Wrapping up season 2 of BerlinsideOut, Ben and Aaron give listeners their take on what to watch out for in international security this summer – particularly at the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington, November’s American election, and the incoming European Commission. The hosts talk about the significance of Kaja Kallas’ nomination as the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and explore the state of German politics after the European Parliament Elections. They also discuss their own highlights of the season, its most important lessons – and give you a taste of what’s next for BerlinsideOut.

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

In this final regular episode of season 2 – partly recorded on the margins of the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn – Ben and Aaron first chat with a pan-European panel on how to implement the strategic change Europe needs – and back it up with appropriate mindsets, threat perceptions, resources and ‘Teampower’. Then, BerlinsideOut hears remarks from Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas – who spoke with international media during a briefing on the sidelines of the Lennart Meri Conference.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

In part two of BerlinsideOut’s ‘Pillars of Victory’ special – Ben and Aaron go from the front lines to the back rooms – to discuss the necessity of confiscating $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets to help fund both Ukraine’s victory and to hold Russia accountable for Ukraine’s reconstruction. They hear from an international panel of guests on why seizing Russia’s assets is legal and economically feasible – and discuss how doing so would demonstrate strategic resolve. Yet, despite the clear case for making Russia pay for its crimes through the seizure of state assets – Germany remains reluctant to do so. Ben and Aaron also discuss the strategic pitfalls such a failure would bring – and the need for politicians to stand up and make sure that doesn’t happen.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

In the first of ‘Pillars of Victory’ a two-part special on what the West – including Germany - needs to do to achieve victory for Ukraine, Ben and Aaron talk with top military, diplomatic and NATO experts, who bring years of experience of top-level decision-making to BerlinsideOut. They discuss the level of Western commitment needed for Ukraine to win on the battlefield, how victory is defined, and how to bring Ukraine into NATO to shield it from further Russian aggression after war’s end.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

In this episode, Ben and Aaron talk to nuclear experts William Alberque and Fabian Hoffmann, as well as to Canada’s former Ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck, about how Russian nuclear sabre-rattling plays into German support for Ukraine, how western leadership on discussing nuclear issues with the public needs to improve, and how to deter Putin’s nuclear brinkmanship.

We explain what people in allied states, including Germany, need to know about nuclear weapons and deterrence and how we can drive the debate on these issues beyond debilitating and dangerous fear. We clearly outline the threats we face – and how we can handle them.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin – goes to Tallinn! From the International ‘Lennart Meri Conference’ Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a security analyst and journalist specialising in German politics, host this special live episode, which they dub - TallinnsideOut!

In front of a special live audience in Tallinn, Ben and Aaron talk to world-renowned historian Timothy Snyder, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Portuguese Secretary of State for Defence Ana Isabel Xavier, and Eliot Cohen, one of the top strategic experts in the world. During the main discussion and in audience Q&A, hosts and panelists chat how to break the cycle of pessimism to dedicate the democratic world to Ukraine’s victory through concrete action, what history can teach us about how to defeat Russia, and how to pursue our values and interests simultaneously.

Guests:

Resources:

Follow the Lennart Meri Conference, organised by ICDS Tallinn (@ICDS_Tallinn) here and on X/Twitter using the hashtag #LennartMeriConference.

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin – goes to Tallinn! From the International ‘Lennart Meri Conference’ Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a security analyst and journalist specialising in German politics, host a series of special editions of the podcasts - TallinnsideOut!

Ben and Aaron talk to Latvian Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rihards Kols and foreign policy experts Hanna Notte and Balkan Devlen – based in Berlin and Ottawa respectively, about the first day of the Lennart Meri Conference. Panelists share their thoughts on the most important insights coming out of the conference’s first day – from the urgency of seizing Russian state assets to the message from the conference’s Estonian hosts about the need to define what Ukrainian victory looks like and the need of certain allies – particularly Germany and the US – to plan to achieve it. This is not just down to military strategy, but also economic statecraft – as the need to tighten sanctions and seize Russian assets demonstrates.

Guests:

Follow the Lennart Meri Conference, organised by ICDS Tallinn (@ICDS_Tallinn) here and on X/Twitter using the hashtag #LennartMeriConference.

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin – goes to Tallinn! From the International ‘Lennart Meri Conference’ Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a security analyst and journalist specialising in German politics, host a series of special editions of the podcast - TallinnsideOut!

Ben talks to leading think tankers and experts Matthew Kroenig, Yevgeniya Gaber and Michał Baranowski about their key themes and takeaways from the conference so far. They discuss the strategic urgency of the war in Ukraine and Europe stepping up to do more for Ukraine and, relatedly, for its own security – and how greater American leadership could help this happen. The guests talk about the need for strategic clarity and boldness in addressing the threats the free world faces.

Guests:

Follow the Lennart Meri Conference, organised by ICDS Tallinn (@ICDS_Tallinn) here and on X/Twitter using the hashtag #LennartMeriConference.

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

Chris Miller, author of the bestselling and highly-awarded “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology”, sits down with Ben and Aaron to chat about his book, and how the semiconductor industry is redrawing the current map of geopolitical risk – from the Taiwan Strait to Europe and the US. Miller also talks about how corresponding American and European risk assessments of the likelihood of an increasingly aggressive China differ – and what’s needed to properly assess the risk around this critical industry.

Ben, Aaron and Chris draw key lessons from the semiconductor industry’s history – including the role it played in winning the cold war – and highlight how democracies need to activate their advantages to prevail once more.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn

In the fourth episode of BerlinsideOut season two, Ben and Aaron sit down with Albrecht Ritschl, a renowned German economic historian, to trace the historical origins of Germany’s economic model – and how its current emphasis on geoeconomics and free riding on security has influenced German foreign policy towards Russia, Ukraine, and wider Europe. We also look at how Germany hasn’t completely shaken off its imperial mindset, and how its selective memory culture continues to influence how it views Russia and wider Europe. A spirited discussion of the neoliberal globalisation and (lack of) alternatives to it, ensues.

Guests:

Resources:

This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.

Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media:

Dr. Benjamin Tallis

Aaron Gasch Burnett

DGAP on X

DGAP on Instagram

DGAP on LinkedIn