Episodes

  • The re-election of Donald Trump has major consequences for America’s relations with China. The panel discuss how the US-China relationship might change under the next president.

    Guest host Ben Bland is joined by historian and political scientist Professor Rana Mitter, the FT’s US-China correspondent, Demetri Sevastopulo and Dr Yu Jie, a senior research fellow with our Asia-Pacific programme.

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    Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy will accelerate China’s push for global leadership

    The Gulf will seek to manage Trump through self-reliance and pragmatism

    Donald Trump’s policies risk making the US dollar a source of global instability

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Donald Trump has decisively defeated Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. What does his return to the White House mean for America and the world?

    Bronwen Maddox is joined by Edward Luce, the FT’s North America editor, Gerald Seib, the former Washington bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal and Leslie Vinjamuri, the head of our US and Americas programme.

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    The election shows that Trumpism is here to stay

    America chooses a new role in the world

    2024 US election results: what we know and what we expect

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • North Korea is sending troops to Russia, but what is Kim Jong Un hoping to get from Vladmir Putin for military assistance against Ukraine? The panel also discuss the role military conscription plays in Israel, South Korea and Ukraine.

    Bronwen Maddox is joined by Edward Howell, the Korea Foundation fellow at Chatham House, Orysia Lutsevych, the head of our Ukraine Forum and Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow with our Middle East and North Africa Programme.

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    As the ruling party claims victory in Georgia’s disputed election, Western condemnation is no longer enough

    Watch: 2024 US election: What will America choose?

    Watch: Is the world ready for the next pandemic?

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Ahead of a crucial budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the UK’s national debt is at almost 100 per cent of GDP - and it's not alone. Many G7 economies face massive debt levels, restricting ambitions when it comes to foreign policy and global engagement. Bronwen Maddox is joined by Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s Diplomatic Editor and Ranil Dissanayake, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Global Development. With them are Olivia O’Sullivan and David Lubin from Chatham House.

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    Trust in US democracy is at stake in this election

    US election rhetoric on migration undermines Washington’s soft power in Latin America

    Azerbaijan’s climate leadership challenge

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • France is facing political turmoil. The survival of Michel Barnier’s new government rests on whether he can pass a controversial budget intended to rescue the country from its huge fiscal deficit. Bronwen Maddox is joined by Sophie Pedder, the Paris Bureau Chief of The Economist, Shahin Vallée, a former advisor to Emmanuel Macron and Armida van Rij, the head of our Europe programme.

    Episode includes a clip of Nancy Pelosi at Chatham House.

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    Four scenarios for the end of the war in Ukraine

    Moldova and Georgia face crucial elections – and diverging paths

    How Beijing is closing surveillance gaps in the South China Sea

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Sanctions regimes are intended to be preferable to military force as a tool of foreign policy, but do they work to change behaviour or end up hurting ordinary people? With Bronwen Maddox is Daniel W Drezner, Professor of International Politics at Tufts University, Allie Renison, Associate Director at SEC Newgate, and Chris Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America with our US and Americas Programme.

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    How not to sanction | International Affairs journal

    Why the US–India relationship needs a healthy dose of realism

    What the US election means for trade policy

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • On the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks, we discuss the possible pathways for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Bronwen Maddox is joined by Daniel Levy, the president of the US/Middle East Project. With them are Sanam Vakil, director of our Middle East and North Africa programme (MENAP) and Amjad Iraqi, a MENAP associate fellow.

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    Israel needs a strategy for its place in the region that is not just attacks on current threats

    Israel’s wars have sustained the destructive leadership which brought it to this crisis

    Palestinians must be given the space to reorganize their political agency

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • With the Israeli military launching sustained attacks across Lebanon against Hezbollah, we explore why Israel has decided to ramp up strikes on Hezbollah now, even as the war in Gaza rages on and tensions continue to rise in the West Bank. Bronwen Maddox is joined by The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, Gregg Carlstrom. With them are Lina Khatib and Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellows with our Middle East and North Africa Programme.

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    Could Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah open the way to a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?

    Illicit gold is exacerbating Ethiopia’s conflicts

    The three key priorities new NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte must get right

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • As Ukraine waits to hear if it can use Western missiles to strike deep into Russia, we explore the current state of the Kursk offensive and the front lines in Donbas, and ask what if any strategy might change the course of the war into 2025. Guest host James Nixey is joined by the FT’s Christopher Miller and military analyst Michael Kofman. With them is Olga Tokariuk, the OSUN academy fellow with our Ukraine Forum.

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    Attacks on Hezbollah pagers will not improve Israel’s situation on its border with Lebanon

    The war in Sudan is intensifying. Coordinated pressure is needed to prevent the country’s fragmentation

    Austerity measures are on trial in Sri Lanka’s first election since its economic collapse

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Tuesday’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump brought fierce exchanges over immigration, abortion and foreign policy, and showed that America's global role matters in this election. Bronwen Maddox is joined by David Weigel from Semafor and Clare Malone from the New Yorker to discuss what we learned and what to watch in the rest of the race. With them is Heather Hurlburt, associate fellow of our US and Americas programme.

