The Crisis Room

In this Q&A episode, Marc P opens up to Mark and Amber for the first time about his experience with Havana Syndrome - a serious health issue also known as Anomalous Health Incidents. He reveals why his experience in a Moscow hotel room ultimately led to a premature end to his CIA career - and explains why he believes that a major US government cover-up on Havana Syndrome will soon be brought to light.

The team are also asked about whether Europe needs to become less reliant on intelligence-sharing with the US, whether intelligence agencies are properly equipped to combat the threat of AI and election interference, and what can be done to stop the Houthis disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea.

Have a question for a future Q&A episode? Send it to [email protected]

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

Weeks after Trump's triumphant trip to the Middle East to celebrate what he called a "historic" peace deal - his plan for long-term peace in Gaza is still yet to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2. So what's behind the delay in assembling an International Stabilisation Force? What are Arab nations saying about the idea of being a part of such a Force? And is the US still involved in negotiations, or has the issue already lost the President's attention?

In this episode, Mark reveals the details of a conversation he had this week with an Arab official close to negotiations over the Gaza Peace Plan - and explains why momentum appears to have stalled at the crucial moment.

Later, Marc P reveals that the newly elected Governor of Virginia is a close friend of his - as well as a former CIA intelligence officer. The team discuss why people still choose to go into politics - and Amber gives her verdict on whether it's worth the personal abuse that comes with the job.

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

What does it say about the UK's police and the country more generally that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from attending their match against Aston Villa? Amber and Mark break down why the authorities reached the wrong decision - and Marc P explains why the story has made news in America as part of this week's Q&A episode.

Amber also reveals how a massive emergency service response is co-ordinated at an incident like the Manchester Arena bombing, while Mark and Marc discuss whether it's time to give Russia a taste of their own medicine and deploy some grey-zone warfare against them.

Plus Marc P gives his view on whether Zohran Mamdani will win this week's Mayoral election in New York - and the team give their response to John Le Carré's view that the intelligence services are 'incompetent scavengers of the public purse'!

Have a question for a future episode? Email it to [email protected]

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

It's been another week where Amber's old department, the Home Office, has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. So is breaking up the Home Office and creating a separate Department of Immigration the solution? Amber explains what will have gone on behind the scenes of government this week as the Hadush Kebatu saga has lurched from one crisis to another - and why dividing up the Home Office isn't the silver bullet that some are claiming it would be.

Later, the team break down Donald Trump's announcement that the US will restart its nuclear weapons testing programme - and whether this means we are entering a new kind of Cold War.

Plus, as season two of The Diplomat hits our screens, Amber, Mark and Marc P reveal which TV series offer the most accurate depictions of politics and diplomacy - and Mark does his Jacques Chirac impression.

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

In the latest Q&A episode, the team tackle your questions on a variety of crises. Amber analyses what has been achieved through stripping Prince Andrew of his titles, while Marc P gives us an update on when we might finally see the Epstein Files published. Meanwhile, Amber and Mark discuss whether it's fair to say that Nigel Farage and Brexit are largely responsible for the small boats issue about which Farage and Reform UK are so unhappy.

Plus Mark explains the challenges facing journalists in a world where generative AI and misinformation are so prevalent, and Marc P tries to work out what is influencing Trump's attitude towards Putin and the war in Ukraine, as the US President veers from one position to another with every passing week.

Have a question for a future Q&A episode? Send it by email to [email protected]

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

From British colonial rule to Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, tensions have run high on the Durand Line - the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan - since it was first drawn over 100 years ago. And with fighting having once again recently broken out between the two sides, in this episode Mark takes us through the history of what has become known as one of the world's most dangerous borders - and tells the story of when he was thrown in jail for attempting to cross it while embedded with the Soviet Army.

Marc P tells his own stories of running US bases in the region during his time in the CIA - and Amber tries to explain the delicate diplomatic calculations that Western governments will be making as they wait to see if the current ceasefire holds.

Amber also reveals the surprising safeword she was assigned when she visited Pakistan as Home Secretary - and Marc P recounts what it was like to witness the anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests firsthand last weekend.

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

Have a question for a Q&A episode? Send it on email to [email protected]

Amber, Mark and Marc P are answering your questions in this first ever Q&A episode of The Crisis Room! Mark and Marc analyse how damaging it could be for Russia if Trump gives Ukraine Tomahawk missiles - and they also break down why Hamas' violent reprisals against rivals in Gaza is such an obstacle to the peace plan continuing into phase two.

Amber gives her verdict on the political purpose of the UN - and whether this year's General Assembly played a key role in bringing about the Middle East ceasefire - and the team are also asked about how great a threat China and climate change pose to national security.

Have a question for a future episode? Email [email protected]

Or follow us on social media and leave a question there: @crisisroompod

Today, the MI5 boss has spoken out about his 'frustration' at the recent collapse of the China spy trial. But how will he really be feeling about this saga which has caused so much controversy for Keir Starmer and in national security circles? Amber reveals what Ken McCallum said when she saw the spy chief this week - and why the security services will be furious that the case has fallen apart.

Mark also explains why there is so much risk attached to any trial involving spying and national security - and what he learned about the scale of Chinese espionage from his trip to FBI HQ 20 years ago.

Plus Marc P gives his forthright view on whether Hamas can be persuaded to give up their weapons - and on whether Gaza's Arab neighbours really have the 'cojones' to provide a stabilising force to keep the peace in Gaza.

Later: why is Trump talking openly about the CIA's supposedly covert action in Venezuela? Is the US heading for war with the Latin American nation?

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

How do you handle President Trump? Is China a national security threat to the UK - and should it be allowed its new 'Super Embassy' in central London? And could a future government potentially strike a migrant returns deal with the Taliban? These are just some of the questions Amber, Mark, and Marc put to Mark Sedwill - the UK's former National Security Adviser and Ambassador to Afghanistan - in a rare and wide-ranging interview.

Hear his candid view on the recent collapse of the Chinese spy trial, the terror threat to the UK in light of events in the Middle East, and anecdotes about how previous governments stopped migrants illegally entering Britain through the Channel Tunnel - and what this administration can learn when it comes to stopping the boats.

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

Yesterday's terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester left three people dead, several more injured, and an entire community shaken. But what happens in the immediate aftermath of such an incident? Amber calls on her experience of responding to five terror attacks as Home Secretary in 2017 to explain what happens at COBRA, and what the security services do next to try and prevent any further attacks.

Plus Mark gives his personal response to the rising levels of anti-Semitism in the UK, Marc describes the role the intelligence agencies will be playing in the investigation, and the team debate whether Pro-Palestinian protests planned for this weekend should be allowed to go ahead in light of the tragedy in Manchester.

Later, Andy Hughes from The Crime Agents dials in from the scene of the attack to break news of a major development in this story.

Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod