Here on the Bear Market Brief , a lot of what we focus on is, simply put, risk: what might happen, and what might it mean? On this episode, geoeconomic and country risk expert Rachel Ziemba joins Aaron Schwartzbaum to delve in the discipline of Political Risk: how does one "do" the field? Bear Market Brief features a weekly newsletter and a monthly podcast that strives to be a resource for specialists, generalists, and anyone with an interest in the post-Soviet space. We provide a platform for a...
Jul 03, 2025•31 min
Listen to Part 1 here. In this special two part episode of Chain Reaction , Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to September 2024. In Part 2, Yevgeniy details his time in captivity in Russia’s Mordovia prison, the circumstances of his eventual re...
Jun 10, 2025•51 min
In this special two-part episode of Chain Reaction , Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to September 2024. During this time Malik faced daily beatings and torture. In Part 1, Yevgeniy explains what it was like to be a prisoner of war in Russian ...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 7 min
This week technologist Joel Burke , author of the recently published Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution , joins Indra Ekmanis on the Baltic Ways podcast. He shares his insights on Estonia’s rise as a leader in e-government, technological exports in a globalized world, and what the US has to learn from Estonia in a moment of disruption. Baltic Ways is a podcast from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partners...
May 23, 2025•27 min
Since November of last year, the small country of Georgia has seen daily protests against its increasingly authoritarian government. For over 150 straight days Georgians have been in the streets demanding that their country return to the path of European integration, and halt what they describe as its slide toward becoming a Russian client state. But the Georgian government has not budged, cracking down on the protests, sometimes with violence, and refusing to consider the protestors’ demand for...
May 15, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Report in Short Aaron Schwartzbaum speaks with András Tóth-Czifra about his recent report, “The Kremlin’s Balancing Act: The War’s Impact On Regional Power Dynamics . ” In the report, Tóth-Czifra explains the shift of government control, highlights instances of pushback, and identifies limitations on the Kremlin's strategy going forward. The Kremlin's centralization drive has manifested in several ways, including tightening control over regional and municipal political institu...
May 08, 2025•17 min
Persistent reports indicate that the Trump Administration will de-emphasize the US commitment to European security in favor of an emphasis on defending the US homeland and shifting resources to the Indo-Pacific. This follows a long-running critique of America’s European allies for investing too little in their own defense, a critique that predates both Trump Administrations, but one that has gotten louder, especially in the second Trump Administration. But what is the view in European capitals o...
May 01, 2025•37 min
Ukrainians have resisted Russia’s aggression for years. Since the full-scale invasion of their country in 2022, Ukrainian women in particular have taken on important roles on the frontlines, in civil society, and at home. Gražina Bielousova ’s research examines how Ukrainian leftist feminists advocate for their causes at home and abroad, facing distinct challenges as they attempt to defend their country. The Ukrainian case is also distinct from Latvia and Lithuania, whose organizing takes on dif...
Apr 28, 2025•27 min
On November 1 2024, the roof of a newly €55 million renovated railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second biggest city, collapsed and killed 16 people. The deaths sparked Serbia’s largest wave of student-led anti-government protests since Yugoslavia’s disintegration in 2000.Mid-March protests in Serbia saw roughly one in twenty Serbians participate. This week Mladen Mrdalj joins host Aaron Schwartzbaum to explore how the tragedy in Novi Sad sparked a mass movement, and why it spells potential t...
Apr 17, 2025•35 min
The Trump Administration has thrown global financial markets into chaos with its massive but on-again, off-again tariffs against America's trading partners, both large and small. The White House has at times framed the tariffs as a revenue generation scheme, at other times framed them as an attempt to return manufacturing to the US, and at still other times has said they are an attempt to gain concessions from other countries on non-economic issues. What are the goals of the tariffs, how has the...
Apr 11, 2025•41 min
This week on Chain Reaction, we feature an installment of the Baltic Ways podcast. Host Indra Ekmanis welcomes back professors Margarita Šešelgytė (Vilnius University), Daunis Auers (University of Latvia), and Andres Kasekamp (University of Toronto) for a roundtable discussion on the first two months of Donald Trump’s second term and the US administration’s impact on the Baltic countries and broader Europe. This episode was recorded on March 14, 2025. You May Be Interested In Baltic Roundup | Ma...
Apr 04, 2025•49 min
The two weeks after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s Oval Office clash have precipitated drastic shifts in transatlantic relations and the potential trajectory of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Now a possible ceasefire is on the horizon. This week on the Bear Market Brief podcast, host Aaron Schwartzbaum and Maximilian Hess make sense of the Oval Office blow-up, discuss President Trump’s strategic aims, Russia’s goals, Europe’s response, the US-Ukraine minerals deal, and what might come next with...
Mar 19, 2025•34 min
Although NATO has survived - and even thrived - for over 75 years, its future looks more uncertain now than at perhaps any other time. The Alliance confronts not only a resurgent Russia, but serious questions over the US commitment to European security and the ability of European Allies to fill the gap a US withdrawal from Europe would leave. To discuss these and many other issues surrounding NATO's role in European security, Dr. Rick Landgraf joins host Bob Hamilton on Chain Reaction. A retired...
Mar 11, 2025•34 min
While the military situation in Ukraine continues apace, with grinding Russian assaults gaining ground daily, but at a reduced pace and increasing rate of casualties, the diplomatic situation is changing rapidly. A flurry of US diplomatic activity aimed at ending the war has unnerved Ukrainians and America's allies, who fear the US is preparing to cut a deal with Russia over their heads. This activity includes a bilateral meeting between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia that excluded America's ...
Mar 04, 2025•30 min
Sometimes lost among analysis of Russian malign actions around the world - from invasions of its neighbors, to sowing chaos in democratic societies, manipulating democratic elections, and weaponizing corruption - is analysis of why Russia does what it does. In other words, what is it about the Russian model of how the world works that causes it to engage in these types of activities, and what narrative justification does it advance? To discuss these issues, Dr. Olena Snigyr, a Ukrainian scholar ...
Feb 25, 2025•38 min
In this episode of Report in Short, Aaron Schwartzbaum speaks with Lieutenant Colonel Denys Yurchenko , about his recent FPRI report “ Russian Strategic Culture and the War in Ukraine . " In the report, Yurchenko observes Russia's intentions through the lens of strategic culture theory and explains why understanding Russian strategic culture can help establish new policies and strategies to defeat Russia and prevent future conflicts. The author also evaluates Russia's strategic culture and provi...
Jan 31, 2025•31 min
This week on The Ties That Bind: NATO at 75 and Beyond: In this episode we look back at a defining year in NATO history and we look ahead to the challenges and the opportunities positioned to shape the alliance in the coming years and decades. Featured guests: * Nina Soljan , Head of NATO Affairs and Security Policy, NATO Headquarters * Susan Colbourn , Historian; Associate Director of the Program on American Grand Strategy, Duke University * Sara Moller, Associate Professor, Security Studies Pr...
Jan 17, 2025•48 min
This week on the Bear Market Brief Where does the US stand in the world as Trump (re)assumes office? How is his approach towards Ukraine shaping up? Stephen Wertheim , Senior Fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins Aaron Schwartzbaum to explore the broader context and drivers of how policy towards Russia will, and will not, be made. Read Stephen’s latest piece for Foreign Affairs here . This episode was recorded on December 20, 2024. Get...
Jan 16, 2025•35 min
Rick Landgraf sits down with Representative Brendan Boyle (PA-02) to discuss the Congressman's role in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's political committee, future challenges facing the alliance, and the relevance of NATO on a local level. Explore from The Ties That Bind: NATO at 75 and Beyond Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe...
Dec 17, 2024•25 min
Ben Gardner-Gill sits down with Lithuanian political scientist Andžej Pukšto to talk about the results of the 2024 European elections, with a focus on two Baltic members of the European Commission: Kaja Kallas of Estonia and Andrius Kubilius of Lithuania. Both former prime ministers, Kallas and Kubilius have unique challenges ahead of them as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Kallas will lead EU foreign policy, and Kubilius will be the first-ever EU Commissioner for Defense and Space. Pukšto sh...
