I spoke to Iran expert Charlie Gammell about the extraordinary events unfolding.

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John Sweeney, veteran war correspondent - the man in the orange hat - spoke to me about four years of Russia's war on Ukraine, the heroism, the tragedy and the importance of it for all of us.

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With the dramatic events in Yemen leading to a breakdown in relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I took the chance to speak to Amr Al-Beidh of the STC - the Southern Yemeni separatist movement which has been at the heart of this issue but which has had very little, if any coverage in the world's press. He gave his side of the story and how it illustrates the world of great-power action that we now find ourselves in.

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I spoke to Neil Barnett about his recent work researching political money laundering and the role played by cryptocurrency. You can find his report here https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/uk-election-security-threatened-political-money-laundering-cryptocurrency

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Professor Klaus Dodds has been studying Arctic security for decades, long before it had addled the mind of Donald Trump. He is the author of Unfrozen - the Fight for the Future of the Arctic and he spoke to me about the real situation there, the impacts of climate change, the potential for future conflict and the role of great powers, including Russia, China and the United States.

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Dr Samir Puri works at Chatham House and has written a brilliant book called Westlessness.

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I spoke to Dan about many things. Better to have a listen. If you are looking for the chart about AI financing that he mentioned, it's here. You can find Dan on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/dankaszeta.bsky.social

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Charlie Gammell is one of Britain's leading Iran experts and he joined me in a conversation recorded on 13 January about the rapidly evolving situation in Iran. You can find Charlie's work here on Substack: https://onceadiplomat.substack.com

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Catherine Royle was Britain's Ambassador to Venezuela, making one of very few people to have met and worked with all of Nicolas Maduro, his predecessor Hugo Chavez and Maduro's (perhaps temporary) successor Delcy Rodriguez. She shared her unique experiences and insights for this emergency episode recorded on 4 January 2026.

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A struggle over who controls South Yemen might not seem particularly important, but it's a proxy for a far bigger conflict that has been bubbling for years between two of the key countries in Gulf region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. I was able to speak to Iona Craig about this and what it means for Yemen and the wider region.

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