In this episode of Orion Talks, host Marta Furlan talks with Professor Dawisson Belém Lopes on Brazil's foreign policy outlook, including its relations within the Latin American region and its relations with the US. The episode starts with Prof Lopes giving a detailed overview of Brazil's foreign policy outlook under the current Presidency of Mr Lula da Silva. To better understand Lula's current foreign policy attitude, Lopes takes a historical approach, looking also into Lula's past two terms as President (2003-2011). From there, Prof Lopes discusses in great detail Brazil's relations with its Latin American neighbors, emphasizing the changes that Brazil's regional posture has been undergoing over the years and underlying the specific changes that have taken place from Bolsonaro's presidency to Lula's presidency. Finally, the episode concludes with an interesting discussion on Brazil-US relations, from both a historical and contemporary perspective. To conclude, Prof Lopes shares in considerations on what a renewed Trump president may mean for relations between the two main powers of the Americas.

In this Orion Talks conversation hosted by Suat Cubukcu, Dr. Colin Clarke explores the potential implications of Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House. He analyzes how a second Trump presidency could reshape U.S. foreign policy priorities, alter the trajectory of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and test NATO’s cohesion and deterrence strategies. Additionally, Dr. Clarke examines Trump’s promises to broker peace in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Hamas, while addressing broader regional tensions involving Iran and its proxies. The discussion concludes with an evaluation of how Trump’s approach may redefine U.S. strategic competition with China and its overall impact on global stability.

In this episode of Orion Talks, host Marta Furlan is joined by Kawa Hassan to discuss the Israel-Lebanon war and its implications for the region. The conversation starts with a reflection on the implications of the death of Hassan Nasrallah and other top Hezbollah leaders may have on Hezbollah as an organization. It then moves to a discussion on the implications that the most recent confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah may have on Iran's regional strategy, with a particular focus on its Axis of Resistance and its preference for acting through proxy armed groups. From there, Kawa proceeds to explain how this new war between Israel and Hezbollah/Iran may affect the still ongoing war in Gaza, arguing that global attention is being diverted away from Gaza towards Lebanon. Finally, the conversation moves on to whether a region-wide war may be getting closer. Here, Kawa argues that - depending on the definition that one may adopt - a regional war is already occurring.

In this episode of Orion Talks, Suat Cubukcu sits down with Dr. Zachary Zwald, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston, to explore the critical intersection of advanced technology and international security. Dr. Zwald, an expert in AI, decision-making, and security, shares insights from his current research. The conversation begins with a discussion of how public perception of AI changes when the technology is applied to military decision-making, especially in critical areas such as nuclear command and control.

Dr. Zwald delves into the unique challenges of assigning accountability when AI makes errors on the battlefield—whether the blame should fall on humans or the systems themselves. He also examines key differences in public trust between AI and human decision-makers in military contexts, particularly in light of the technological competition between the U.S. and China. The episode concludes with Dr. Zwald's perspective on the need for regulating and controlling AI in military decision-making and the potential limits to its integration.

In this episode of Orion Talks, host Marta Furlan is joined by Brig. Robbie Boyd for a discussion on NATO. Building on his decades-long experience with the Organization, Brig. Boyd explains the continued relevance and significance of NATO in the contemporary global landscape. He then discusses some of the most relevant changes that he has been witnessing taking place within NATO over the years, with a special focus on how evolving threats have been impacting the Organization's posture and approach. From there, Brig. Boyd analyzes the position of NATO in different regions, discussing Eastern Europe, Africa, the High North and China. To conclude the episode, he shares his thoughts and considerations on NATO's nuclear strategy - what it is set to look like, its significance, and its implications.

In this episode of Orion Talks, Marta Furlan is joined by Dr. Angela Robinson for a discussion on human trafficking, one of the most widespread yet least talked about human rights violations. After sharing her considerations on the moral and economic cost of human trafficking for our societies, Dr. Robinson discusses how her research has utilized participatory methods to identify strategies for improving the services available to survivors of human trafficking and reflects on the importance of incorporating survivor input into case management and prevention work. She shares some of the most interesting findings that emerged from a cross-country data collection process and reflects on the policy implications of her findings. She concludes with some encouraging thoughts on how our collective fight against human trafficking can be advanced.

In this episode of Orion Talks, our podcast host, Suat Cubukcu, is joined by Dr. Jenny Schell and Dr. Linda Geven. With their multinational research team, including Dr. Teresa Schneider (who could not join the conversation), they have been documenting wrongful convictions and exoneration cases across Europe. Drs. Schell and Geven delve into their methodology, explaining how they conceptualize and operationalize wrongful convictions, gather data, and ensure the accuracy and reliability of the EUREX database amidst various challenges. The conversation extends to preliminary data analysis, highlighting common factors contributing to wrongful convictions. They also share compelling stories from exonerees in their database and compare their findings with similar studies in North America, noting similarities and differences. Finally, they discuss suggested reforms and practices to mitigate wrongful convictions.

In this episode of Orion Talks, Suat Cubukcu is joined by Travis Moran, a renowned expert in electric infrastructure security. Travis provides an in-depth overview of what constitutes critical infrastructure within the realm of electric energy, highlighting essential assets beyond nuclear power plants. He sheds light on the major threats facing U.S. electric infrastructure, discussing their vulnerabilities and the extent to which they are exposed. The discussion extends to the proliferation and expansion of unmanned systems, such as drones, and the additional risks they pose to the infrastructure. Travis explains the legal and policy challenges in countering unmanned aerial systems (UAS) threats. He concludes with strategic measures that policymakers should take to mitigate these risks.

In this episode of Orion Talks, Marta Furlan is joined by Dr Rahul Verma to discuss and explain India’s latest elections. Dr Verma reflects on some of the reasons - economic anxiety, unemployment, disaffection - that may explain why the BJP (the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi) fared worse than expected and lost a number of seats. He then explains in great detail some of the specific factors that may have contributed to the BJP's loss in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra, which are the three electorally most important states in the country. Reflecting on the election results, Dr Verma also guides us through some of the reasons why Congress Party (the party led by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi) improved its result with respect to previous elections. Finally, he shares his thoughts on how the election results and the BJP's need to form a coalition government may affect - or not - the Prime Minister's capacity to push for the wanted policies.

In this episode of Orion Talks, Marta Furlan is joined by Prof Min Ye to discuss President Xi Jinping's recent visit to France, Serbia, and Hungary - his first visit to Europe in five years. Prof Ye sheds light on the overall objective of this trip and explains how this trip situates itself within China's foreign policy objectives and China-EU relations. From there, Prof Ye guides us through the climate that has characterized China-EU relations in the past few years and shares her valuable thoughts on how Xi Jinping's visit can be expected to impact EU-China relations and intra-European relations, specifically relations between EU countries that have a more sceptical and restrained approach to China and EU countries that are much more open and willing to engage with Beijing. She also discusses the positive way in which this European trip was received in China. Finally, she concludes with her reflections on how the United States reacted to the visit.