Dec 04, 2024•20 min
Between a Russian offensive and the reelection of Donald Trump, the war in Ukraine hangs in the balance. Janis Kluge joins host Aaron Schwartzbaum to explore how we got here and what might happen next. Explore more from the Bear Market Brief Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe
Nov 26, 2024•34 min
In this episode we explore the history and evolution of NATO’s relationships with its Indo-Pacific partners, the alliance’s role in the growing US-China rivalry, and look ahead to a new era of NATO engagement outside of the Atlantic in a time of increasingly interconnected global conflicts. Featured guests: Gwendoline Vamos, Senior Officer, Asia-Pacific Global Partnerships at NATO Headquarters Ian Langford, senior military officer (retired), Australian Defense Forces Peter Olive, senior military...
Nov 25, 2024•53 min
This week on The Continent: FPRI's Eurasia Program Director Maia Otarashvili joins Aaron to talk through recent parliamentary election results in Georgia and delve into an interesting question: how does a broadly pro-EU, Russia-skeptical country wind up with a euroskeptic, Russia-friendly government? Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 31, 2024•34 min
This week on Baltic Ways - The US election is approaching quickly with implications for America's allies in the world. Professors Margarita Šešelgyte (Vilnius University), Daunis Auers (University of Latvia), and Andres Kasekamp (University of Toronto) join a roundtable discussion on the impact that a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump presidency could have on the security and future outlook of the Baltic countries and broader European, and how people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are feeling abou...
Oct 28, 2024•44 min
Located only 30 km from the border with Russia, the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was the object of another Russian offensive earlier this year. Although Ukrainian forces stopped Russia's drive to capture the city, Kharkiv still endures daily attacks from Russian glide bombs, drones and missiles. Although Ukraine has the capability to strike back at the aircraft and airfields supporting these attacks, it lacks permission to use Western weapons to do so. Join Bob Hamilton as he interviews Kharkiv res...
Oct 21, 2024•42 min
Kyiv-based journalist Fabrice Deprez returns to the brief for another update on the mood in Ukraine, including a report on his recent trip to the front line city of Pokrovsk. Subscribe to the Bear Market Brief For more reporting from Ukraine, be sure to check out Fabrice’s Eastern Radar newsletter. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe...
Oct 04, 2024•38 min
It has been 15 months since the Wagner Group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin led the group's ill-fated march on Moscow and 13 months since Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash almost certainly orchestrated by the Kremlin. Prigozhin is gone but his group lives on. Join host Bob Hamilton as he discusses the group's current operations in Africa and elsewhere with Colin Clarke, Chris Faulkner, and Raphael Parens. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe...
Sep 27, 2024•38 min
There has been much debate over defense spending, investment, and who is sharing the burden of European defense among NATO allies for years. Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has served as a grim and stark reminder of European defense investment shortcomings and vulnerabilities.It has been a few months since NATO allies met in Washington to commemorate the alliance’s 75th anniversary. In this episode we are joined by Ambassador Doug Lute, Colonel Jordan Becker, and German defense e...
Sep 25, 2024•47 min
The 15th Newport Global Summit took place on August 14-15, bringing together dozens of leaders from the business and finance worlds, including Steve Forbes, Mark Bezos, and former World Bank President David Malpass. The brainchild of Newport's Katherine (Kitty) Cushing, the Summit strives for "a convergence of legacy, knowledge, and purpose." This year, for the first time, FPRI's Nick Gvosdev, Maia Otarashvili, and Bob Hamilton took part, leading a conversation on the economic, political, and se...
Sep 20, 2024•45 min
In the wake of far right gains in recent German state-level elections, German historian and journalist Katja Hoyer joins Aaron to explore the unique regional character of German populism. How has formerly communist Eastern Germany swung to the right? Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 12, 2024•31 min
