Podcast Selection

Can Viktor Orban be beaten at the ballot box?

Next Spring, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the EU's most controversial leader, will seek a new mandate. His grip on power in Budapest is tight, covering the parliament, the media and the economy. His opponents…

Fortress Europe: Who gets to come in?

The European Union is at loggerheads with Belarus over the arrival of thousands of migrants. It alleges that President Lukashenko has created a deliberate crisis by facilitating the migrants' travel into Belarus and onwards to…

The AUKUS Pact, With Michael Fullilove

Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute in Sydney, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the trilateral security agreement that Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed in September 2021,…

Standoff at the Belarus border

People seeking to migrate through Belarus and Poland are stuck at the border, and neither country wants them. EU officials have called it “weaponization of migrants” by Belarus, but for the people at the border,…

Why has Germany suspended Russian gas to Europe?

Germany has suspended approval for the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which would bring Russian gas to Europe. The project is complete and ready to supply energy to the region, so why is it…

COP26 and the global climate crisis: how do we save the planet?

As COP26 comes to a close, we investigate the global environmental and economic challenge facing humanity. In this podcast, Luke Cooper talks to economist Laurie Macfarlane, a columnist at Open Democracy and a fellow at…

How one of Bosnia’s presidents may tear the country apart

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik is taking steps that international leaders warn are “tantamount to secession” and there are fears his threats could dismantle the delicate agreement holding the country together. The war in Bosnia…

Why money matters at the COP26 climate talks

As world leaders meet in Glasgow for the COP26 climate talks, one of the biggest topics of conversation is money. There’s a lot to discuss: who has money versus who doesn’t, and what’s been promised…

The media, disinformation and the DSA

The passage of an amendment to the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) has stirred debate between the media sector and those working in anti-disinformation fields over just how much content moderation power online platforms should…

Episode 91: Climate geopolitics, and legal justice for global warming

As the first week of the UN climate change summit, COP26, takes place in Glasgow, Ben and Mariana return with two contrasting interviews on the climate crisis. Ben speaks to Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister…

Who pays to fix climate change?

"The UN Climate Conference in Glasgow is being described as a make-or-break moment for humanity. The purpose of the gathering is to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5…

Could conflict return to the Balkans?

The peace deal that ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina 25 years ago is in danger of unravelling. Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, is threatening to pull out of state-level institutions, raising fears that the unity…