This is not my first podcast about James Bond. When No Time to Die hit theaters in 2021, I had a two-part conversation with Martin D. Brown, bondologist, Professor of International History at Richmond American University in London, and co-author of the book The Bondian Cold War: The Transnational Legacy of a Cultural Icon. Martin is back on my podcast, so we are once again discussing everything Bond-related. What's next for 007 after Daniel Craig? Can we expect an announcement in 2025 about who the new Bond will be? How much does the most famous spy series reflect the reality of international affairs, and do we live in an era of Bond villains? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Could Slovak politics have been "TikTok-ed" in a similar way to Romania, where the far-right candidate Calin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election? Is Slovak PM Robert Fico pro-Russian? And why is his government relatively fragile only one year into its rule? My podcast guests usually discuss global events, but if you're interested in learning more about my country, Slovakia, this is the episode for you. I spoke with Slovak political scientist Pavol Baboš from the Department of Sociology at Comenius University 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

Jennifer Mercieca is a Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University and the author of the book Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. So we talked about Trump.  Is he an existential threat to American democracy? Is he truly willing to use the Justice Department, the FBI, and other state institutions to target his opponents? Will the U.S. government resemble a form of oligarchy, and will the administration be led by figures like Elon Musk or Vice President JD Vance? Can the Democrats learn something from Trump about how to connect with voters? Listen to our conversation.  And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Does Russia want far-right Calin Georgescu to become president of Romania? "My guess is Russia is satisfied even with the current level of disarray in Romania," Oana Popescu-Zamfir told me. She is the director of the GlobalFocus Center and we discussed the current political situation in her country between the parliamentary elections and the second round of the presidential race. Our debate took place on December 5th, afternoon. So, ahead of the decision by the Romanian Constitutional Court to annul the result of the first round of the presidential elections. The second round was originally planned for December 8th. How does Oana assess Georgescu's rise? What would it mean if he wins? Will he try to become a part of the Ukraine skeptic/pro-Russian bloc within NATO and the EU? And has Romania been TikToked? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Does Vladimir Putin think he can not lose the war in Ukraine? Do the Russians believe this? I talked to political analyst Anton Barbashin, an editorial director of Riddle, a website about Russia I can only recommend. Anton just wrote an article titled Will Russia Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine? Do you want to know what are Russia's real red lines? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Ukraine is losing the war after 1,000 days of the Russian large-scale invasion. Why are the defenders in such a situation? Due to the lack of personnel and weapons, or hesitation of its Western allies, or the relative strength of Russia? Or is it everything combined? I talked to the military analyst Gustav Gressel. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Retired Brigadier General Rainer Meyer zum Felde has vast experience regarding transatlantic security. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University. From 2013 to 2017, he was the Senior Defence Advisor at the Permanent Delegation of Germany to NATO and the German Representative in the NATO Defence Policy and Planning Committee. He also served as Vice President of the Federal Academy for Security Studies in Berlin and worked in various national and international security and defense policy assignments. So how much is General Mayer zum Felde concerned about Russia attacking NATO if Vladimir Putin wins in 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

What is your biggest concern related to Donald Trump's second term? This was my question for a Professor of History Seth Cotlar from Willamette University in Oregon. And his answer was almost... Optimistic? Could it be less bad than it looks? Do you want to know and what are the caveats here? 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 can we expect from Donald Trump if he wins the presidential elections regarding foreign policy and Ukraine and Russia? Will he leave NATO? And why does it look like Trump wants to make America small like Viktor Orban's Hungary? I talked to a Russian and East European Studies Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Mitchell Orenstein. He is the author of the book The Lands in Between: Russia vs. the West and the New Politics of Hybrid War. And of course, we also discussed Kamala Harris's potential foreign policy. Does she want to see Ukraine's victory? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Will chaos follow the US presidential election? The Sonoma State Political Science Professor David McCuan cannot exclude this scenario. We discussed the polls, swing states, particular counties in swing states, Kamala Harris's campaign, Donald Trump's plans, and, of course, who might win the election. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak