China’s imports and exports jolted to a halt earlier this month - marking the first contraction since the pandemic struck in 2020. At a time of worldwide surging inflation and central banks everywhere raising interest rates to painful levels, the “miracle of growth” that powered much of the world’s prosperity these last two decades is causing growing concern. For the second installment of our three-part series looking in depth at China at a crossroads, One Decision considers the economic crises ...
Nov 17, 2022•50 min•Season 12Ep. 2
As the G20 was underway this week, global attention sharply focused on a tiny Polish village near the Ukrainian border. News came that a missile had killed two local residents. Russia insists it played no part in the incident, but as investigations progress, U.S. President Joe Biden, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Polish President Duda all said preliminary findings indicate the explosion came from a Ukrainian air defense missile. What does this mean for Ukrainians, their supporters...
Nov 17, 2022•23 min
China's leader has solidified his grip on the ruling Chinese Communist Party, embarking on an unprecedented third term in power. With now nearly limitless power, the world's biggest country totalling a fifth of humanity is now largely under the control of a single man. Who is Xi Jinping? What is his backstory - and how is he likely to respond to the growing domestic pressures in China stemming from his unpopular lockdown policies and the ticking timebomb of financial pressures? Former British di...
Nov 10, 2022•48 min•Season 12Ep. 1
When the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union just one English-speaking member was left. Irish Minister of European Affairs Thomas Byrne says his small nation is increasingly playing a larger, more strategic role in international affairs. It currently sits on the United Nations Security Council and enjoys a closer relationship with Washington than many of their neighbors. Yet, it’s traditional neutrality has limited the support it provides to Ukraine and questions remain on how it’...
Nov 07, 2022•35 min
As the United States prepares to hold national elections for the first time since the January 6th Capitol riots, tensions are running extremely high. The Department of Homeland Security has warned that misinformation and conspiracy theories continue to fan the flames of domestic extremism. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was recently beaten with a hammer by an intruder, who told police he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to attack other politicians. One Decision sits down with the B...
Nov 03, 2022•43 min•Season 11Ep. 6
The former head of MI6 does not often take questions from the public. To mark One Decision’s first year, Sir Richard Dearlove agreed to take a few submitted by our listeners via social media and the web site. He provides analysis, intrigue and his behind-the-scenes insights on the issues that are on the top of your minds. We look back at pivotal points in recent history like the Iraq War and the role that intelligence played in the West’s decision to go to war. We look ahead to what China is lik...
Oct 27, 2022•44 min•Season 11Ep. 5
The democratically-elected government he served was ousted in a military coup. Yet, he still refuses to give up or go home. Instead, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun remains in New York, pleading his people's plight on the world's most powerful stage at the United Nations. We first interviewed him just over a year ago, shortly after he gave an impassioned speech before his fellow diplomats, denouncing the overthrow of his country's legitimate leaders. How has he managed to keep going? What more needs to ...
Oct 25, 2022•33 min
What does Liz Truss’ stunningly short term mean for the United Kingdom’s standing in the world? It comes at a time of tectonic transformations at home & unprecedented threats abroad. Queen Elizabeth’s passing and the rapid succession of three occupants at 10 Downing Street in as many months has shaken the country’s sense of stability. The former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove discusses the international implications of these chaotic days in British politics. He delves into what went wrong for ...
Oct 20, 2022•44 min•Season 11Ep. 4
As the world faces so much turmoil, we reflect on a moment just more than 30 years ago when Australia took a leading role brokering peace in Cambodia, helping to bring about the end of the infamous Khmer Rouge regime, behind the genocide now known as the Killing Fields. The man at the centre of that historic agreement is Australian former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. What lessons for today can we draw from the past, and a conflict that saw China, Russia and the US on different and competing si...
Oct 13, 2022•41 min•Season 11Ep. 3
The United Nations General Assembly puts the most powerful leaders on the planet in one room. But, what do they really end up accomplishing during their time together? Critics say it is little more than a lot of grandstanding wrapped around a thin layer of grandiose ambitions that seldom produce much impact. We took the question to ambassadors and other senior officials. Is this expensive event effective for the people they represent and if so how? You will not want to miss their take on what is...
