Is the UN still relevant? The organisation faces numerous unresolved conflicts, a cash crisis, deep polarisation among its members, a bloated bureaucracy and the waning interest of its biggest backer, the US.

Venetia Rainey speaks to Richard Gowan, veteran UN watcher and UN director for the US think tank International Crisis Group. He says the body is “rotting from the top” and questions if parts of it will survive another 10 years.

Plus, a wave of Western countries including the UK, Canada, France and Australia have recognised the state of Palestine in the hope of preserving the two-state solution. But that option is long dead, according to The Telegraph's chief foreign affairs commentator, David Blair.

Read David Blair's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/20/starmers-middle-east-madness-in-recognising-palestine/

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines 

Contact us with feedback or ideas: 

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey 

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What links Elon Musk, Steve Bannon and Tommy Robinson? They all believe England is on the cusp of civil war. As US President Donald Trump wraps up his second state visit to the UK, hosts Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant examine the darker side of the transatlantic “special relationship” — from American support for the British far-right to the spread of populist extremism across borders.

They’re joined by Rob Crilly, The Telegraph’s chief US correspondent, who explains MAGA-world’s obsession with the idea of British decline, Trump’s surprisingly friendly ties with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and what the president’s visit means for US-UK relations and the defence industry.

They also discuss Musk’s speech at Robinson's "free speech" rally in London, Steve Bannon’s influence, and the rise of political violence in America following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Read Roland's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/17/conservative-america-turn-britain-musk-vance-charlie-kirk/

Read Rob's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/09/18/trump-inspects-troops-war-brewing-at-home/

Credits: X/@TRobinsonNewEra; National Conservatism via YouTube; Charlie Kirk via YouTube; White House via YouTube

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected]

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a bombshell report, the UN has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza for the first time. Chris Sidoti, one of the report's authors and a human rights law expert, explains why on this bonus episode of Battle Lines. 

Speaking to host Venetia Rainey and Telegraph reporter Lilia Sebouai, he delves into the report's findings, how his team reached their conclusions, and concrete examples of Israeli genocidal acts and genocidal intent in Gaza. They also discuss criticisms of the report, its authors and the UN at large - including Israel's allegations of anti-Semitism. 

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected]

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk marks more than a shocking act of political violence - it is a symptom of America’s accelerating era of violent populism, and it will continue to escalate without intervention.

That's according to Robert Pape, one of the world’s foremost experts on political violence, terrorism, and national security and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats.Roland speaks to Pape about what next after Kirk's murder, the deeper forces driving America’s unrest and what lessons other countries in the West should take from it. 

Plus, Venetia speaks to The Telegraph's Samaan Lateef about the historic protests in Nepal and how Gen Z demonstrators overturned a government by using new online technology such as Discord and Chat GPT.

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected]

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a week of big developments, with Nato planes scrambled after Russia sent more than a dozen drones into Polish airspace, and Qatar on high alert after Israel bombed a Hamas negotiating team in the centre of Doha. Roland and Venetia unpack the significance of the events and what might happen next. 

Plus, the team spends a day at DSEI, one of the world's largest arms fairs, to look at how the UK is getting its armed forces ready for the next war. They catch up with a veteran British tank commander on the pros and cons of the upcoming Challenger 3, the managing director of Ukrspecsystems, Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer, on why they’re investing in the UK, and Hamish de Bretton-Gordon on chemical warfare and the importance of good defensive kit.

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Image: Petty Officer Joel Rouse © Crown copyright 2024

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three generations the Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea with ruthless precision. Now Kim Jong Un appears to be grooming his 12-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his heir—a bold move in a country where women have never held power. At the same time, reports surface of a disastrous US Navy SEALs mission to bug Kim’s communications, ending in civilian deaths. So what does all this tell us about the Hermit Kingdom’s future, its ties to China and Russia, and the grip of one family dynasty? We are joined by leading North Korea analyst Rachel Minyoung Lee to cut through the mystery, the propaganda, and the paranoia.

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/04/kim-jong-un-daughter-kim-ju-ae/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew and Jihi Bustamante aren’t your average married couple — they met inside the CIA and their romance played out under the shadow of espionage. In this gripping conversation, they reveal how they fell in love during training, the reality of life inside America’s most secretive agency, and how a mole within the CIA blew their cover. Love, lies, and life on the frontline of the new spy war.

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Andrew’s CIA book ‘Shadow Cell’: https://geni.us/ShadowCellBook

If you want to hear more from Andrew, you can follow him on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China's biggest ever military parade boasted sophisticated new weapons, thousands of goose-stepping troops, and a guest list designed to put the West on notice. 

The footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping walking in between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in particular was a clear message to the US, Europe and its democratic allies: Beijing now officially heads up a new world order of authoritarian states. 

Venetia is joined by former Russia correspondent Roland Oliphant and former China correspondent Sophia Yan to explain everything you need to know about the new weapons unveiled, the leaders who were and weren’t there, and what it means for the West.

Read Sophia's exclusive drone investigation: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/09/03/how-china-is-secretly-arming-russia/

Read Sophia's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/09/03/china-parade-xi-putin-kim/

Listen to our mini series on the rise of China's military: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/08/battle-lines-podcast-inside-the-rise-of-chinas-military/

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the war for Sudan's Darfur region heats up, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are stepping up their brutal siege on the last remaining army stronghold of El Fasher, with new satellite pictures showing a wall being built around the northern city.

The RSF have been accused of genocide for conducting a campaign of violence, rape and murder against Darfur's non-Arab communities. Famine has been declared in the region and millions have been displaced.

To understand what is going on in El Fasher, Venetia speaks to the head of the Darfur Human Rights Network, Mohammed Adam Hassan, who is Darfurian and in contact with people on the ground.

Plus Amnesty's head of crisis research, explosives expert Brian Castner, explains why he believes the UAE is arming the RSF, including with sophisticated Chinese weapons.

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the old cliché goes, the first casualty when war comes is truth.

In the past week, Israel has denied that it has caused a famine in Gaza, accusing the UN-backed body behind the report of a “blood libel”, and killed five more journalists in a widely condemned double-tap attack on a hospital. 

It is part of a wider trend that has made getting to the facts of the war in Gaza difficult.

To understand how a war on truth is being waged in Israel, Venetia speaks to UNICEF’s Tess Ingram in Gaza City, Phil Chetwynd, global news director of news agency AFP, and Israeli information warfare specialist Tal Hagin.

READ MORE:

What really happened with Israel’s ‘double-tap’ strike on Gaza hospital? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/08/27/what-really-happened-with-israel-double-tap-gaza-hospital/

Seven common tropes used to deny Gaza’s famine: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/seven-common-tropes-used-to-deny-gazas-famine-debunked/

Listen to our mini series on the rise of China's military: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/08/battle-lines-podcast-inside-the-rise-of-chinas-military/

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected]

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.