This Time Tomorrow

When Europe commits to supporting Ukraine in their defence against Russian military aggression, it commits to more than simply helping one nation and its people to stand up against unprovoked and unjustifiable violence. It also commits to defending an idea. It commits to defending a way of life. A life in which democracy, personal liberty, and human dignity take pride of place.

In the 15th episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk to Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO and author of War With Russia (2016), about what that support looks like in concrete and practical terms. What does this war ask of Europe? Of its industries, of its politicians, and of you and me?

As the old Roman saying goes: If you want peace, prepare for war…

Source, audio clip at the top of the episode: YouTube, Poland MFA, ”Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski…”

In the 14th episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni sit down with journalist and author Oliver Moody to dive into the big ideas behind his gripping new book, Baltic: The Future of Europe.

Together they explore how the Baltic region—comprising Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Russia—has become a frontline in the ongoing struggle between liberal democracy and authoritarianism. From the scars of Soviet occupation to the shadow of modern Russian aggression, the region’s history continues to shape its political identity and strategic importance.

Tune in for a conversation that really highlights why this corner of Europe matters more than ever to the continent’s security and the defence of its core values and freedoms.

Oliver Moody has been the Berlin bureau chief for The Times since 2018, covering Germany and northern and central Europe. He is the author of, Baltic: The Future of Europe (2025).

Source, clip at the top of the episode: YouTube, Munich Security Conference, ”yourMSC Studio #MSC2022: Talk with Kaja Kallas…”

In the 13th episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk to Maximilian Oehl about what it takes to win political contests in a campaign landscape that is rapidly evolving. From the tabloid and TV tactics of the 1990s to the rise of partisan private news networks like FOX News, to digital campaigning and ultimately algorithmic interference—how do these shifts shape not just campaign strategies but also public perception and voter behaviour?

Dr. Maximilian Oehl is a German lawyer and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of Brand New Bundestag, a non-partisan grassroots organisation advocating for progressive, future-oriented politics in Germany. He also leads the campaign agency Media Force, which combats extremism and disinformation on social media.

In the 12th episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk to Nikola Ilic about grassroots organising and campaigning for change in the face of rising authoritarianism. From training everyday people to become agents of political change, to building movements that shift the balance of power, they explore what it really takes to challenge autocratic rule. Whether you're a seasoned activist or just starting out, this conversation is your guide to understanding how power works—and how citizens can wield it. From Otpor—the Serbian resistance movement of the late 1990s—to today’s global rise of authoritarianism, Nikola tells a story of activism that spans three decades.

Nikola Ilic is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and the founder and CEO of ChangeLab Global. He is a program curriculum facilitator at the Obama Foundation, and he co-leads Volt Europa’s leadership development program.

Audio clip at the top of the episode: YouTube, ICNC International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, “Bringing Down a Dictator…”

In the eleventh episode of This Time Tomorrow, Benni and Omri sit down with Anna Lerner Nesbitt for a conversation about the intersection of democracy, sustainability, and innovation.

Together they explore how democratic systems can foster more inclusive and sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. Anna shares her insights on the role of technology, policy, and civic engagement in shaping a future that is both equitable and forward-thinking.

The episode delves into real-world examples and ideas that highlight the potential of innovation when guided by democratic values. Tune in now to be inspired—and join the movement to build a more sustainable and democratic tomorrow.

Anna Lerner Nesbitt is the CEO of Climate Collective, with over 15 years of experience in climate finance and technology, including roles at Meta, the World Bank Group, and the Global Environment Facility.

In the tenth episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk to Daniela Vancic about the ongoing, student-led protests in Serbia. What’s been happening over the last few months, why did it start, and what’s at stake? And, importantly, what can democracy-defenders around the world learn from these frontlines against authoritarianism? As Daniela points out, this is truly a grassroots movement—with no identifiable leader—and they’ve been out on the streets every day for months… How are they doing it, and what’s driving them?

Returning TTT contributor Daniela Vancic is a Serbian-American activist and campaigner, and the European Programme Manager at Democracy International.