Oct 11, 2022•29 min
We sit down with Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani, elected as a reformer for a young and vulnerable country in a tough neighborhood. She talks on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly meeting about her concerns not just for Kosovo, but for Europe more broadly. As more weapons flow into Serbia from China, she sounds the alarm on the ominous threat it represents to regional security. Former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove and host Julia Macfarlane also delve into Serbia's increasingly i...
Oct 06, 2022•47 min•Season 11Ep. 2
The British pound sterling plummeted this week after Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her budget containing a divisive 45-billion tax cut, spooking markets and leading to warnings from the IMF to the White House. The Bank of England took emergency measures to keep the economy afloat, promising to buy bonds at "whatever scale is necessary." Can the UK economy avoid catastrophe as it faces threats from inflation and fuel shortages? Leading British economist Alpesh Paleja explains what exactly hap...
Oct 01, 2022•40 min
As the world's attention turns to Iran, grave human rights abuses, and those protesting against this regime, One Decision looks at the negotiations regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - or the hotly contested Iran deal. Morgan Ortagus who spent years in the Trump administration after serving as an intelligence analyst explains the administration's reasoning behind President Trump's abrupt cancellation of a deal that placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange f...
Sep 29, 2022•59 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Thousands of desperate young men are trying to escape Russia after Vladamir Putin announced a plan to mobilize 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine. His forces have recently suffered a string of embarrassing military defeats. Some Russians are already seeking to escape by crossing the long border into neighboring Finland. On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, we sat down with Finnish Ambassador Elina Kalkku to discuss the recent influx of Russians frantically tryin...
Sep 26, 2022•23 min
Russia's President Putin is losing his war against Ukraine, he was roundly humiliated at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit last week and this week called up 300,000 reservists and threatened the west with nuclear retaliation. As the world convenes at the United Nations in New York, military expert Shashank Joshi joins hosts Julia Macfarlane and former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove to walk us through the decisions Putin has made and how they will play out, Russia's nuclear threat a...
Sep 22, 2022•43 min•Season 10Ep. 6
As the world gathers to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, co-hosts Julia Macfarlane and Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, a longtime Crown servant, reflect on the life and times of Britain's longest-reigning Monarch.
Sep 19, 2022•15 min
Will the Biden Administration dial back sanctions against Venezuela, a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, in an effort to address the global energy crisis? That's the question we ask two leading experts on the country's energy industry. They discuss how crumbling infrastructure to export crude may slow or stymie any immediate impact. Nicolas Maduro and the Chavistas have ignored the results of past elections and have one of the worst human rights records in the hemisphere, which...
Sep 15, 2022•44 min•Season 10Ep. 5
The Wagner Group is used extensively by the Russian government in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and across the African continent. The private military company serves as a shadow military consisting of thousands of highly-trained and well-equipped mercenaries. From war crimes to trafficking in illicit goods, they have earned a reputation as one of the most significant sources of instability in countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The United Nations Human Rights Council's J...
Sep 08, 2022•43 min•Season 10Ep. 4
Russia and China are undertaking an unprecedented assault on the international order. Meanwhile, serious questions linger about America's willingness to exert leadership across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Spain's former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Manuel Muñiz discusses why the war in Ukraine is likely to drag out for years and how it will accelerate a process of deglobalization. In his view, the world will divide across two main blocs, democracies and authoritarian states. T...
Sep 03, 2022•21 min
Will the metaverse jeopardize security and stability around the world? Venture capitalist and author of “The Metaverse and how it will revolutionise everything,” Matthew Ball sits down with One Decision to delve into the implications of the new virtual world on the real world. One Decision hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of MI6, and journalist Julia Macfarlane explore opportunities and concerns about the new risks that will be found in the metaverse.
Sep 01, 2022•43 min•Season 10Ep. 3
Darya Dugina, daughter of close Putin ally and Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, was driving her father's car, when it exploded. Russia's FSB security services quickly claimed to have identified the assassin. But western governments have pushed back against this narrative, with some officials like Tom Tugendhat, a British member of Parliament, suggesting that Putin may have targeted Dugin over recent criticisms made against the Kremlin. One Decision hosts Julia Macfarlane and former MI6...
