Independent Thinking

The $2.6 trillion spent on artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced chipmaking dwarfs the cost of previous infrastructure megaprojects. Yet AI has become a money pit for tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta, and the tech is failing to hit its stratospheric targets.

Could an AI crash take overinvested economies down with it? In the longer term, whose approach will dominate? Will it be the US's private-led model with tech giants at the top? Or China's tactic of spreading low-cost AI throughout the Global South, with an eye on dominating the future?

Bronwen Maddox is joined by Alex Krasodomski, director of Chatham House's Digital Society Programme; James Kynge, a senior research fellow for China and the World with the Asia-Pacific Programme; and Creon Butler, director of the Global Economy and Finance Programme.

Produced by Podmasters, with thanks to Stephen Farrell and Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | What the UK should learn from Kimi K3, WAICO and the Hugging Face incident

Comment | What the UK government should do on AI and tech policy

Research paper | Breaking the deadlock on AI governance

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing🎧

Audio | Africa Aware🎧

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Ukraine's drone strikes deep into Russian territory coincided with one of Kyiv's biggest political and military convulsions of the war: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov only for his decision to spark protests across the country. Why did Zelenskyy do it? Has the power struggle damaged his authority? Is Ukraine really regaining the initiative in the war? And what will it take to force Russia to the negotiating table?

John Lough examines the potential turning point in the war with Vadym Prystaiko, former Ukrainian ambassador to the UK; Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at Kings College London; and Jaroslava Barbieri of Chatham House's Ukraine Forum.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Sara Seth and Stephen Farrell.

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Comment | Ukraine's allies should make an offer to Russians before September's 'elections'

Comment | Will Ukraine's Wildberries attacks force Putin to the negotiating table?

Comment | Ukraine needs help against Russian missiles now. What more can allies do?

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing🎧

Audio | Africa Aware🎧

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Andy Burnham took over as UK prime minister with a vow to restore hope in British politics – and an early volley of voter-friendly policy promises. But are they quite as significant as billed?

How much room to manoeuvre does Burnham really have? Will new chancellor John Healey release enough funds to the Ministry of Defence, which he quit in frustration? Does Ed Miliband have what it takes to succeed as foreign secretary? And how will Britain's place in the world change?

Olivia O'Sullivan, director of Chatham House's UK in the World Programme, is joined by The Economist's political correspondent Hugo Gye and Chatham House associate fellow Jamie Gaskarth to discuss the first days of Burnham's premiership.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | How Burnham should engage with Africa

Comment | The wishful thinking behind the war with Iran

Comment | 'Structural divergence' in China's economy exposes a growing problem

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing🎧

Audio | Africa Aware🎧

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The 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey may represent the pinnacle of soft power for the USA and a moment of global prestige for President Donald Trump.

But at home, concerns are growing over his ever-expanding vision of presidential power. Is America now living with an 'imperial presidency'? Has the Supreme Court given the president powers that future generations might find hard to take back? How might Trump's autocratic style affect the November midterm elections? And why does he like to associate himself so closely with sports?

Bronwen Maddox is joined by Heather Hurlburt and Max Yoeli of Chatham House's US and North America Programme to discuss presidential overreach, football red cards and the unitary executive theory of power.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | Trump's threats – and U-turn – on Hormuz fees further undermine US credibility in the Gulf

Comment | US refusal to renew USMCA trade deal brings uncertainty for Mexico. But the treaty is far from dead

Upcoming event | US at 250: Separation vs. concentration of power

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing🎧

Audio | Africa Aware🎧

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This year's NATO summit brought together the leaders of all 32 member states in Ankara. President Donald Trump's return to the summit brought renewed controversy, with remarks on Greenland and Iran underscoring the geopolitical tensions that continue to test the unity and purpose of the transatlantic alliance. What happened in Ankara and what does it mean for NATO's future? If the Ukraine conflict winds down, will Russia pivot to test Article Five? And is Britain doing enough to prepare for a potential conflict? Bronwen Maddox looks at the summit and NATO's future with special guest General Sir Richard Barrons – former Commander of Joint Forces Command in the UK, now a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House – plus Dr Marion Messmer, director of our International Security Programme, and Galip Dalay who runs Chatham House's Turkey Initiative.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Sara Seth and Stephen Farrell.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

News release | European NATO has four years to re-establish 'escalation dominance' over Russia, conference hears

Magazine article | Yvette Cooper on Britain's place in the new world order

Comment | Will NATO be convinced by the UK Defence Investment Plan?

