Independent Thinking – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

Rishi Sunak called a 4 July election saying the world is more dangerous than at any time since the end of the Cold War. Bronwen Maddox discusses those threats with Chatham House experts Olivia O’Sullivan, director of our UK in the World; David Lubin, our Michael Klein Senior Research Fellow in our Global Economy and Finance Programme; and Tim Eaton, senior research fellow in our Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Read our latest:

An election for ‘dangerous times’

Three foreign policy priorities for the next UK government

Is the Kremlin behind Georgia’s foreign agents law?

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. 

Bronwen Maddox is joined by Shashank Joshi, defence editor of The Economist and historian and commentator Helene von Bismarck to discuss what the next government must prioritize in the UK's foreign policy. With them is Olivia O’Sullivan, Director of our UK in the World programme and co-author of the report: Three foreign policy priorities for the next UK government. 

Read our latest:

UK parties are pitching a ‘pragmatic’ foreign policy, but can a new government make the necessary hard choices?

A Gaza ceasefire rests on preventing a full-scale Israeli offensive in Rafah

Russia is using the Soviet playbook in the Global South to challenge the West – and it is working

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 special episode, Bronwen Maddox interviews a key figure in US foreign policy to the Middle East for over a decade, Ambassador Dennis Ross.

Ambassador Ross engaged directly with both Israeli and Palestinian parties in peace negotiations under multiple US presidents, and was instrumental in brokering agreements between them, including the ‘Oslo II’ accord of 1995 and the 1997 Hebron Accord.

They discuss topics including the US-Israel relationship, what pressure President Biden can exert on Benjamin Netanyahu over a possible invasion of Rafah, global protests against Israeli action in Gaza and whether any hope remains for a deal to end the conflict.

Read our latest:

Xi Jinping hopes to improve EU–China relations – and drive a wedge between Europe and the US

Vietnam’s political turmoil reveals a turn towards China – and away from the West

The UK should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine – despite Putin’s nuclear threats

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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. 

This week, Bronwen Maddox discusses whether we are seeing a resurgence of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, given recent events in the Middle East and rhetoric from world leaders.

She is joined by Robert E Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Dr Hanna Notte, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Dr Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House.

Read our latest:

The UK defence budget increase is welcome but defers tough choices | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Confiscation of immobilized Russian state assets is moral and vital | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Confiscating sanctioned Russian state assets should be the last resort | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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. 

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Oz Katerji and Phillips P. O’Brien, a Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews. Joining them both in the studio is Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk, the OSUN Academy Fellow in the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

Read our latest:

The US aid package to Ukraine will help. But a better strategy is urgently needed

As yet another UN Libya envoy quits, his successor must be bolder

The Baltic Sea is far from a ‘NATO lake’ – the alliance must strengthen its defences

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Sanam Vakil, the director of our Middle East programme to discuss Iran's missile attack on Israel and the possible consequences across the region. Joining them both are Professor Yossi Mekelberg and Dr Elham Fakhro, Associate Fellows with our Middle East programme. 

Read our latest:

Iran-Israel exhanges are a test for China’s influence in the Gulf

Iran’s attack on Israel was not the failure many claim but it has ended Israel’s isolation

The strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria could be the spark that ignites the Middle East

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Mohammed al-Ta’ishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council - where he served as the chief negotiator and main architect of the Juba Peace Agreement. Joining them both are BBC journalist James Copnall and Rosalind Marsden, an Associate Fellow with our Africa programme and the former UK ambassador to Sudan.

Read our latest:

Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed

The ‘conflict economy’ of sesame in Ethiopia and Sudan

How Sudan’s forgotten war is being fought

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.

Bronwen Maddox is joined by Soli Özel, a Professor of International Relations at Istanbul Kadir Has University, and Hürcan Aslı Aksoy, the Head of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. With them is Galip Dalay, a Senior Consulting Fellow with our Middle East and North Africa programme.

Read our latest:

Has David Cameron’s return revitalised UK policy in the Middle East?

Maduro is flouting his commitment to hold free elections in Venezuela. The US must respond – carefully

Securitizing the Ethiopia–Sudan border: How cross-border conflict is shaping trade and the control of land 

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.