Independent Thinking

Host Bronwen Maddox is joined in the studio by Laurel Rapp, Director of Chatham House's US and North America Programme; Marc Weller, Director of the International Law Programme and down the line by Juno Berthelsen, of Greenland's opposition Naleraq party, which favours independence.

Read our latest:

Who owns Greenland?

As Carney visits China to diversify Canada's trade, the 'Donroe Doctrine' further strains US relations

US intentions towards Greenland threaten NATO's future. But European countries are not helpless

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined by Marc Weller, Director of Chatham House's International Law Programme; Laurel Rapp, Director of the US and North America Programme; and Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America.

They discuss the failure of regional diplomacy that preceded the 3 January 2026 attack by the US on Venezuela, the tentative response of the international community in its aftermath, the domestic impact on American politics, historic precedents like the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and how it is likely to influence Russia and China's actions in their regions.

Read our latest:

The US capture of President Nicolás Maduro – and attacks on Venezuela – have no justification in international law

President Trump's ambition to rebuild Venezuela's oil sector will be challenging, especially if prices continue to fall

Trump's Venezuela attack should serve as a warning even to US allies

US intentions towards Greenland threaten NATO's future. But European countries are not helpless

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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In the last Independent Thinking podcast of 2025, host Bronwen Maddox is joined by David Lubin, Senior Research Fellow with Chatham House's Global Economy and Finance Programme; Marion Messmer, Director of the International Security Programme; and Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China in Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme.

For further analysis read 'The economics of the new Monroe Doctrine' by David Lubin, examining how President Trump's actions seem to indicate the emergence of a hemispheric US foreign policy.

Read our latest:

Global security continued to unravel in 2025. Crucial tests are coming in 2026

The 'Trump Corollary' in the US security strategy brings a new focus on Latin America – but it is a disordered plan

Russia is weakened, but its influence in the Middle East should not be underestimated

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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This is a special edition of Chatham House's Independent Thinking international affairs podcast, recorded at the Doha Forum 2025.

Many of the official and backroom discussions at Qatar's annual gathering of more than 5,000 world leaders, policymakers, dialogue, corporate and humanitarian organizations from 162 countries were dominated by discussions of President Donald Trump's National Security Strategy, which was released on the eve of the forum. At one of the first events in the Doha Forum, Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox questioned US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker about it.

The podcast examines the implications for Europe, Asia, the Middle East and US foreign policy generally of the NSS document, which reinforces the Trump administration's 'America First' strategy, and contains stark language about Europe, talking about its 'economic decline' and 'the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure'. It also says: 'The days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over.'

Joining host Bronwen Maddox in Doha were: Leslie Vinjamuri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Yu Jie, a Senior Research Fellow on China in Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme, and Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Produced by Stephen Farrell and John Pollock.

How are Europe and Ukraine reacting after the US and Russia sought to strike their own deal, and Putin warned that Moscow – while not planning for war with Europe – is 'ready right now'.

Host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Grégoire Roos, Director of the Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes; Natalie Sabanadze, a Senior Research Fellow and former Georgian Ambassador, and Jaroslava Barbieri, Research Fellow with our Ukraine Forum.

Read Chatham House's report 'Tightening the oil-price cap to increase the pressure on Russia' about how the current international sanctions regime is failing, and how to fix it.

Read our latest:

Zelenskyy's right-hand man has gone. Here's what should happen next

Putin's India visit aims to reaffirm New Delhi–Moscow relations – just as Trump applies pressure to downgrade them

UK's indecision over Chinese 'mega-embassy' highlights need for a more coherent China policy

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves published her – widely leaked – budget this week. How does it leave her ruling Labour Party positioned in Britain? And what do the calculations look like from overseas, where other countries have adopted different solutions to the problems facing them?

For this discussion on Chatham House's international affairs podcast, host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Olivia O'Sullivan, Director of the UK in the World Programme. And, giving an international perspective on UK finances, are Sébastien Maillard, an Associate Fellow in the Europe Programme and James Kynge, a Senior Research Fellow for China and the World in the Asia-Pacific Programme.