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    The Harris–Trump debate showed US foreign policy matters in this election

    The US election will take place in a polluted information space

    US dollar dominance is both a cause and a consequence of US power

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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    Audio clip credit: ABC News Presidential Debate: Race for the White House

  • To kick off the third series of the podcast, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anne Applebaum joins Bronwen Maddox to discuss the network of autocracies that now challenge liberal democracies and the world order they once relied on. They explore how China, Russia, Iran and others cooperate, their attacks on liberal democracies – and what the rest of the world can do about it.

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    Event | Why do autocrats survive?

    Are Ukraine’s F-16s another case of too little, too late?

    More and more cases on war and genocide are being litigated at the ICJ

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Venezuelans are protesting against Nicolás Maduro’s claim to have won the presidential election. Bronwen Maddox is joined from Caracas by journalist turned opposition politician Paola Bautista de Aleman and the FT’s Latin America editor Michael Stott. With them is Chris Sabatini, our Senior Research Fellow for Latin America.

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    Venezuela’s stolen election encourages the world’s autocracies

    Israel’s strikes in Iran and Lebanon don’t hurt Hamas and Hezbollah much

    Does President Ruto have the means to appease Kenya’s protestors?

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Democratic big hitters have coalesced around Kamala Harris as the Party’s new nominee, but what do we know about her world view, especially on Gaza, and the place of US leadership in the world?

    Bronwen Maddox is joined by chief correspondent at the Washington Post, Dan Balz, political scientist Dan Drezner, and the Director of our US and Americas Programme, Leslie Vinjamuri, to discuss what a Trump-Harris race will look like, and how the winner might approach America’s global role.

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    Kamala Harris would bring greater foreign policy experience than most new US presidents

    Biden’s decision to withdraw is an act of true leadership. It is also his best chance at ensuring his legacy

    Netanyahu’s speech sought bipartisan support by invoking the threat of Iran

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Ruth Gold.

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  • The Republican National Convention is underway in Wisconsin just days after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Bronwen Maddox is joined by journalists Edward Luce and David E Sanger to discuss the selection of J. D. Vance as Trump's running mate and what this means for America's future foreign policy. Joining them is Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of our US and Americas Programme.

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    Three key issues require progress as the UK hosts European leaders for the EPC summit

    The new government must work hard to restore the UK’s reputation as a champion of international law

    The illusion of legitimacy: unveiling Syria’s sham elections

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • NATO’s Washington summit takes place amid growing uncertainty about US leadership, and some of Russia’s heaviest missile attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war. Bronwen Maddox is joined by two former US ambassadors to NATO, Kurt Volker and Ivo Daalder, to discuss the challenges facing the alliance. With them is The Telegraph’s Roland Oliphant and Chatham House’s Armida van Rij.

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    As NATO leaders gather, Putin has been making peace proposals – why?

    Orbán is using Hungary’s EU Council presidency to bulldoze EU norms

    China’s third plenum marks a sea change in growth model

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • In this recording of a Chatham House event, Bronwen Maddox is joined by an expert panel on the morning of Labour’s landslide win in the UK general election. Will Hutton, Anne McElvoy, James Heappey and Olivia O’Sullivan discuss the Conservatives' collapse, the new prime minister and his likely cabinet, and what the result means for the UK and its place in the world.

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    Can Labour improve Britain’s place in the world?

    South Africa’s foreign relations under a new government: consistent policy with a new style

    The UK election debate has missed important conversations on defence

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • On 17 June China’s coastguard clashed violently with the Philippines near an isolated coral reef in the South China Sea. Tensions are running high between Beijing and Manila, a key US ally. Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippines Coast Guard, Collin Koh, Olivia Cheung, and Bill Hayton to discuss the dangers posed in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

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    The next UK government must bridge the Indo-Pacific and Europe

    Israel and Hezbollah are destroying the meaning of red lines

    China blocks Philippines access to South China Sea reef

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • Joining Bronwen Maddox this week is Fareed Zakaria, the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. Recorded at our 2024 London Conference, they discuss the consequences of the US stepping back from its alliances, and the international order that relies on them.

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    Donald Tusk awarded 2024 Chatham House Prize

    UK election manifestos make promises on security and foreign policy – but tough choices await a new government

    The evidence suggests Putin is not grooming Alexei Dyumin as his successor

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • With Bronwen Maddox this week is Shaharzad Akbar, the former chair of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission and an Academy Associate at Chatham House. Joining them are Nilofar Sakhi, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Centre and Heather Hurlburt, an Associate Fellow with our US and the Americas Programme.

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    What the US wants from the next UK government’s foreign policy

    Advanced economies must urgently address their public debt overhangs

    How will gains by the far right affect the European Parliament and EU?

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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  • With Bronwen Maddox this week is Suzanne Lynch, the Global Playbook author and Associate Editor at POLITICO Europe. Joining them are Armida van Rij, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Europe Programme at Chatham House, and journalist Sebastien Maillard, Associate Fellow of the Europe Programme.

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    India’s shock election result is a loss for Modi but a win for democracy

    After a landslide victory, global engagement is a necessity and an opportunity for Mexico’s next president

    An ANC–DA alliance is the outcome investors want in South Africa. But the parties see risks in partnership

    Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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