Independent Thinking

Bronwen Maddox is joined from Dakar, Senegal by Gilles Yabi, the founder and CEO of WATHI, the West Africa Citizen Think Tank and Idayat Hassan, a Senior Associate with CSIS. Joining them in the Chatham House studio is Paul Melly, a Consulting Fellow with our Africa Programme.

Read our latest:

Democracy in West Africa: Why Senegal's election crisis matters

Sudan's forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed

The UK should help coordinate support for Ukraine by backing EU defence initiatives

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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Bronwen Maddox is in Japan this week, and is joined from Taipei by journalist Bethany Allen to discuss China's National People's Congress and the political calculations of Beijing's neighbours. Joining them are Robert Ward from The International Institute for Strategic Studies and Dr Yu Jie – a Senior Fellow with our Asia-Pacific programme.

Read our latest:

Why Egypt's improved economic outlook is mostly down to luck, not skill

This time Haiti really is on the brink. The US and UN must act to restore order

The EU's new AI Act could have global impact

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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Guest host Leslie Vinjamuri is joined on the podcast this week by Ben Smith, the Editor-in-Chief of Semafor News and Professor Jennifer M Lind – an Associate Fellow with our US and Americas programme.

Read our latest:

How foreign policy might impact the outcome of the US election

This time Haiti really is on the brink. The US and UN must act to restore order

How geopolitical competition in the Black Sea is redefining regional order

Presented by Leslie Vinjamuri. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined on the podcast this week by Gregg Carlstrom, the Middle East correspondent for The Economist, Siavash Ardalan from BBC Persia and Dr Sanam Vakil – the Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme.

Read our latest:

The Gaza war is testing Hezbollah's strategic capability

Sweden brings benefits for NATO but accession delay raises difficult questions

Watch the keynote address by Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Bill Browder – who for years has worked as a human rights and anti-corruption campaigner against the Putin regime. Alongside him is Nikolai Petrov, a Consulting Fellow with our Russia and Eurasia programme and Yulia Mineeva, an Academy Fellow with Chatham House, who was previously Head of News for Novaya Gazeta, the main independent newspaper in Russia.

Read our latest:

Alexei Navalny's most powerful legacy is urging Russians to imagine their country without Putin

China's 'renminbi trap': The economy needs a weaker currency, but Beijing is unable to act

Ukraine means enlargement is again the EU's priority – but not for the reasons it claims

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week from Jakarta by Professor Burhanuddin Muhtadi, executive director of the Indonesian polling organization Indikator Politik Indonesia, and Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former advisor to Indonesia's Vice President and chair of Indonesian think tank, The Habibie Center. Joining them all is Ben Bland, the director of our Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House.

Read our latest:

'Continuity' Prabowo means change for Indonesia

Indonesia's Democracy Is Stronger Than a Strongman (Foreign Affairs)

Indonesia's elections: new president, new parliament, same old politics?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Ciaran Martin, the former Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre; Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Vice Chair of the African Union's Cyber Security Experts Group; Amy Hogan-Burney, General Manager of Cyber Security Policy at Microsoft and Joyce Hakmeh, the Deputy Director of our International Security Programme.

Read our latest:

Yes, China pressured Iran on Red Sea attacks – but only to protect its own ships

A long war works against Ukraine – and the West's own security

Pakistan must ensure free and fair elections to avert a meltdown

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Madiha Afzal, an author and Research Fellow at Brookings in Washington DC. Joining them are Dr Farzana Shaikh, an Associate Fellow with our Asia-Pacific Programme and Dr Chietigj Bajpaee, our Senior Research Fellow for South Asia.

Read our latest:

Pakistan must ensure free and fair elections to avert a meltdown

February/March issue of The World Today

Russia's withdrawal from its border agreement with Finland is an expansion of its hybrid warfare on the EU

The world is already in Trump-induced chaos. Prepare for things to get worse

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Olga Tokariuk, an Academy Fellow in our Ukraine Forum, and Natalie Sabanadze, a Senior Research Fellow in our Russia and Eurasia Programme to discuss Viktor Orbán and Ukraine.

Don't miss our expertise:

The Director's Annual Lecture 2024

Orban's Ukraine gamble is a blow to the EU's geopolitical ambitions

Are we heading for World War Three – and is Britain's military ready?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Roxanne Escobales, Editor of The World Today, is joined this week by Tom Sharpe, a former commander in the Royal Navy and defence columnist with The Telegraph. Joining them are Dr Sanam Vakil, the Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme, and Farea Al-Muslimi, a Research Fellow with Chatham House and Yemen specialist.

Don't miss our expertise:

The Director's Annual Lecture 2024

The Houthis won't back down after strikes on Yemen

When Netanyahu falls, Israel's democracy will need new political realignments

Read the latest edition of The World Today here.

Presented by Roxanne Escobales. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.