This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Trump’s erratic actions around Ukraine look less and less like sincere bids to end the war and more like attempts to cosy up to Putin, sell out Ukraine and save himself in the midterms. And Putin is using his increased impunity. Within hours of any meeting between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russians there’s another devastating Russian missile attack on Ukraine. Is the Trump Administration just chasing its tail on Ukraine? Does any of it matter when Putin flatly refuses to accept that Ukraine deserves to exist at all? And might Witkoff’s many failures actually give the Administration’s pro-Ukraine faction more oxygen after the midterms?

Oz Katerji has reported on the Ukraine War on the ground since 2022. He talks to Michael Kimmage – history professor at Catholic University of America and author of The Abandonment of the West – about the Trumpist factions driving the President’s policies and the future for Ukraine when Trump becomes a lame duck president.

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Written and presented by Oz Katerji. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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A new Great Game is under way. As the frozen poles start to melt, a new “ice silk road” is emerging in the newly-navigable Arctic Ocean – and it’s subject of intense commercial and military competition between China, Europe, the US and Russia. Trump’s on-off threats to Greenland are still causing consternation across Europe and NATO, China sees a new opportunity for dominance, and to Russia the Arctic is the next military arena. 

Will the next major standoff happen at the top of the world? Gavin Esler is talk to journalist and author Rana Foroohar about her book Sea Change: America’s Great Game in the Arctic Circle and how global warming and great power competition are coming to a head in the Far North.

• Buy Sea Change through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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Trump’s sanction-busting diesel deal with Vladimir Putin has sent shockwaves across the world. As Ukraine braces for a Russian winter offensive, have US threats to withhold intelligence and access to weapons sold out the Ukrainian people?

Gavin Esler is joined by Steven Pifer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe and a former US ambassador to Ukraine, to discuss why Trump has struck a deal with the Kremlin, the US reaction ahead of the November’s midterms, and a deepening rift in the transatlantic alliance.

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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On August 4th a drone strapped with explosives failed to detonate when it struck a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig Airport. German security services investigating the device pointed the blame at Russia’s GRU.

Putin is ramping up his hybrid warfare against NATO allies, including cyber attacks, arson, sabotage and drone incursion. Just how far is he willing to go to test Europe? Gavin Esler talks to Dr Ulrike Franke, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the dangers of Russian drones in NATO airspace and how Europe might counter the threat.  

• Read Ulrike’s ECFR report ‘Buzzkill: How to defend Europe against drones’ here.

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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A surge in violence in Yemen has seen Houthi forces seize land on the Red Sea coast – reigniting a war with Saudi Arabia and threatening a further global energy shock.

The Iranian-aligned group has increased its foothold in Yemen, now locked in civil war for more than a decade, and launched drone attacks on Saudi oil pipelines. With global trade still reeling from the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia’s allies in America constrained by the ongoing Iran conflict, where next in the latest escalation in the Middle East?

Gavin Esler is joined by Dr Elisabeth Kendall, expert on Yemen and the region and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge.

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Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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The civil war in Myanmar is Asia’s deadliest ongoing conflict – yet despite violence which has killed more than 100,000 people it rarely dominates international headlines.

In today’s episode Oz Katerji talks to Matthew Campbell, reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek, about the drivers of this complex, factionalised war, the battle for the country’s rare natural resources, and the reaction of the international community.

Read Matthew Campbell’s Bloomberg article  ‘The War the World Forgot’ here.

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• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

Written and presented by Oz Katerji. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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Completing the four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the next wars.

This time: Artificial Intelligence is reshaping everything and its effects on warfare are already profound. Hyper-fast intelligent systems can bring together drones, conventional missiles, air power and defences – but at the expense of human judgment. Will A.I.-augmented warfare outrun human control and the rules of war? Will the colossal computing power A.I. requires mean that data centres will become crucial assets? And what happens when A.I. misidentifies a civilian building as a military target?

 Gavin Esler talks to:

• Major General (Ret.) Mick Ryan of the Australian Army, author of The War for Ukraine and the Futura Doctrina Substack

• Michael Horowitz, Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations

• Dr Neda Bolourchi, non-resident fellow at the Institute for Global Affairs

• Dr Jessica Dorsey, assistant Professor of International Law and co-director of Realities of Algorithmic Warfare project at Utrecht University. 

• Peter Apps, global defense columnist for Reuters, British Army reservist and author of The Next World War

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• ⁠Support us on Patreon⁠ to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill⁠

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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A four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the next wars.

This time: When missiles and drones become cheaper and more widely-available, air defence becomes top priority. What does it mean when ruinously expensive interceptors like the Patriot go up against swarms of cheap, disposable Shahed drones? Will future wars be decided on who has the deepest pockets and fastest assembly lines? Can you build an Israeli-style Iron Dome over a territory as big as the USA? Which areas get protected? And does it all depend on the speed of the kill chain?

Gavin Esler talks to:

• Patrycja Bazylczyck, Associate director of the Missile Defence Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

• Michael Horowitz, Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations

• Illya Sekirin, former frontline drone operator for Ukraine and author of Rise of the Machines: Drone Warfare in the Russia-Ukraine War

• Peter Apps, global defence columnist for Reuters, British Army reservist and author of The Next World War

• Major General (Ret.) Mick Ryan of the Australian Army, author of The War for Ukraine and the Futura Doctrina Substack

• Dr Sidharth Kaushal, senior research fellow in the Military Sciences programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) 

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/drill

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/drill

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the next wars.

This time: In an age of brutal medium-sized regional conflicts, nuclear deterrence is suddenly less important – and missiles are back. From massively destructive hypersonic weapons to smart cruise-drone hybrids to networked “loitering munitions”, they’re becoming faster, more accurate, and more capable of inflicting atrocities on civilians in indiscriminate hands. And as the Iran and Ukraine Wars prove, they’re far from a guarantee of victory. 

Gavin Esler talks to:

• Dr Sidharth Kaushal, senior research fellow in the Military Sciences programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) 

• Peter Apps, global defense columnist for Reuters, British Army reservist and author of The Next World War

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

•⁠ Support us on Patreon⁠ to keep This Is Not a Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill⁠

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Putin thought he could conquer Ukraine with a tank, air and infantry-led attack straight out of the Second World War. Instead Kyiv turned the tables on Russia with the fastest, most intensive transformation of warfare in half a century. In this mini-series Gavin Esler explores this new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the next wars.

This time: cheap, mass-produced drones enabled Kyiv to hit Russia hard and deep. Ukraine is now the world expert in this new technology. What does it mean when you can take out a warship with a weapon that costs less than a family car? What is “precision mass”? And why A.I. will make drones even more powerful.

Gavin Esler talks to:

• Illya Sekirin, former frontline drone operator for Ukraine and author of Rise of the Machines: Drone Warfare in the Russia-Ukraine War

• Michael Horowitz, Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations

• Peter Apps, global defence columnist for Reuters, British Army reservist and author of The Next World War

• Major General (Ret.) Mick Ryan of the Australian Army, author of The War for Ukraine and the Futura Doctrina Substack

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

•⁠ Support us on Patreon⁠ to keep This Is Not a Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill⁠

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

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