside the text
  • Standalone lessons and full courses
An Orbis lesson on Hannibal, the man who almost destroyed Rome, with a painting of his army crossing the Alps.
An Orbis lesson on Simón Bolívar showing a map of Gran Colombia and a primary-source quotation.

Remember it a year from now.

Nearly 5,000 flashcards built on spaced repetition. Orbis brings a card back just before you would forget it, so the names, maps and turning points stay with you instead of fading by next week.

  • 4,900+ cards, tied to the lessons you have finished
  • Questions that ask why, not only when
  • A few minutes a day
An Orbis flashcard asking why the Mandate of Heaven is one of the most consequential political ideas in history.
The Orbis Cards tab showing cards due today and decks for South Korea and Geopolitics Foundations.

22 courses, from the founding of Rome to the fight over silicon.

A course takes one subject from its beginning to the present day, in short lessons you can finish in a sitting. There are also more than 80 standalone lessons.

Thomas Cole, The Consummation of Empire, 1836

Some of the courses

All 22 courses

A reference desk in your pocket.

When a name or a number comes up in the news, look it up. Orbis keeps pages on countries, leaders, alliances, companies and raw materials, and updates them as events move.

  • The Orbis country page for Saudi Arabia, opening with the core problem: wealth it cannot defend.

    Countries

    A brief on each major power: the core problem it faces, its economy, its military and the history behind both.

  • The Orbis leader page for Narendra Modi, with years in office, ideology and background.

    Leaders

    Who holds power, since when, what they believe and how they got there.

  • Orbis comparing the United States and China on GDP, GDP per capita and government debt.

    The numbers

    Put two countries side by side, or rank the world on GDP, defence spending and population.

  • The Orbis company page for ASML, with revenue, employees and its lithography products.

    Companies

    ASML, TSMC and the other firms that governments compete over, with what they make and who owns them.

  • The Orbis resource page for uranium, with global mine output, reactor count and the main producers.

    Resources

    Uranium, copper, rare earths, oil: who mines them, who refines them and who depends on them.

What early readers say.

  • “I finally understand the headlines I used to skim past. Ten minutes on the train and the news actually connects.”

    Sam, early access

  • “The flashcards are the part that got me. Things I'd normally forget by the weekend just stick now.”

    Sebastian, early access

  • “It explains the why, not just the what. The Cold War course made more click in a week than school did in a term.”

    Jannis, early access

Before you start.

Do I need a background in politics or history?

No. Lessons start from the ground up and build, so you can begin knowing nothing and still follow the thread. If you do know a bit already, you can skip ahead.

Is there a free version?

Orbis is subscription-only, but every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. You won't be charged today, and you can cancel anytime before the trial ends.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes, in one tap from your App Store or Google Play account. No emails, no hoops.

What platforms is Orbis on?

iPhone and Android. Your progress and flashcards sync with your account across devices.

Is the content biased?

We focus on explaining how power, geography, and resources actually drive events: the mechanics, not a political agenda. The goal is to help you reason about the world, not to tell you what to think about it.

Understand what makes the world move.

Seven days free. After that, you will read the news differently.

7-day free trial, cancel anytime. iPhone and Android.