I've got three recommendations for you. I recommend watching Oppenheimer. I recommend reading the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, co-authored by Kai Bird and the late Martin Sherwin, on which the movie is based. And I recommend listening to this episode of my podcast as I had a chance to talk to Kai Bird. And I do believe we had a very interesting debate about the movie, his book, and about how relevant Oppenheimer is these days. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Franz-Stefan Gady is the founder and chief executive officer of Gady Consulting and also a consulting senior fellow with the Institute for International Strategic Studies. With the other experts he recently visited Ukraine's frontlines, so I am glad he agreed to discuss what he saw and what could be next for Ukraine's offensive and Russia's defense. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

The Spanish elections will take place on July 23rd and it seems we will witness the same situation as in some other European countries. It means that the mainstream right will have to collaborate with the far-right to govern. In the case of Spain, we are talking about the People's Party cooperating with Vox. But would the far-right Vox in government change the country? I talked to Alejandro Quiroga who is a Reader in Spanish History at Newcastle University. We have also discussed why the right is leading in the polls and how the electoral campaign is influenced by the Russian war against Ukraine. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

The current polls show that the far-right Alternative for Germany, in German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), is the second most popular party in the country. While it is an extremely unlikely scenario, I wanted to know what would happen if the AfD would rule Germany. So I talked to Kai Arzheimer who is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Mainz. We have also discussed why the AfD is rising in the polls and how it's connected with the Russian war against Ukraine. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠⁠

As the NATO summit in Vilnius is approaching and the war intensifies, I talked to Ben Hodges who is a former commanding general, United States Army Europe. He explained how he sees the Ukrainian offensive and what are Russians doing to counter it. We have also discussed what weapons Kyiv needs for the possible breakthrough and why the West is still not providing such systems. And what does he expect from the NATO summit in terms of strengthening defense of the Eastern flank and regarding Ukraine's ambitions to join the Alliance? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠

Should Iran face more sanctions if it continues helping Russia to wage a brutal war against Ukraine? I talked to Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University. We also discussed how far would Russia go to help Iran and vice versa, how the Russian war affects the Middle East, China in the region, and how weak or strong is the regime in Tehran. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠

John Sipher is a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, and the co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment, a production firm providing content to the entertainment industry. He retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, which included serving in Moscow and running the CIA’s Russia operations. So I asked him if he would hire current  Russian President Vladimir Putin for the CIA looking at his KGB's career. We also discussed John's career, the brutal Russian war against Ukraine, Spycraft Entertainment, but also how deep into Putin's inner circle can the Western intelligence services see. Do you wanna know? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠

Andrei Kolesnikov is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. For now, he stays in Russia, although he was labeled as a foreign agent. According to Andrei, Russian society is basically the same if we compare pre-war times and the current situation. The group of Putin's non-supporters has always been around 15-20 percent and the invasion didn't change this. So can something penetrate the mind of Russians? Does Putin's regime resemble the late era of Stalin? Should we be worried that with all the talks about nuclear weapons, Russia may think that maybe they are not that dangerous? And what about the relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner's boss Yevgeny Prigozhin? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper cannot be clearer. He believes Donald Trump would try to pull the US out of NATO and South Korea in his second term. I talked to Esper at the annual GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava and we also discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Republican Party, and China. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak⁠

What happens if Belarus' dictator Alexander Lukashenko dies? I talked to the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. And she has a plan. She fights for her country as her husband Siarhiej is imprisoned by the regime. We also discussed the dangers of the Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, Ukraine and how she works hard to keep Belarus on agenda. Our debate took place at the annual GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak