Over the past two weeks, a number of mysterious objects have been shot down from the skies over the US and Canada. It all began with a suspected Chinese spy balloon, which was brought down off the coast of South Carolina on 4 February. US officials have struggled to explain the three subsequent aerial encounters, leading to conspiracy theories and White House denials that aliens are involved. Meanwhile, the diplomatic rift between China and the US is widening.

Megan Gibson in London, Ido Vock in Berlin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss the spy-balloon fiasco, aliens, and where US-China relations go from here.

Next, they turn to the ongoing crisis in Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquake that struck the region on 6 February. As the death toll passes 40,000, the team discuss growing anger towards the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his government for delays in aid and alleged corruption.

Then, in You Ask Us, a listener asks whether Russia could break apart. 

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Ido on why Russia isn’t about to break apart.

Ece Temelkuran writes that after the earthquake the rage in Turkey is greater than the pain.

Katie on how UFOs are pushing the US and China further apart.

Lyse Doucet on the anger and hope the earthquake left behind

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Following the Japanese prime minister Kishida Fumio's recent warning that his country's demographic crisis was approaching a tipping point, Katie Stallard speaks to Vegard Skirbekk, a population economist at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and author of Decline and Prosper: Changing Global Birth Rates and the Advantages of Fewer Children. They discuss why birth rates in many countries are falling, how the global population is ageing, and why this doesn't have to end in disaster. Plus, they examine the parallels between tackling the global climate crisis and preparing for an ageing world.

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The global ageing crisis is becoming unignorable

The question is not why the birth rate is falling – it’s why anyone has kids at all

Seventy per cent of British voters say the cost of childcare keeps mothers at home

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Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky visited London this week, meeting with the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. It is only his second trip abroad since the war with Russia began, after heading to America in December.

Megan Gibson in London and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by the New Statesman’s Britain editor and podcast host Anoosh Chakelian to discuss Zelensky’s speech to UK parliament, and his crackdown on alleged corruption in his government.

Then the team talk about the renewed Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, where a blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh could lead to humanitarian catastrophe. They discuss what this means for Russian influence in the region, and the role of the West in the conflict.

In You Ask Us, a listener asks what the UK’s struggling economic situation means for its future foreign policy.

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Sohrab Ahmari explains how the West is betraying Armenia.

Joe Twyman says Britons still aren’t sure what the point of Brexit was.

Freddie Hayward on how enraptured MPs put aside their squabbles for Volodymyr Zelensky.

Katie Stallard on why Ukraine deserves better than Boris Johnson.

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As the United States grapples with the killing of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man who died after being beaten by five police officers in Memphis in January, Katie Stallard speaks to Neil Gross, a former police officer and professor of sociology at Colby College. They discuss what can be done to reform police forces in the US, what he learned from researching his forthcoming book Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture, and why there might be cause for hope.

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Everything we think about police reform is wrong

George Floyd’s murder one year on: has the US changed?

Patrick Hutchinson: “The death of George Floyd is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen”

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Last week a deadly raid by the Israeli army in the West Bank city of Jenin and a shooting in East Jerusalem capped one of the bloodiest months in Israel and the occupied territories, outside of open war, in years.Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, flew to Israel this week to call for calm.

Megan Gibson and Alona Ferber in London are joined by Katie Stallard in Washington to discuss whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government – the furthest to the right and the most religious Israel has had – is fanning the flames of this cycle of violence and if this could disrupt ties with allies abroad.

Meanwhile Kishida Fumio, the Japanese prime minister, has warned that the country’s falling birth rates are reaching a crisis point that could soon mean it struggles to maintain its societal functions. Japan is not alone; the team discuss how nations across the world are dealing with rapidly ageing societies.

Then in You Ask Us: Boris Johnson has said that Putin threatened him with a missile a strike before the war in Ukraine. Is he for real?

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Alona writes that we are watching Israel build an authoritarian government in real time

Katie writes that the global ageing crisis is becoming unignorable

Katie writes that Boris Johnson has the ultimate case of main character syndrome

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With China’s military and economic power continuing to grow, Katie Stallard speaks to Joshua Kurlantzick, a journalist and fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, about Beijing’s ambition to become an information superpower. They discuss his new book, Beijing’s Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World, and the reach – and limits – of that campaign, as well as why he predicts TikTok’s days in the US are numbered. 

Read more:

China’s new foreign minister and the taming of “wolf warrior” diplomacy.

How Xi Jinping views the world.

Nixon in China: the complicated legacy of a week that changed the world.

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This week Olaf Scholz confirmed that Germany will send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and gave partner countries permission to send their tanks too. The decision, which could have a significant effect on the war, came after months of stalling.

Megan Gibson in London, Katie Stallard in Washington DC and Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin discuss what led to Germany’s shift, what toll the delay has taken and how Russia will respond.

Next, they turn to the alarming rise in mass shootings in the US this year – including a series of shootings in California in which 19 people were killed in less than 48 hours. The team discuss the experience of gun violence, public support for gun control legislation, and why this is also a foreign policy issue.

Then, in You Ask Us, a listener asks what led to the resignation of Jacinda Ardern as prime minister of New Zealand.

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Jeremy writes that Germany took too long to reach the right decision on tanks, and he calls the country the “roadblock at the heart of Europe”.

Katie says that Jacinda Ardern’s resignation is both a shock and entirely unsurprising.

Sarah Churchwell on the myth of America’s love affair with guns.

Bruno Maçães interviews Ukraine’s national security adviser on German betrayal, the oncoming Russian onslaught and why the West is scared.

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Why Putin must lose to save Russia, with Andrius Kubilius 

As Western leaders debate what further military support they can offer Ukraine, Ido Vock speaks to the former Lithuanian prime minister Andrius Kubilius.

They discuss his experience growing up in the Soviet Union, how to plan for a Russia after Vladimir Putin, and how the war in Ukraine could weaken the Russian regime. 

Read more:

The Putin backlash

Letter from Ukraine: new year, same war

Jens Stoltenberg: “We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes”

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A helicopter carrying senior Ukrainian officials crashed on Wednesday (18 January) near a nursery in a suburb of Kyiv. According to reports, children were among those killed, as well as three government officials including the interior minister Denys Monastyrsky – the highest-ranking official to die since the start of the Russian invasion.

Ido Vock in Berlin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss what we know about the tragedy so far and why so many officials were travelling on a single aircraft. They also discuss the latest developments in the war, including the Russian missile strike on a block of flats in Dnipro over the weekend that killed at least 45 people, and changes to the Russian military leadership. 

Next, they turn to China, where Qin Gang, the former US ambassador, has been appointed foreign minister ahead of the US secretary of state Antony Blinken's expected visit to Beijing in early February. They discuss Gang's reputation for combative “wolf warrior” diplomacy, and whether China is moving away from this approach. 

If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer: visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to learn more 

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Katie on China’s new foreign minister and the taming of “wolf warrior” diplomacy

Ido on what we know about the helicopter crash that killed three Ukrainian officials

Ido writes that new commander Valery Gerasimov may not be able to stem Russia’s losses

Jeremy Cliffe writes that divisions over Ukraine are exposing the incoherence of German foreign policy

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Ido Vock speaks to the former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski about the opposition’s plans to oust the hard-right Law and Justice party in this year’s parliamentary elections. They also discuss Warsaw’s support for Ukraine and its refugees, why eastern members of the EU distrust Germany, and the damage the Law and Justice party is doing to democratic institutions in Poland.

Read more:

Dispatch: How long can Poland bear the Ukrainian refugee burden?

How November’s missile explosion in Poland highlighted the risks of escalation in Ukraine.

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