Before the latest war in Afghanistan there was the one before: the Soviet one. Now largely forgotten, it set the stage for one of the U.S.’s most successful covert operations ever. Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution joins me to discuss the American role in defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan in the final years of the Cold War.

The India-Russia relationship. It's very warm – and has been for a long time. But what are its strengths and weaknesses today? And what future lies in store for the entente between New Delhi and Moscow? I’m joined by the distinguished Indian commentator Nandan Unnikrishnan to talk about past and present of India-Russia relations.

I discuss the life and times of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India with Dr. Benjamin Zachariah, the author of a brilliant biography of this important and fascinating protagonist of the 20th century.

How high is the risk of full-fledged war between Russia and Ukraine, as of mid-December 2021?

You might think that insider trading has been regulated away or is normally enforced with an iron fist in the United States. Not so, says my guest today, Professor Daniel Taylor of the Wharton School, an expert on insider trading and corporate governance. We talk about how much insider-trading abuse there still is, how it functions, what could be done to combat it – and even whether insider trading should be criminalized at all.

Populism – the word has been on everyone’s lips in the past few years. Populist leader here, populist uprising there. But what does this word, so often thrown about and so little understood, really mean? And what is its intellectual history? The acclaimed writer and historian, Thomas Frank (author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”), is here to tell us where and when this concept originated and to discuss his new book, a much-needed and thoroughly refreshing reminder of populism’s crucial role in American history, and of its continued relevance for progressive politics in our own time.

Shahin Vallée of the German Council on Foreign Relations is here to discuss the outcome of the recent German election and what it portends for the EU on a range of issues.

My thoughts on Sir Keir Starmer's speech at the British Labour Party's annual conference.

The AUKUS announcement and the first in-person meeting of the Quad, in rapid succession -- thoughts on a changing strategic landscape.

The First World War has been described with some justice as the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century. It left behind, besides millions of dead and wounded, a legacy of bitterness, national and ethnic hatred. My guest on today’s episode, the historian Alexander Watson, has written a magisterial account of the war from the Central Powers’ perspective. Why did these societies’ elites risk war in July and August 1914? And, once war had begun, how and why did those societies endure, buckle, and finally collapse under the immense strain? Join us for a discussion about all this and about why the Great War is, in a sense, closer to us than ever before.