The tips I would give are: 1) focus on correlations in hard data, there's a lot of bullshit out there and wishful thinking, but as we know causation means correlation, 2) look at further away situations - your own country 100 years ago, 200 years ago, historic empires, other major economies, minor economies. Human behavior is similar across time and space and political arrangements.

Also, reach out to the source. Want to know if "China is hoarding dollars?" Well try to verify it yourself via Treasury data or IMF data. Want to know how does Apple actually make money? Read their statements at sec.gov

Also, if you want names:

Ray Dalio puts out a lot of good research for free as a means of building his legacy. Robert Shiller wrote a lot of good econ. As far as investing goes it's really tough to beat the common sense logic of Warren Buffett and co. and Benjamin Graham and co. The true masters of speculation include George Soros and Jesse Livermore.