Ten Minutes On...

In this episode of Ten Minutes On…, Guy Burton explores how the liberal order is unraveling both internationally and within the United States. He begins with Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, highlighting the erosion of the liberal international system and the pragmatic, transactional approach middle powers are now adopting. He then connects this to domestic US politics, examining the expansion of ICE enforcement and rising political polarisation, showing how similar dynamics of power, authority, and declining norms are playing out domestically. By linking these two stories, the episode explores how familiar norms and expectations are changing on the global stage and in American society. 

In this episode of Ten Minutes On, podcast creator and host Guy Burton examines the International Monetary Fund’s latest global growth forecast and asks how much confidence we should place in it. While the headline figures suggest steady expansion, the episode looks beneath the surface at where growth is actually coming from, the risks posed by trade tensions, and the growing reliance on productivity gains from artificial intelligence. It also explores deeper structural shifts in global trade, the geopolitical struggle over supply chains, and longstanding concerns about optimism in IMF forecasting. Taken together, the episode questions whether reassuring projections may be underestimating the economic and political uncertainties shaping the global economy.

This week on Ten Minutes On…, Guy Burton uses the Grok controversy on X as a lens to examine football’s online choices. He asks why Premier League clubs remain active on a platform whose design amplifies abuse and misogyny, despite the FA running safeguarding and anti-racism campaigns and when more than 70% of Premier League players are non-British—the very groups targeted by online hostility. He also highlights Elon Musk’s support for far-right figures like Tommy Robinson, who organises anti-migrant marches, and challenges fans to question whether their club’s social media presence aligns with the values it claims to uphold.

In this episode of Ten Minutes On, Guy Burton examines the US operation against Venezuela and what it reveals about a world in which rules increasingly no longer hold. Using the removal of Nicolás Maduro as a starting point, the episode explores historical precedents, global reactions, and the limits of international law when exercised against powerful states. It argues that rather than moving towards a new Cold War or a coherent replacement for the liberal international order, the global system may be settling into a condition of permanent fracture. The episode suggests that under Trump the international order is being dismantled from within—leaving disorder, rather than transition, as the defining feature of contemporary world politics.

Can frozen Russian assets really be used to rebuild Ukraine — or is this more leverage than solution? In this episode of Ten Minutes On…, Guy Burton unpacks the European Union’s decision to indefinitely freeze around €210 billion in Russian central bank reserves held in Europe, and why this move matters far beyond the Ukraine war.

We explain what these assets actually are, how they ended up in European financial institutions like Euroclear, and why the EU has shifted from temporary renewals to an indefinite freeze. The episode explores what Europe hopes to achieve, why outright confiscation remains legally contested, and how interest from the frozen funds is already being used to support Ukraine.

The discussion also breaks down the U.S. position under President Trump in 2025, divisions within Congress, Russia’s response, and claims of reputational damage to Western financial systems. Drawing on historical comparisons — from Iraq and Libya to Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia — the episode examines when frozen state assets have helped reconstruction, when they have failed, and why success is so rare.

This episode offers clear context behind the headlines, showing how sanctions, sovereign assets, and post-war reconstruction intersect — and what the Russia–Ukraine case reveals about the future of financial statecraft, international law, and global security.

In this episode of Ten Minutes On…, Guy Burton explores the latest US- and Qatar-brokered peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, signed last week in Washington. We examine how it builds on—or differs from—the June 2025 agreement, the humanitarian commitments it includes, and the practical challenges of enforcement on the ground.

Guy looks at the ongoing violence in eastern Congo, the continued activity of the M23 rebel group, and the plight of millions of internally displaced people. The episode also analyses the broader geopolitical and geoeconomic context, including strategic access to rare earths and the pressures this creates in the global competition with China.

Listeners will gain insight into the complexities of implementing peace agreements in conflict zones, the intersection of diplomacy and resource interests, and the limits of headline-making deals when fighting continues on the ground.

In this episode of Ten Minutes On…, we break down Taiwan’s $40 billion defence boost announcement last week and explore whether it can truly deter China. Host Guy Burton takes you beyond the headlines to examine the strategic, political, and military dimensions of this landmark announcement, including Taiwan’s multi-layered missile defences, asymmetric capabilities and domestic debates over security and sovereignty. We analyse regional reactions from Japan, Europe and the United States, and consider the potential consequences of Chinese aggression for Taiwan, East Asia and global supply chains. Whether you’re interested in geopolitics, Indo-Pacific security or the future of U.S.-China-Taiwan relations, this episode offers clarity, context and insight into one of the most pressing security issues of 2025.

In this week’s episode of Ten Minutes On…, we unpack the latest developments shaping global governance. First, we examine COP30 in Belém, exploring what agreements were reached, the pledges for the Loss and Damage Fund, and the challenges facing the UN climate architecture in tackling the growing climate crisis. We break down the funding commitments, highlight what was left out — including fossil fuel phase-out plans — and discuss emerging alternative frameworks that may complement or challenge the COP process.

Next, we turn to Donald Trump’s recent peace initiatives in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. We explain the contents of the 28-point Ukraine plan, the Gaza Board of Peace, and the Sudanese truce proposal, examining how these efforts compare to traditional liberal peacebuilding and the emerging post-liberal peace model. We also explore the motivations behind Trump’s diplomacy, the role of regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the risks and opportunities for long-term stability.

Throughout the episode, we highlight the parallels between climate and peace initiatives: ambition versus implementation, power asymmetries, and the tension between global frameworks and local legitimacy. Whether you’re following international climate policy, global conflict resolution, or the evolving landscape of post-liberal governance, this episode provides context, analysis, and critical insight into some of the most pressing global challenges today.

Listen now to understand the latest on COP30 fallout, Trump’s peace plans, and what the future holds for global crisis diplomacy. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share to support Ten Minutes On…, and join in conversation with me on Blue Sky, LinkedIn or through my website at guyburton.net.

In this Ten Minutes On... episode, host Guy Burton examines New Zealand’s recent Supreme Court ruling on Uber drivers — an important moment in a much wider global debate over gig-worker rights. We place the decision alongside key cases in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia to show how courts and regulators are grappling with the same questions: employment status, platform power, and worker protections. We also look at California’s Proposition 22 and the tens of millions spent by platforms to shape public opinion and policy. Bringing in historical parallels with earlier waves of precarious labour, the episode explores what these rulings — taken together — signal about the future of work, the gig economy’s business model, and the politics unfolding around them. This ten-minute briefing is designed to help listeners make sense of a fast-changing global landscape.

As the world marks Armistice Day, this week’s Ten Minutes On… draws a striking parallel between the memory of past conflicts and today’s global fight against climate change. Host Guy Burton examines what’s at stake at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where negotiators are struggling to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal alive.

With the United States pulling back under Trump’s renewed presidency, Brazil’s unorthodox diplomacy, China and the EU’s carbon market partnership, and developing nations demanding real finance, COP30 has become a test of whether multilateral climate politics can still function—or whether we are witnessing the slow unravelling of the system built in 2015.

Ten Minutes On… COP30 in Brazil: Can the World Still Limit Warming to 1.5°C? — a sharp, accessible look at climate power politics, diplomacy, and what success (or failure) in Belém could mean for the planet’s future.