Afghanistan is on the verge of a collapse with the majority of the 40 million Afghans there living in poverty ruled over by the Taliban—hardline militants imposing the strictest interpretations of Sharia law. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove sit down with British Conservative Party politician Tobias Ellwood who serves as the Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee to discuss his recent trip to Kabul. Ellwood details the dismal conditions he saw on the groun...
Aug 10, 2023•40 min•Season 18Ep. 2
Last week’s coup in Niger is the latest in a string of recent military takeovers in Africa—seemingly the final domino to fall in a region plagued by instability and the battle between Russia and the West for influence in the Sahel. Coup leaders are now facing an ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum or face the consequences including possible military intervention. On this week’s bonus episode, Julia Mac...
Aug 06, 2023•17 min
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive meets stiff Russian resistance, Europe and the United States are being ravaged by climate change this summer ahead of the COP28 climate summit being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, one of the biggest energy producers in the world. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and longtime climate champion in Congress has joined other United States and European Union lawmakers in calling for oil executive Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber to step down from leadin...
Aug 03, 2023•49 min•Season 18Ep. 1
Filmmaker Mimi Chakarova sits down with One Decision's Julia Macfarlane to discuss what has changed in the fight against human trafficking and slavery since her groundbreaking film that shined a light on vulnerable women from Eastern Europe who were manipulated and tricked into selling their bodies, trapped in a life of slavery. From Turkey to the Middle East to Western Europe, she chronicled the lives of women who managed to escape, but also revealed the men and women who worked to uphold the c...
Jul 27, 2023•51 min•Season 17Ep. 6
Protests have picked up in Israel this week as the Knesset takes up the controversial legislation proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that critics say would compromise the integrity and independence of Israel’s judicial system. If passed, the measure would eliminate the so-called "reasonableness clause" and would permit the judiciary to put curbs on government decisions granting Netanyahu and his coalition unfettered powers. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane speaks to journalist Noga Tar...
Jul 22, 2023•18 min
After multiple extensions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is set to retire at the end of his term in October, but speculation continues over who will head the world's most powerful alliance. Among the contenders is Estonia’s Kersti Kaljulaid who served from 2016-2021 as the first female president of the Baltic high-tech nation that shares a border with Russia. A leader from NATO's eastern flank could send a strong message to Putin about the direction of travel for European security prio...
Jul 20, 2023•48 min•Season 17Ep. 5
After a tense start, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walked away from the NATO summit with some tangible wins—unprecedented long-term security commitments–and a clear path to join the alliance. In this week's bonus episode, Brett Bruen, the former Director of Global Engagement in President Obama’s White House speaks with the Wall Street Journal's Vivian Salama from Vilnius, Lithuania. They discuss the big takeaways from the meeting, Ukraine's future and how Russian President Vladimir Puti...
Jul 17, 2023•19 min
One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove caught up with John Kirby, the head of Strategic Communications at the National Security Council just before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Kirby discusses the United States and NATO's long-term security commitments to Kyiv, plans to deal with Ukraine's artillery shortage to support the counter-offensive, and concerns over Vladimir Putin moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Jul 13, 2023•19 min
Brett Bruen, who was President Barack Obama’s Director of Global Engagement, co-hosts this week's episode on the NATO Summit with Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove. They speak with Leon Panetta, who led the CIA and was United States Defense Secretary, along with having served as White House Chief of Staff and a senior member of the US House of Representatives. They discuss what has to be accomplished at this week's meeting with NATO leaders in Vilinus, Lithuania and how they will deal wit...
Jul 10, 2023•33 min•Season 17Ep. 4
Former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson sits down with One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove for his first ever podcast interview. Johnson discusses the state of the Ukraine war— his thoughts on Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed mutiny and details from his recent conversation with former President Donald Trump about supporting Ukraine in defeating Russia. He also talks about his post-Brexit frustrations, if he would change how he handled t...
Jul 06, 2023•41 min•Season 17Ep. 3
Former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House, Brett Bruen hosts our weekly special One More Decision with Sir Richard Dearlove for analysis on Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived coup against Russia and exile to Belarus. Sir Richard shares his views on the aftermath, and what this means for Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and the war in Ukraine.
Jun 30, 2023•18 min
Former President Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary Mark Esper has come out against his old boss who fired him by tweet in November 2020, just days after the election. Esper has revealed in his memoir that he stayed in the administration in order to ‘hold the line’ against suggestions that the United States might bomb Mexico, Venezuela, or send a quarter million troops to the southern border. One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove and Julia Macfarlane sit down with Dr. Mark Esper to discuss the curre...
Jun 29, 2023•43 min•Season 17Ep. 2
President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a series of strategic deals aimed at strengthening military, economic and technological ties between the two countries. The strategic partnership is crucial as the United States moves to reign in Russia’s influence and counter China’s growing military presence. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove discuss the details of the joint pact including increased defense capabilities, building semiconductor faciliti...
Jun 25, 2023•20 min
One Decision's Julia Macfarlane and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove sit down with Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the powerful United States Senate Intelligence Committee. In his role, the Virginia Democrat oversees the vast intelligence community and investigations related to national security. The discussion features the committee's work on investigations into the mishandling of classified documents, the challenge from China, and the emerging threat of artificial intelligence and advanc...
Jun 22, 2023•44 min•Season 17Ep. 1
Two major decisions by European entities this week will likely transform how the world interacts with technology. First, the European Parliament passed legislation that could introduce some of the first major regulations around the use of artificial intelligence, including how the police deploy facial recognition systems. POLITICO's Chief Brussels Correspondent Suzanne Lynch just returned from Strasbourg, where the bill was being debated. She provides an inside look at how the proposed law is sh...
