Independent Thinking is back after a short summer break for the start of Season 2 of the podcast. This week, for our first episode, we’re returning to the much-discussed topic of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Since June, the Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting hard to breach the defensive lines established by the Russian army in the east and south, the so-called ‘Surovkin Line’. Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the FT and the...
Aug 31, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In the final episode of our first season, we return to the topic we started Season 1 of the podcast with: China and how Beijing sees the world post-February 2022. Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Western capitals, especially Washington and London, have been watching ties between Russia and China closely, attempting to decipher any signs of disagreement or even disapproval between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. We discuss how China views the invasion of Ukraine, the ties between China ...
Jul 28, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 36
On the show this week we discuss artificial intelligence, the hopes, and opportunities the technology may bring, as well as the challenges and even the risks it presents to governments and above all democracy. This week the United Nations Security Council, operating under the UK presidency, met for the first time to discuss the issue of AI, with UN officials and diplomats alike urging the world to take the emergence of this new technology seriously. Meanwhile in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Suna...
Jul 21, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 35
On the podcast this week we discuss the fallout from the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Turkey cleared the way for Sweden to join the alliance this week, and across Vilnius there were signs aplenty calling for F-16s for Ukraine, and of course, NATO membership. We discuss what was agreed at the summit, what was deferred and what the NATO joint communique means for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people. Also, on the show this week we discuss the European Union and its relations with countries eage...
Jul 14, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 34
On the show this week, we ask how long Russia’s Vladimir Putin can survive. Two weeks on from the mutiny by the Wagner Group and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s challenge to his rule, we’ve seen a flurry of activity by the Russian leader to reassert his authority in Moscow. Russian history however is replete with leaders who appear unassailable, right up until the point they’re not. We discuss whether Putin’s grip is weakening, and how might Western governments react if he falls. Also, on the show this week...
Jul 07, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 33
We are live this week from our London Conference, where we discuss the war in Ukraine, the recent events in Russia with the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group and the weakening of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. And then later in the show, we look at the increasing tensions within the international system and discuss how the UK as a ‘middle power’ can manage these tensions with an increasingly fragile economy and Brexit. And finally on the podcast, we announce this year’s Chatham House p...
Jun 30, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 32
On the podcast this week we look at the UK’s role in the defence of the Nordic region. Since the annexation of Crimea, the UK has taken a keen interest in the Nordic and Baltic regions, with the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force. With Kyiv’s counter-offensive now underway, we look at how Europe’s security is being reshaped by events in Ukraine, what London and the JEF states are looking to achieve by operating more closely in the north, and the balance of forces between NATO and Russia ...
Jun 23, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 31
On the podcast this week, we look at the growing tensions between India and China. This week marks three years since Indian and Chinese troops were killed fighting each other in the Himalayas along the contested border. Since then, ties between Beijing and New Delhi have gone from bad to worse. This week, India's last remaining journalist in China was asked to leave. A stark sign of the increasingly cold ties between the two countries. We discuss the current state of India’s relations with China...
Jun 16, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 30
On the podcast this week, we look at the Wagner Group, the shadowy paramilitary organisation, and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has been active on the ground and involved in some of the conflict’s fiercest battles, notably around Bakhmut. We discuss the group’s relationship with the Russian armed forces, its ties with the Kremlin and the increasingly tense relationship Prigozhin seems to have with senior Russian leaders. Also on the show we...
Jun 08, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 29