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing🎧

Audio | Africa Aware🎧

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The United States marks its 250th birthday at a moment of intense division and international uncertainty. At home, President Donald Trump is aggressively remodelling America's governance around expanded White House power and burning through firewalls intended to prevent presidential overreach and self-enrichment. Internationally, his capricious mix of transactional diplomacy, coercive tariffs and naked hard power has left American allies shell-shocked – and opened the door for China to spread its influence.

Former US ambassador to Qatar Tim Davis joins host Bronwen Maddox and Laurel Rapp, director of our US and North America programme, to discuss the future of the United States in the world – and whether, for ordinary citizens, the American dream still exists.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Stephen Farrell and Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | On its 250th birthday, the US is still defined by its fault lines

Comment | Europe watches the next American revolution take shape

Comment | The US government's latest U-turn on Anthropic's Mythos sends mixed signals on AI governance

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Audio | Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves No.10 a decade since the Brexit referendum that began the UK's cycle of chaos, and Andy Burnham seems set to take over unopposed. Our experts discuss what the new regime will mean for Britain's future and its role in the world.

Will attempts to bring the UK closer to Europe without actually rejoining the EU continue? Will Burnham want to increase Britain's defence budget, or will his priorities lie elsewhere? And why can't Britain hold on to its prime ministers?

Bronwen Maddox reflects on a historic week with Ben Judah, former adviser to David Lammy and visiting fellow at Chatham House, and Olivia O'Sullivan, director of our UK in the World Programme.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Stephen Farrell and Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | Britain's next prime minister faces deep foreign policy challenges – whether Burnham or another

Comment | Macron's Evian summit shows the limits Trump places on the G7

Research paper | Three foreign policy priorities for the next UK government

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Audio | Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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Can Labour's prized plans to decarbonize power generation by 2050 withstand growing demands for extra defence spending – an acrimonious argument that has already claimed two senior defence ministers? Or pressure to preserve and extend welfare benefits from the party's left and the unions, many of whom see net zero as a job killer? Plus: China's colossal subsidization of green technology has created a surplus of cheap equipment for clean power. Would Britain be wise to take advantage? Bronwen Maddox is joined by Pelin Zorlu and Chris Aylett of Chatham House's Climate and Energy team, plus special guest Archie Hall, acting economics editor of The Economist.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House, with thanks to Stephen Farrell and Sara Seth.

Explore Chatham House's latest:

Comment | Even Hormuz reopening will not resolve Europe's key energy vulnerability

Comment | The next Strait of Hormuz crisis could be even worse

Research paper | Why renewables and electrification hold the keys to EU energy security

Magazine issue | The World Today summer issue

Audio | The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Audio | Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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A tumultuous week for Britain's faltering rearmament plans sees Defence Secretary John Healey resign from Keir Starmer's cabinet, saying the prime minister and the Treasury lack the will to properly fund the defence of the nation.

Al Carns, the armed forces minister, also resigned saying the government's long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was 'not built for the threat we face'.

The departures raise further questions over whether the DIP can address the costs and trade-offs involved in strengthening UK defence.

Meanwhile, European leaders struggle to coordinate their own rearmament amid concerns that America will withdraw from the defence of the continent.

Bronwen Maddox looks at the defence predicament in the UK and Europe, with UK in the World Programme director Olivia O'Sullivan, and International Security Programme director Marion Messmer.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House.

Read Chatham House's latest:

Comment | The FCAS fighter jet looks like it's dead. Could that be a good thing?

Comment | Will the UK's Defence Investment Plan finally be honest about Britain's defence?

Comment | John Healey's resignation highlights profound strategic failure in the UK government's approach to defence

Audio | The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Audio | Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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Would the world benefit from a new economic alliance to stop China and the US from undermining the global rules we all depend on – a new 'third pole'?

That's the conclusion of a new Chatham House report published this week. How would an economic bloc like this work? Who could build it? And how would China and the US – even post-Trump – react to such a challenge to their power?

Laurel Rapp, director of our US and North America Programme, talks over an audacious plan for a new world order with the report's author and director of our Global Economy and Finance Programme, Creon Butler. They are joined by director of our Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes, Grégoire Roos. Read our report: Saving global economic governance from the 'Trump shock'.

Produced by Podmasters for Chatham House.

Read Chatham House's latest:

Comment | Global trade imbalances have changed since the 2008 financial crisis. Now they reflect new risks

Comment | Global cooperation on nuclear disarmament looks even further away

Comment | In the face of growing AI cyber threats, do middle powers have agency?

Magazine issue | Spring issue of The World Today

Audio | The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Audio | Africa Aware podcast 🎧

Follow Independent Thinking on your favourite podcast apps.