Read our latest:

Trump's 28 point 'peace plan' marks Europe's last chance to stand up for Ukraine

China's 'smart authoritarianism' has upended ideas about autocracies' limitations. The West must cooperate to respond

Why an African Credit Rating Agency isn't a good idea for the region's borrowers

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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After the North Darfur capital El Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces, aid agencies and survivors talk of civilians being massacred in the streets. The international affairs podcast of Chatham House examines the human toll, and the dynamics of a war fuelled by regional powers and their proxies seeking to control Sudan's territory, gold, natural resources, and access to key waterways.

Host Bronwen Maddox, is joined by Ahmed Soliman, a Senior Research Fellow in Chatham House's Africa Programme; Hubert Kinkoh, a Mo Ibrahim Foundation Academy Fellow; Kholood Khair, director of the think tank Confluence Advisory, and Bashair Ahmed, a researcher at the University of Sussex who focuses on migration, human rights, and humanitarian action.

Read the Chatham House report Gold and the war in Sudan. It covers how Sudan's main warring parties – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – were in competition for the country's natural resources, and how the fight to control gold assets has been one of the drivers of the conflict.

Read our latest:

Comment: South Africa's G20 presidency demonstrates the challenge of inclusion in a fractious world

Comment: Low-cost Chinese AI models forge ahead, even in the US, raising the risks of a US AI bubble

Comment: Ukraine's arms deal with France faces major hurdles before it can be realized

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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Nearly four years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials and analysts look at the prospects for a ceasefire, and at the military, economic and human cost that President Vladimir Putin's campaign has inflicted on the country. They discuss the Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, intended to demoralise the civilian population, and what European allies should do to bolster its defence efforts, and to rebuild the country if there is a ceasefire.

Host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Minister of Defence of Ukraine; Daryna Marchak, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture; Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of the Opora Civic Network; Simon Smith, Chair of Chatham House's Ukraine Forum and Dominic Nicholls, Associate Editor of The Telegraph.

The discussion came as Chatham House hosted a conference - 'War in Ukraine: The battleground for the future of Europe'.

Read our latest:

Comment | Ukraine's best defence against Putin's energy war is more attacks on Russia's oil refining sector

Comment | As the US eases sanctions on Belarus, is it time for the EU to rethink its approach?

Comment | Russia and the US put nuclear testing back on the table. Is time running out for arms control?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York's mayoral race this week – and other electoral successes – energized Democrats in the US and left-wing parties worldwide. The new standard-bearer of the American left is hailed by progressives as a generational shift of leadership – at 34 he will be the first Muslim mayor of New York, and one of its youngest ever.

But he faces opposition from many quarters over his plans to raise taxes on the wealthy. Not least from President Donald Trump, who has threatened to hold back federal funds from the city where he was born.

This week's podcast assesses the significance of the first major elections of Trump's second term, and what it means for the Democratic Party's chances of winning back the House of Representatives in midterm elections next November.

In the US, host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Laurel Rapp, director of the US and North America Programme, and Bruce Stokes, an associate fellow at Chatham House and a former director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center. Joining from London is Stephen Farrell, head of News and Comment, who covered the 2013 New York City mayoral election for The New York Times. Read our latest: Trump's tariffs face Supreme Court challenge that could have significant consequences for presidential power Has Trump's Asia tour reassured the US's Asian allies? Kenya's conversion of Chinese debt to renminbi reflects economic pragmatism more than strained US ties

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders suffered a setback on Wednesday's elections, with centrists poised to take back power.

Rob Jetten, 38, leader of the centre-progressive Democrats 66 party, is set to become the Netherlands' youngest leader in modern history after running on the upbeat slogan 'Yes we can'. But the hard right remains influential.

To discuss the outcome, and what it tells us about Europe beyond the Netherlands, guest host Grégoire Roos, Director of Chatham House's Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes, is joined by Sébastien Maillard, a Chatham House Associate Fellow and special advisor to the Jacques Delors Institute. And, joining down the line, is Karien van Gennip, a former Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Read our latest:

China's leaders' meeting confirms Xi's authority and shows technological self-reliance is now the priority

Trump and Xi won't reset the China–US rivalry, so other nations must prepare

China's economic model will continue to alarm its trading partners

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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