Source, clip at the top of the episode: YouTube, DW News, “Protestors in Serbia Put Pressure…”

In the ninth episode of This Time Tomorrow, Benni and Omri discuss a recent interview with historian Paul Kennedy in Engelsberg Ideas. In particular, they zoom in on Kennedy’s statement that the EU is “the last enlightenment project.”

Is the enlightenment on the way out? Are we witnessing the end of rational thought, and the coming of a second Dark Age?

Tune in for a bit of scientific history, a lot of name-dropping, and a healthy call to action in the name of truth and democracy.

Source, audio clip at the top of the episode: Podcast, Bannon’s War Room, ep. 4354.

Democracy is often a story of compromise and slow deliberations, but there’s also the certainty of knowing that when you land yourself in a difficult spot, a community of people will have your back. It’s the certainty of knowing that you’re part of a society that makes decisions together, and that takes shared responsibility to see them through.

In the third part of my monologue for democracy, I want to talk about why, as so called ordinary people, we can be misled into thinking that our interests are actually better represented by those anti-democrats and demagogues who seek to utilise our human capacity for selfishness and cruelty for their own authoritarian ends.

The answer I will begin to give may be considered by some as controversial, because it may seem to call into question the idea of truth. But before I go any further than that, I would summarise my argument as follows: It matters what story we choose to believe.

*

In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, the eponymous main character finds himself on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean together with a bengal tiger, an orangutan, a zebra, and a hyena, following a catastrophic accident on a Japanese freight ship. The hyena ends up killing the zebra and the orangutan, and the tiger eventually kills and eats the hyena. Pi survives by creating a raft out of flotation devices, which allows him to separate himself from the lifeboat and the tiger. When he finally washes ashore in Mexico, he has survived at sea for 227 days.

While recovering in a hospital, Pi is questioned by Japanese Ministry of Transport officials who want to understand what caused the freight ship to sink. The officials quite understandably find Pi’s story very difficult to believe. So Pi offers them a second story in which he’s not on the lifeboat together with animals, but with other survivors from the freight ship, one of whom is his own mother. The officials soon understand that there are parallels between the two stories Pi tells them. When he’s finished, Pi points out that neither story can be proven, and neither fully explains why the ship sank. In other words, the officials have to choose which story to believe.

As I’ve said before on this podcast, I spent much of 2024 inhabiting a far-right populist information environment in order to understand the persuasive powers that have facilitated the rise of authoritarians across the globe. And while what I found there was often blatant misinformation and obvious fabrications, I also found a story and, for a while, I made an effort to believe it. It goes like this:

There are only two kinds of people in the world today: You are either a globalist or a nationalist populist. You are either a so called “anywhere”, or a so called “somewhere.”

The “anywheres” are those who have bought into and benefit from the internationalist, expat economy which says you should always be prepared to move your life to wherever there’s a job, and feel no attachment to your home town or your compatriots. Then there are the “somewheres” who, by not fitting into this model, are cast out from society to languish in the peripheries, as they eventually lose their jobs or fail to adapt to a changing economy that doesn’t see their skills, values and needs as relevant. For every useless somewhere, there’s an immigrant who can take their jobs—and they will happily work for less money. As more and more jobs disappear or become unobtainable, more and more “somewheres” are cast out to the edges of society where they are made invisible to the ruling metropolitan elites of internationalist “anywheres”.

When you find yourself inhabiting this model of thinking, then you perceive your criticism of society as a true and righteous reaction to a ruling elite that has decided that everything you believe in, from your heritage to your place in the world, is a lie and a relic of the past. Who could then blame you when you welcome those populists who say they will restore your values and reprioritise your needs over the luxury concerns of foreigners and globalists.

That overarching story is so compelling to so many people who feel left behind, that it masks those features of reality that clearly contradict it. The lies and distortions become invisible when the whole system is a fairytale. And in all places where it’s been believed, it has facilitated a politics that never really about you, and we can see it playing out in the US, a country that is right now accelerating towards disorder and chaos, and in so doing risks taking much of the world with it.