Aug 27, 2022•19 min
French President Emanuelle Macron is in a pretty tough spot. Recent legislative elections seriously undermined his standing at a dangerous point, as he starts his second term in office. In a country where strikes and protests are common, the next one might have far reaching political consequences. Meanwhile, Europe finds itself grappling with a war on its eastern border and an increasingly aggressive Russia. Former French Ambassador Gerard Araud shares an inside perspective on the latest threats...
Aug 25, 2022•38 min•Season 10Ep. 2
The United States' longest foreign war came to an end as the last American troops departed Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base on August 15, 2021. On the same day, Taliban forces breached the walls of Kabul, taking full control of the country as President Ashraf Ghani fled. One Decision sits down with the former Vice President of the National Assembly, Fawzia Koofi, and former U.S. Marine and investor in the country, Jake Cusack, who also helped to rescue hundreds fleeing the extremist group's return ...
Aug 18, 2022•45 min•Season 10Ep. 1
Bill Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies. Browder's colleague Sergei Magnitsky uncovered a massive tax scam totalling hundreds of billions of dollars, and the officials he accused of stealing the funds threw him into jail, where he was beaten, tortured, and then died in custody in 2009. Browder decided to act, pushing for accountability of those involved in Magnitsky’s deat...
Aug 11, 2022•43 min•Season 9Ep. 6
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Taiwan has leaders worldwide concerned that it will provoke China and lead to a potential military conflict with the United States. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane and former Head of British Intelligence Sir Richard Dearlove sit down to analyze the motives and possible dangers of the visit. Sir Richard reveals why he thinks the trip is more than just a symbolic message and under what circumstances the rhetoric between the US and China could lead to ...
Aug 05, 2022•28 min
Amid a wave of European support for Ukraine, Hungary has emerged an outlier; refusing to send weapons to Kyiv or cut off Russian oil supply. Newly re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban has openly spoken of his admiration for Russia’s President Putin, and described himself as the leader of “an illiberal democracy.” So does that leave Budapest more closely aligned with Brussels or Moscow? Guest co-host Helena Humphrey sits down with Klara Dobrev, a Hungarian left-wing politician and MEP, to talk ...
Aug 04, 2022•46 min•Season 9Ep. 5
NATO's former Director General of Military Staff, General Hans-Werner Wiermann sits down on this bonus episode for a look back on the tumultuous times he and the Alliance have endured over the last several years. From the American withdrawal from Afghanistan to China's increasingly aggressive posture, the General shares some of the lessons he learned and the threats the West will likely face over the next decade. He also delves into Russia's strategy in Ukraine and what it will take to push Puti...
Aug 02, 2022•29 min
While foreign correspondent Laura Haim is on assignment in Paris reporting on the effects of the war in Europe, she's also been following the story of a small coastal village in the South of France that's drawn Russians for years - and not just wealthy Russians, but some of the world's most notorious Russian oligarchs. However, with the war in Ukraine, the town is in a state of flux. With sanctions in place, many Russians' have had their assets frozen - making it hard to maintain their estates. ...
Jul 28, 2022•31 min•Season 9Ep. 4
US President Joe Biden promised to make a “pariah” out of Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is widely held responsible overseas for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the brutal war in Yemen, a rise in mass executions and other human rights abuses in the Kingdom. But at a time when inflation is soaring, global oil prices are surging and China is courting the Gulf - can Biden and the US afford to isolate Saudi Arabia and ignore the Middle East? One Decision's Julia ...
Jul 21, 2022•41 min•Season 9Ep. 3
This month, China has been marking the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong, from British rule back to China. For many Hong Kongers, this was not a day of celebration - including for Samuel Chu, a Hong-Kong born American activist, founder and President of the non-profit group Campaign for Hong Kong. His father, a retired pastor, was one of the leading figures behind the Occupy Central movement, the pro-democracy mass movement that sparked the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong back in 201...
Jul 14, 2022•49 min•Season 9Ep. 2
