Episodes
-
Does Bashar al-Assad’s removal offer a renewed chance for peace in Syria, or is his fall the start of a new phase of conflict in the Middle East?
Bronwen Maddox is joined by Gideon Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator, former BBC Persia journalist Rana Rahimpour and Haid Haid, a senior consulting fellow for our Middle East and North Africa programme.
Read our latest:
The fall of Assad has exposed the extent of the damage to Iran’s axis of resistance
While international support is crucial, Syrians must lead their country’s political transition
How South Korea’s turmoil will reverberate beyond its borders
Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.
Read the Winter issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
Five months in, has Sir Keir Starmer's foreign policy been a success? The UK-EU relationship remains a major challenge for 2025, as does the prospect of a new US president. How will Starmer respond, and will the recent Chagos Islands deal impact the UK's international standing?
Bronwen Maddox is joined the BBC’s diplomatic editor James Landale, Professor Anand Menon, the director of UK in a Changing Europe at King's College London and Olivia O’Sullivan and the director of our UK in the World programme.
Read our latest:
Starmer and his government must make a better case for an active UK foreign policy
Syria’s conflict was never going to stay frozen. A new push for a lasting peace is needed
North Korea and Russia’s dangerous partnership
State capacity, mining and community relations in Peru
Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
Missing episodes?
-
Europe is contending with a stagnating economy, political dysfunction in Germany and France, and Russia's relentless attacks on Ukraine, all while it looks to the return of Donald Trump. Will the continent's democracies hold together in the face of such challenges?
Bronwen Maddox is joined by journalist and historian Timothy Garton Ash, Mujtaba Rahman, Europe Managing Director at the Eurasia Group and Armida van Rij, senior research fellow and the Head of our Europe programme.
Read our latest:
The break-up of Scholz’s coalition government signals the end of Germany’s old economic model
The ceasefire in Lebanon has dealt a huge blow to Iran’s regional strategy
Why cyber doomsday warnings do more harm than good
Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
The panel discuss whether the COP29 climate summit delivered anything meaningful and what Donald Trump's election means for combating climate change.
As the world moves closer to crossing the 1.5 degree threshold, Bronwen Maddox is joined by former BBC journalist Roger Harrabin and Maria Netto, executive director of the Institute for Climate and Society in Brazil. Also with them from COP29 in Baku is Ruth Townend, senior research fellow with our Environment and Society Centre.
More from Roger Harrabin: BBC Radio 4 - The Year We Lost the Climate
Read our latest:
Closing the climate finance gap
Azerbaijan’s climate leadership challenge
What is COP29 and why is it important?
Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Read the latest issue of The World Today📕
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Take part in The World Today's Reader Survey✏️
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
-
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.
Read our latest:
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.
Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧
Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧
Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.
- Show more
