,,The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,” US state department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. What is behind the record number of Chinese military planes entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone? China watcher, editor of the China Story blog and co-author of the column China Neican 内参 column Adam Ni identifies three reasons. How much is he worried about a possible conflict in the Taiwan Strait? What kind of dynamics does he see in the Taipei-Beijing-Washington triangle? And where is Europe in all of this? Listen to our conversation.

Is Brexit going badly? According to a recent YouGov poll, 53 percent of Britons think so. But does it mean that they want to rejoin the EU? I talked to Martin Farr, a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History at Newcastle University. We also discussed how to put the current fuel crisis in the UK into a historical perspective and what's next for the Labour Party under the leadership of Keir Starmer. And why does Dr. Farr think that Starmer and Tory PM Boris Johnson are basically in the wrong jobs? Listen to our conversation.

A new poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) shows that EU citizens view Germany as a trustworthy, pro-European power and Angela Merkel’s approach of searching for compromises between competing interests is a major source of Berlin’s positive image. But, of course, there is a but. Merkel is leaving politics. What is the most positive and the most negative aspect of her political legacy? Will her legacy last beyond the parliamentary election that takes place on September 26th? And could French President Emmanuel Macron be jealous of Merkel? I talked to Jana Puglierin, a Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR and the head of ECFR’s office in Berlin. Listen to our conversation.

We're gonna have to spend years looking at this to really work out what the hell just happened with CDU/CSU. This is how Alexander Clarkson, Lecturer in German, European and International Studies at King's College London, sees the situation just before the election in Germany. Looking at the polls, it seems Social Democrats might get between 25-27 percent of votes, while Christian Democrat will only get between 20-23 percent. Dr. Clarkson explains why this is happening and what surprises him most. And does he think that outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel regrets something after decades in politics? Listen to our conversation.

When was the last time the Labour Party in Norway didn't win the parliamentary election? In 1924. And the series of victories didn't stop on September 13. While the Labour Party won only 26,3 percent of votes, which is historically one of the weakest results, they will still have 48 seats in the parliament and everybody expects that they will establish a governing coalition with the Socialist Left and the Center Party. And that would mean that all five Nordic countries will be run by the center-left governments. But does it really matter? I talked to Nicholas Aylott, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Södertörn University. His main academic interest is in comparative European politics, with a focus on political parties. Listen to our conversation.

Is Pope Francis happy with his job? And even if he is, he is also 84, which means he is not the youngest. Are there any indications that he may resign? About Francis' papacy, I talked to John Allen, the editor of Crux, and a senior Vatican analyst for CNN. He has written eleven books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs. Pope Francis is just visiting Slovakia and his trip will last more than three days while he spent only a couple of hours in Hungary. Why? Listen to our conversation.

A day that changed the world. This is how 9/11, 2001 is often described. And it's true. The world looked in disbelief when planes piloted by Al-Qaeda terrorists hit The World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Almost 3 000 people died and subsequently it affected the fate of millions. Colin Clarke is a New Yorker and he admits that the 20th anniversary of Al-Qaeda attacks is very emotional for him. But Dr. Clarke is also a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center and Director of Policy and Research at The Soufan Group, where his research focuses on domestic and transnational terrorism, international security, and geopolitics. His most recent book is called After the Caliphate: The Islamic State and the Future Terrorist Diaspora. That's why we discussed successes and failures of the war on terror, the role of Osama bin Laden, if 9/11 was preventable or a scenario when Al-Qaeda attacks didn't happen. 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 does Afghanistan withdrawal means for international politics? Is America still a superpower? And what is and could be the role of Europe in all of this? ,,There is no military power that can stand up to United States in a head to head competition. Having said that, if we measure power by your ability to get what you want, the United States is weaker because it doesn't know what it wants." This is a observation from Erik Jones, the new Director of the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute. How relevant is these day his book Weary Policeman: American Power in an Age of Austerity that he coauthored in 2012? Listen to our conversation.

,,I think we, no matter what, need to be doing everything practically at our power to get people out of Afghanistan that want to leave the country". This is how Melissa Siegel, Professor of Migration Studies at Maastricht University and the United Nations University-MERIT, sees the current situation in Afghanistan. We also discussed what kind of coordinated approach the European Union and its partners should take to help the Afghans and how not to talk about migration. Did the West give millions of Afghans hope and now everything is probably lost? Our interview took place before the attack outside Kabul's airport on August 26th that killed at least 169 Afghans and at least 13 US service members. Listen to our conversation.

The interview took place during the 8th EMN Training Seminar on Migration organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Slovakia that is the coordinator of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) in the Slovak Republic. The event was financed by the European Union.

Ukraine celebrates the 30 anniversary of its independence that was established on August 24, 1991. The country's sovereignty might be limited by the annexation of Crimea and  by the war Russia started in 2014. But the fact that Ukraine was able to keep its independence is not a small thing. This is according to Susan Stewart, Senior Fellow at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) - The German Institute for International and Security Affairs. How does she compare Ukraine of 1991 to Ukraine of 2021? What does she think about The Crimean Platform, about a new Kyiv's diplomatic initiative? And what can Ukraine's government do in regards to the situation in Donbas? Listen to our conversation.