Max and Donatienne discuss last week’s EU-US trade deal announcement, where European allies agreed to a 15 percent tariff rate on most U.S. imports. Max talks with Lykke Friis, director of the Copenhagen-based think tank Europa, about Denmark’s presidency of the European Union.

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts 

Heart of the matter: How Denmark’s focus on Ukraine and enlargement will define its EU presidency

Max and Otto discuss President Trump’s latest tariff threats and the timid European response. Max talks to Noah Barkin, Senior Advisor with Rhodium Group's China practice, to preview next week’s EU-China summit.

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts 

Watching China in Europe—July 2025 

Max and Otto discuss last week’s NATO summit in The Hague, where European allies signed up to a massive new spending pledge. Donatienne talks with Sarah Hall, 1931 Professor of Geography and Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge University and Deputy Director of UK in a Changing Europe, about the state of the UK economy and Labour’s economic agenda. 

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts 

NATO’s “Brain Death” in The Hague

Max and Donatienne discuss this week’s G7 Summit in Canada and the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia. Then, they turn to a conversation with Dr. Daniel Fiott, Head of the Defence and Statecraft Programme at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) of the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG), to discuss the state of European defense and Europe’s rearmament. 

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts 

How the European Union and Germany Can Leverage Their Monetary Power 

Max and Donatienne discuss the second round of the Polish presidential election and its implications for Europe. Then they discuss Max’s recent Europe trip and his impressions from meetings with European officials and experts.

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts

The Implications of Poland’s Presidential Election

Max and Donatienne discuss the second round of the Romanian presidential election, Portugal’s parliamentary election, and a new EU-UK deal on post-Brexit relations. Then they turn to a conversation with Jana Puglierin, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of its Berlin office, to discuss the priorities of the new German government.

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 Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts

On this episode, Max and Donatienne cover the first round of the Romanian presidential election, where George Simion, a hard-right candidate, soared to a first-place finish ahead of the second round on May 18. Since recording this episode on May 5th, major developments, including the resignation and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and rapid capital flight, have sparked a political crisis. This story is still developing.

The hosts then break down British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempt to reset relations with the European Union ahead of a May 19 Brexit summit, and welcome Abe Newman, professor in the School of Foreign Service and Government Departments at Georgetown University and Director of the BMW Center for German and European Studies, for a conversation about coming collisions in transatlantic tech.

In this week's episode, Max and Donatienne cover Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Washington and the state of transatlantic relations as we approach the 100-day mark of the second Trump presidency.

Then, they are joined by Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme and a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), to break down how big changes in US trade policy and rising transatlantic tensions affect the EU-China trade and diplomatic relationship.

Following announcements from President Donald Trump of sweeping new tariffs, Max and Donatienne discuss the fallout from last week’s “Liberation Day” with economist and international trade expert, Federico Steinberg: a Visiting Fellow with the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. This episode dives deeply into the impact of these tariffs and what may come next for Europe.

This week, Max and Donatienne discuss the state of Turkey’s democracy after the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor days before becoming presidential candidate, the latest European Council meeting and a new EU white paper for European defense. Then, our hosts turn to a conversation with Tom Wright, senior fellow at Brookings and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the United States National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden administration, to discuss his recent article in Foreign Affairs outlining a U.S. strategy for Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

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Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts

The Right U.S. Strategy for Russia-Ukraine Negotiations | Foreign Affairs