Episoder
-
This week a very public spat erupted between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Vlodomoyr Zelensky after Washington took the unprecedented step of starting peace negotiation talks with Moscow - but without Kyiv.
After Zelensky accused Trump of disinformation, Trump retorted by branding Zelensky a dictator, something that has been roundly condemned by European leaders.
So why has Trump turned against Zelensky, what is behind his embrace of Russia and is his view shared by Americans?
Plus: How do you end a war? Do they always end in negotiations, as the cliche goes? And is there a fair way to do it - particularly if neither side has been militarily defeated?
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, the Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London, looks to history to discuss all these questions and more.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
As the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal enters its final weeks, the region is on tenterhooks to see what will happen next.
Will the rest of the hostages be released and aid continue to enter Gaza? Or will the deal be blown up and fighting restart? And as we mark 500 days since the October 7th massacre, weâll be asking to what extent Israel has achieved its original war aims.
Plus, we go behind the scenes at the most dramatic Munich Security Conference yet, and look at why deputy US vice president JD Vanceâs speech left European leaders speechless.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Manglende episoder?
-
In a recent address to NATO in Brussels, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the U.S. is no longer "primarily focused on Europe's security." He emphasised that the U.S. would not send troops to Ukraine and would 'no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency'. With the American commitment to global peace since 1945 now over, what does this shift mean for European security? Can Europe defend itself without American troops, funding, and intelligence support?
Plus: is the Trump administration signalling a move towards a multipolar world, where global power is divided into three distinct spheres of influence?
Roland Oliphant is joined by Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow for European Security at RUSI, and by Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
USAID is dead. From Ukraine to Vietnam, the knock-on effect from Donald Trump and Elon Musk's dramatic shuttering of one of the largest aid agencies in the world is being felt around the world. Why has it been shuttered and what does it mean for American soft power?
Roland Oliphant speaks to Sera Koulabdara, CEO of Legacies of War, about the halt of de-mining work in southeast Asia and why it is essential for American influence in China's backyard.
Plus he talks to The Telegraphâs senior foreign correspondent Memphis Barker about why Kyiv is especially worried and whether this might prompt a rethink of the international aid system.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
In a shock announcement this week Donald Trump said he would âtake overâ Gaza, âownâ it and called for Palestinians to be 'resettled' in neighbouring countries, prompting concerns over ethnic cleansing. Venetia Rainey catches up with The Telegraphâs woman in Washington Katie O'Neill about it and asks military expert Linda Robinson about the feasibility of Trumpâs proposed plan.
Plus: The Telegraphâs former Beijing correspondent Sophia Yan explains why China retaliated to US tariffs and what lessons were learned from dealing with Donald Trump in his first term.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Amid news of Iran developing new ballistic missiles and unveiling an underground missile city, we look at the truth behind this show of force. With its axis of resistance across the Middle East in tatters and ongoing internal issues over women's rights, the economy and the environment, we ask - can the Iranian regime survive 2025?
Plus: We catch up with exiled Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof about his new film The Seed of the Sacred Fig and ask what he thinks will happen to the Iranian regime.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
US President Donald Trump has called Chinese AI company DeepSeek a "wake up call" - and he's right. As shock waves continue to reverberate through the US tech industry, The Telegraphâs AI and cybersecurity expert Gareth Corfield explains why a new AI Cold War is developing and what it means for Western security.
Plus, we speak to a Doomsday Clock scientist about why AI means humanity is closer to disaster than ever before, and look at what the Trump administration's approach will be to the conflict in Congo and the African continent at large.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
New Middle East correspondent Henry Bodkin talks to Venetia Rainey about his recent trip to Syria where he went out on the road with ruling party Hayat Tahrir al-Sham looking for former Assad regime loyalists. He also discusses the stories behind the biggest headlines from the Middle East, including what the latest hostage release tells us about Hamasâ remaining strength in Gaza and why one Israeli woman was left off the list.
Plus, Roland Oliphant explains why Congo's foreign minister has accused its neighbour Rwanda of declaring war and the role 'blood minerals' are playing in the conflict.
Read:
'On the road with Syriaâs new âterroristâ leaders' by Henry Bodkin:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/23/syria-young-rebels-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-justice-purge-hts/
'The teeth and bones that hold the key to this centuryâs worst chemical weapons attack' by Henry Bodkin:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/11/teeth-bones-hold-key-centurys-worst-chemical-weapons-attack/
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
As Donald Trump returns to the White House, the world braces for what comes next. Every Friday, Battle Lines will turn its focus to the US and look at how Trumpâs foreign policy decisions are reshaping the world.
On todayâs episode, we look at Donald Trump's first week in office. Roland Oliphant is joined from Washington by The Telegraph's Katie O'Neill to get the latest, and speaks with the author and historian Robert Merry about the 19th century President William McKinley, who appears to be the inspiration for Trump's new American expansionism.
Plus: former soldier Chris Purdy tells us why many veterans are alarmed at Donald Trump's pick for Defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
As the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal comes into effect, we speak with Jotam Confino to hear why he thinks the deal is unlikely to hold and why Israelis are angry with Netanyahuâs government. We also hear from Rosalia Bollen, UNICEF Communications Specialist, who describes the scale of the humanitarian challenge in the Gaza strip where 1. 8 million people are in urgent need of emergency shelter, food and essential household items. Plus: on Donald Trump's first day back in the White House, Brussels correspondent Joe Barnes examines just what he wants from the world, and whether he'll get it.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey discuss the Gaza ceasefire, how the deal happened and what it means for Israel, Hamas, and the world. Plus: reactions from Ruwaida Amer on the ground in Gaza and from Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, one of the hostages killed by Hamas.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
The former British Army colonel and chemical weapons expert tells Venetia Rainey about his recent trip to Syria, his optimism about the countryâs future, and the efforts to find the evidence of Assadâs use of chemical weapons. Plus: Can negotiators get a Gaza ceasefire deal over the line before Donald Trumpâs inauguration next Monday?
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
With no end in sight to conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and many more places, 2025 promises to be at least as tumultuous as last year. So what is the biggest threat to security for Britain, and its Western allies?
From complacency and our underfunded army to China and Russia, we get the views of Alicia Kearns MP, former chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and now Shadow Minister for National Security; General Lord Richard Dannatt, former head of the British army; and John Bolton, former foreign security advisor to Donald Trump and ambassador to the UN.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
In late December Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, forcibly evacuating its wards of patients and medical staff and arresting the hospitalâs prominent director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. Venetia Rainey catches up with The Telegraphâs Middle East correspondent Jotam Confino to find out more.
Plus: the inside track on a migrant smuggling network that reaches from Afghanistanâs Herat to the French port of Calais. Our foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii infiltrated the network for The Telegraph.
Contact us with feedback or ideas:
@venetiarainey
@RolandOliphant
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
On another special episode of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and guests look at the war memoir. How have war memoirs shaped our understanding of wars? Has the art and the role of the memoir changed over time? And will the ones written today similarly influence how future generations will remember the wars of our time?
Contributors
Francis Dearnley (The Telegraphâs Assistant Comment Editor)
Dr. Matilda Greig (Historian at the National Army Museum in London, specialising in the Napoleonic period)
Colin Freeman (Journalist and author)
'Dead Men Telling Tales, Napoleonic War Veterans and the Military Memoir Industry, 1808-1914' by Matilda Greig, is available here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dead-men-telling-tales-9780192896025?cc=es&lang=en
'Curse of the Al Dulaimi Hotel : And Other Half-Truths from Baghdad', by Colin Freeman, is available here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curse-Al-Dulaimi-Hotel-Half-Truths/dp/1906308020
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
On this special end of year episode, Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph's Chief Film Critic Robbie Collin to look back at the best war films of the year. Plus: Are we seeing an era of growing conflict reflected on film? And what do the films we make say about our attitudes to these unsettling times?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
In another special episode looking back at history, Venetia Rainey talks with the author of âFifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecsâ, a book that came highly recommended by David Knowles. Itâs a new look at how the Aztecs dealt with internal conflict, how they lost the war with the Spanish, and how history has misremembered them.
'Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecsâ, by Camilla Townsend, is available here:
https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/fifth-sun-9780197577660
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
On this special episode of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and guests tackle the late David Knowlesâ favourite conversational gambit: Who is your favourite of Napoleonâs Marshals? As they ponder their own choice they look back at who the generals were, what made them âgreatâ, and why they continue to capture the imagination.
Contributors
Francis Dearnley (The Telegraphâs Assistant Comment Editor)
Dr. Matilda Greig (Historian at the National Army Museum in London, specialising in the Napoleonic period.
Dr. Zack White (historian and host of 'The Napoleonic Wars Podcast')
The Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity
To learn more about the charity that aims to provide similar care to the dead of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to that we see from more recent conflicts, visit:
https://www.nrwgc.com/
'Napoleonic Objects and their Afterlives', edited by Matilda Greig, is available here:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/napoleonic-objects-and-their-afterlives-9781350415072/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
As mysterious drone sightings near US military bases continue to unsettle anxious citizens, we look into what a new drone age means for the future of warfare. The flying objects have been defining the battlefield for a while, dominating the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East. But now, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, anyone can build an autonomous killer drone. So could this herald a new age of assassinations and mass destruction? How can it be controlled? And can it be kept out of the wrong hands?
The Telegraphâs Arthur Scott-Geddes tells Roland Oliphant how he turned a toy into an assassination device and why more conversation around containing this technology is needed.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
In the first episode of our special holiday series taking a left-field look at conflict and war, we hear personal stories from two countries that have had to grapple with multiple crises in recent years: Lebanon and Afghanistan.
Journalist Sune Engel Rasmussen lived and worked in Afghanistan for nearly a decade. He spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone from Taliban fighters to female activists for his book âTwenty Years: Hope, War, and the Betrayal of an Afghan Generationâ He talks about the lasting impact of Americaâs post 9/11 invasion in 2001 on young Afghans and how the Taliban managed to make such a startling comeback.
Plus: Victoria Lupton, founder and CEO of charity Seenaryo on how Lebanon is faring post-ceasefire deal and their film Tilka, which follows five women navigating the collapse of the country prior to the war.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Vis mere
