Michael Sheridan on Xi Jinping

With Charlie Gammell

Revolution in South Asia

With Richard Gowan

<p>I spoke to Charlie Gammell, author, former diplomat and Iran expert on the unfolding crisis in Lebanon after the explosions of Hizbullah communications equipment.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>I spoke to Professor James Crossland about the extraordinary life of diplomat, secret agent and journalist Robert Bruce Lockhart.</p><br><p>You can find James's book on the subject here: <a href="https://eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-agent/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-agent/</a></p><br><p>James is on Twitter @drjcrossland </p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

with Jonathan Rugman

<p>Have we entered a post-Western world? What does that mean and how does it look from the other side of the world? Singapore based academic and former British diplomat has published a new book, <em>Westlessness</em> about this idea and I spoke to him for a wide-ranging discussion on the decline of the west, the rise of Asia and the potential implications.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

James Dorsey on the struggle between two visions of faith

with Neil Hauer

with Ian Bond

<p>In this episode I speak to <a href="https://twitter.com/annettedittert" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annette Dittert</a>, London correspondent of German TV channel ARD since 2008. She has lived here since 2008, but she remains someone who can look dispassionately at our politics, culture and institutions. </p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>I spoke to Nick Cohen, veteran political journalist and author of the Writing from London substack <a href="https://nickcohen.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://nickcohen.substack.com/</a> about the record of the past 14 years of Conservative government and what we might expect from a Labour one.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>I spoke to Jason Pack about the fallout from President Joseph Biden's poor debate performance on 27 June. Jason has written about this in his substack and also recorded his own podcast on the subject, both available here: <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-146086715?source=queue" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://substack.com/home/post/p-146086715?source=queue</a></p><br><p>We covered: does the poor debate even matter? What is the process (if one exists) for replacing Biden as the presidential nominee? Who are the likely candidates? What is at stake if Biden doesn't stand down and Trump wins?</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Is a hard-right government about to come to power in Europe's most important country?

With Akanksha Narain

Will the EU parliament elections upend the EU's political balance?

<p>With Trump's criminal conviction, the chaos and division of American politics seems set to increase. But this is about much more than what happened in a New York courtroom, with roots in American history, its political structures and the rise of certain ideological movements. I spoke to American political scientist Jonathan Terra about the backdrop to the current events.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>I spoke to disinformation expert Amil Khan about the current state of disinformation in global and UK politics and the risks it could pose to the 2024 UK general election. Amil is Director of Valent projects. His work has been covered in a range of media outlets including <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/05/01/disinformation-is-on-the-rise-how-does-it-work" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disinformation is on the rise. How does it work?economist.com</a>, and the BBC <a href="https://youtu.be/VQ1jXrvJazY?feature=shared" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How some AI developers are combatting malicious bots | BBC Newsyoutu.be</a>.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>I had the chance to speak to Marika Mikiashvili of the Droa liberal internationalist party in Georgia about the background to the current protests in her country, Russia's history of interference and military intervention and the importance of Georgia's struggle to the wider question of democracy in Europe.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>It was my huge pleasure to speak to German historian of Britain Helene von Bismarck. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky and also on her website <a href="https://www.helenevonbismarck.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.helenevonbismarck.com/</a></p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Following on from the episode on 22 April, the second part of my conversation with Sydney Nash on the UK's relations with Europe.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>At a time when the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/world/europe/ukraine-kharkiv-russia-glide-bombs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unbreakable city</a> of Kharkiv faces untold destruction and sustained bombardment by Russian forces it was a privilege to speak to <a href="https://twitter.com/DrJadeMcGlynn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Jade McGlynn</a>, a scholar of Ukraine and Russia, who is based there. We discussed the situation in Kharkiv and across the wider front and also the vital work she is involved with to raise funding for new technologies to support Ukraine's defence. You can find more details of it here <a href="https://uscc.org.ua/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://uscc.org.ua/en/</a></p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>As ever, British debates about the EU tend to be debates about Britain. We might hope to rejoin, or at least regain a better-functioning trading relationship with the organisation, but we don't do enough thinking about where the EU is headed in its own development. So I spoke to Europe expert Sydney Nash about this over two episodes. The first of these focuses on the EU's current situation.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Iran and Israel have been on the brink of open conflict, in the light of Iran's barrage of drone and missile strikes on Israel, which in turn followed Israel's strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus. I spoke to Charlie Gammell, Iran expert, historian and former diplomat, about the crisis and what we might learn from it.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>