*

In Life of Pi, one story describes the facts of what transpired over the course of the 227 days Pi spent on the lifeboat. The other story is metaphorical and while not true to fact, it explains and makes sense of a difficult and traumatic experience. The book posits that it matters which stories we choose to believe in, as human experience can be difficult to quantify. Between observable fact and our perception of life, there is always some degree of mystery, and that mystery is the space in which stories emerge.

As defenders of democracy try to influence where we will be this time tomorrow, it is my conviction that we must not blame or vilify those who believe the other story. We must, however, challenge that story and provide them with a better one in which they can see themselves.

Defenders of democracy must not tell a story that comforts, but rather one that provides an identity and a community for all people. They must be honest about the urgent challenges we face globally and the fact that the solutions are found in international cooperation, not in national isolation and competition. Right now, we are heading in a direction where tomorrow, more people will have less, and a very few people will have almost everything. More people will find themselves in danger of armed conflicts, of losing their social safety net, of becoming gravely ill, of not being able to pay their bills, and of not being able to keep their family safe, warm and fed. And it’s all because of a bad story.

So now you’re asking me: OK, Ted, what’s your story then? What’s the alternative? What’s the story you think we should believe in?

And the truth is I can’t be expected to provide it alone. That would be wrong. And it would be undemocratic. That’s what autocrats do. It is not the role of democrats to provide the one truth for all to adhere to and live by. For us, the story is in the grind, it’s in the belief that tomorrow will be better, that we’re only as free as the least free among us, and that progress and enlightenment is always possible if we work together.

To defend democracy right now is increasingly to defend the diminishing rights, power and influence of almost all people in the world, against those who seek to reshape the world as a kleptocracy.

Now is the time for all of us to put our shoulders to wheels.

Join a party or a cause.

Get working. Get thinking. Take action.

Let’s write a better story.

—

Source, clip 1: Youtube, EU Debates, “Democracy Under Threat?…”

Source, clip 2: Youtube, Liberal Democrats, “Conference Live: Ed Davey Leader’s…”

Source, clip 3: Youtube, CNN, “AOC and Bernie Sanders Take…”

Source, clip 4: Youtube, Politicon, “James Carville: Why We Lost”

In the eight episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk to Paula Cipierre about Artificial Intelligence. From manufacturing to marketing, from healthcare to social media, AI plays a significant role in shaping our society. But how does it impact our democracies and geopolitics? What’s at stake, why does it matter—and how do we ensure that AI helps us create better democracies, not dystopian autocracies?

Paula Cipierre is an expert in data ethics, privacy, and public policy. She currently serves as the Director of Data Ethics & Innovation at ada Learning GmbH, a platform dedicated to personal growth and organisational development, facilitating collaboration towards a more digital and sustainable future. Prior to her role at ada Learning, Paula was the Head of Privacy & Public Policy (Germany/EU) at Palantir Technologies, where she worked at the intersection of privacy engineering, legal compliance, and public affairs.

Paula has been an active participant in debates on data ethics and innovation. ​She is co-author of the book, From Artificial to Augmented Intelligence. For more insights into her perspectives, you can watch her participation in the discussion "Making AI a Force for Good" on YouTube.

N.B. The creation of this post was supported by… You guessed it—AI.

Visit ada Learning GmbH at: https://www.join-ada.com/en

Source, clip 1 at the top of the episode: YouTube, Noah Yuval Harari, “AI and the future of…”

Source, clip 2 at the top of the episode: YouTube, DW Shift, “Will AI Laws Protect Us?…”

Source, clip 3 at the top of the episode: YouTube, EU Debates, “Von der Leyen unveils…”

In the seventh episode of This Time Tomorrow, Omri and Benni talk about what’s been happening on the two sides of the Atlantic:

1) the accelerating collapse of what’s been known as the constitutional order of the United States of America, and

2) what Europeans have been calling ‘ReArm Europe’.

What does this all mean for democracy in Europe and worldwide?

For the US Democrats, the campaign of a lifetime awaits…

This is no time for liberal democrats around the world to rest on their laurels.

Source, clip at the top of the episode: YouTube, The Daily Show, “Jon Stewart Knocks Dems’…”