Undercurrents - Season 1

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.

Has the world forgotten Sudan?

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.

Are Israel and Iran on the brink of all out war?

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.

Is time running out for Ukraine?

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. 

On the panel is 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.

Which country is next to go nuclear?

In this new podcast series, Agnes Frimston and Ben Horton interview Chatham House experts about the critical underlying issues which are shaping modern society. The first episode features Patricia Lewis, Head of the International Security Department at Chatham House, on cybersecurity for nuclear weapons systems; and Inderjeet Parmar, Head of Politics and International Relations at City University, on the future of the US-led liberal world order. Read the research paper:  Cybersecurity of Nuclear Weapons Systems: Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences Read the International Affairs article:  The US-led liberal order: imperialism by another name?&nbsp;&nbsp;

Episode 1: Cybersecurity, and Liberal World Order

This week, Agnes speaks to Helen Fitzwilliam about a new Italian judge-led project to relocate the wives and children of the Calabrian mafia family, the ‘Ndrangheta. Ben then interviews Xenia Wickett about her recent report on transatlantic relations. Read the article  Escape from the Mafia: an Italian Judge’s Radical Plan Read the report  Transatlantic Relations: Converging or Diverging?   Department/project   US and the Americas Programme,&nbsp;Transatlantic Rift: The State of US-Europe Relations

Episode 2: The Calabrian Mafia, and Transatlantic Relations

In this week’s episode, Ben speaks to Champa Patel about President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in the Philippines, and the prospects for the preliminary examination launched recently by the International Criminal Court. Agnes then discusses UK defence policy and wider European security with Andrew Dorman, who also gives an insight into publishing with&nbsp;International Affairs. Read the Expert Comment&nbsp;  In Examining the Philippines’ Drug War, the ICC Takes a Positive but Challenging Step&nbsp; Read the International Affairs Blogpost&nbsp;  UK Defence Policy: Groundhog Day Re-visited

Episode 3: Duterte’s War on Drugs, and European Security

This week, Ben speaks to Rob Yates, Head of the Universal Heath Coverage Policy Forum in the Centre on Global Health and Security at Chatham House. They discuss the widespread practice of detaining hospital patients in their wards if they cannot afford to pay their medical bills, an illegal policy affecting thousands in Africa and South Asia. Then, Agnes learns about the growth in activism around LGBTQ+ rights in Lebanon from Nicole El Khawaja, a Programme Coordinator with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. They discuss recent developments in Lebanon and the wider region, including Beirut's inaugural Pride week in 2017, and assess whether progress can be maintained. Read the Research Paper:  Hospital Detentions for Non-payment of Fees: A Denial of Rights and Dignity Read The World Today Article: Coming soon.

Episode 4: Illegal Hospital Detentions in Africa, and LGBTQ+ Rights in Lebanon

In this week's episode Ben speaks to Laura Wellesley, a Research Fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resources Department at Chatham House, about her recent report assessing vulnerabilities in the global food trade. Then Agnes mediates a debate about how the internet is transforming the English language between journalist Marie Le Conte and The World Today editor Alan Philps. Read the Chatham House report:  Chokepoints and Vulnerabilities in the Global Food Trade Read The World Today articles: The Joys of Online Syntax  In Defence of Good Old Grammar &nbsp; &nbsp;

Episode 5: Chokepoints in Global Food Trade, and How the Internet is Changing Language

Ronan Farrow is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was previously a foreign policy advisor to Hillary Clinton. In his new book, War on Peace, Farrow traces the decline of US diplomacy over the past 30 years, drawing on conversations with every surviving Secretary of State. This week Agnes met up with Farrow to discuss the waning reputation of career diplomats, how foreign leaders should deal with the Trump administration, and how new technology is transforming the art of diplomacy.&nbsp; A longer transcript of the interview will be published in the June/July issue of The World Today.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Episode 8: Ronan Farrow on Diplomacy

Chatham House is an independent policy instute, based in London. We have been a source of independent analysis, trusted dialogue and influential ideas for one hundred years. Today, at the beginning of our second century, we continue to offer solutions to global challenges and actively seek to empower the next generation to change their world.

Episode 8: Ronan Farrow on Diplomacy

Chatham House

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