Jun 17, 2023•16 min
One Decision sits down with Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas to talk about America’s foreign policy priorities and what should be done about China. Hutchinson is an outsider in the race, but insists he is there to widen the parameters of the debate, as Trump and DeSantis continue to offer a populist, nativist vision of America to voters. And, Sir Richard Dearlove reacts to the unsealing of the criminal indictment against former President Trump, as...
Jun 15, 2023•46 min•Season 16Ep. 6
Since President Biden and President Xi exchanged handshakes and smiles at last year’s G20, relations between the two powers have been on shaky ground. Most recently, the United States Defense Secretary was snubbed by his Chinese counterpart in Singapore during a regional defense summit. The Chinese military has lashed out at the United States holding a joint exercise with Canada in the waters around Taiwan, and the United States is still angry at Beijing over the recent saga of ‘spy balloons’ fo...
Jun 11, 2023•18 min
Ukraine finally began its long-awaited counteroffensive on June 4th, two days before D-Day, the anniversary of the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. Much is at stake - but barely after Ukraine began calculated assaults along Russian lines, someone blew up the Kakhovka Dam. A torrent of floodwater has been unleashed on tens of thousands of homes in both Russian and Ukrainian controlled areas, and both sides are laying blame on each other. If sticky Ukrainian mud was once an issue and a challen...
Jun 08, 2023•32 min•Season 16Ep. 5
Professor George Gao, the former head of China's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recently told the BBC that no theory for the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic should be ruled out including whether or not it came from a lab, after years of extremely insistent public denials from the Chinese leadership. Gao added that China investigated whether the virus may have originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and admitted that he hadn't actually seen the results of the investigation, but heard t...
Jun 03, 2023•16 min
As the world rushes to meet its targets for a green-powered revolution, the demand for materials like cobalt are set to double by the year 2050 due to its critical role in the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries, and the rising demand for electric vehicles. Author and activist Siddharth Kara sits down with One Decision's Julia Macfarlane to discuss his new book, "Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives'' which details his undercover investigation of what is happening in the De...
Jun 01, 2023•51 min•Season 16Ep. 4
Russian forces captured the city of Bakhmut largely led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group and its fighters—who suffered heavy losses on the battlefield. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove discuss Russia's next move as it prepares for Ukraine's counter-offensive, and what's behind the border skirmishes in the Russian town of Belgorod. International Intrigue is a...
May 26, 2023•28 min
In recent months the Biden administration has put a concerted effort into wooing the African continent. It’s not a moment too soon, because China is busy forging ties and building infrastructure across African countries - with a growing number of African economies, such as Ghana’s, becoming increasingly dependent on the Chinese to bail out their debt. Russia has also been busy, deploying Wagner mercenaries across countries in Africa, where they are making a fortune out of the bountiful resources...
May 25, 2023•42 min•Season 16Ep. 3
In this week's One More Decision, former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House, Brett Bruen is joined by Nikkei's Diplomatic Correspondent Ken Moriyasu from the G7 summit venue in Hiroshima to discuss Japan's agenda as it plays host to world leaders in the city that suffered the first nuclear attack in the world. They discuss what will come from the high-stakes gathering, China's aggressive posturing towards Taiwan, the buildup of Japan's own military defenses, and how world lea...
May 19, 2023•16 min
Venezuela is known to have the world’s biggest reserves of crude oil - but more than 90% of its citizens live in poverty. Millions of people have fled the country since 2015, in what the United Nations has described as the second biggest displacement disaster in the world. The policies of the Hugo Chavez government live on in the Bolivarian regime and leadership of Nicholas Maduro - but can the communists be ousted? One Decision speaks with former United States Ambassador to Caracas Patrick Dudd...
May 18, 2023•50 min•Season 16Ep. 2
En un episodio especial de One Decision en español Brett Bruen, exasesor del presidente Obama, entrevista a Juan Guaidó en su primera visita como exiliado a Washington D.C. El expresidente venezolano reflexiona sobre las lecciones aprendidas, las sanciones y hasta hace una autocrítica de la gestión del gobierno interino. Revela la influencia rusa en el país asentado sobre las mayores reservas de petróleo del planeta, la presencia china y cómo la nación latinoamericana se ha convertido en un sant...
May 16, 2023•13 min
Judges in Pakistan have ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from custody after his dramatic arrest in Islamabad on what his supporters claim are trumped up charges of corruption. The Supreme Court has ordered Khan be freed on protected bail, meaning he cannot be re-arrested on the same charges for another two weeks. The country has seen waves of violence after his supporters who have protested his arrest clashed with the police and the military. Several people have died and t...
May 12, 2023•21 min
Turkey’s longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing what many describe as his toughest election yet. On Sunday, May 14th polls will open for presidential and parliamentary elections, and amid a dire economic crisis in the country, his prospects are in doubt. His leading rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu is a mild-mannered and bookish elderly lawmaker who is presenting himself as a man of the people, and the polar opposite to the incumbent. Unlike Erdogan - the poster boy for populist politics - who ...
May 11, 2023•47 min•Season 16Ep. 1
The United States and Ukraine have strongly denied any involvement in an alleged drone assassination attempt against Vladimir Putin this week. According to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, two drones were reportedly downed by Russian air defences above the Kremlin, the fortress which is the heart of the government. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove analyze the incident, the possibility it could be a false flag operation by Russia to escalate the war, and how Moscow could r...
May 05, 2023•19 min
One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove was a guest of the Kyiv government during the last week of April - coinciding with the day that Russia launched its biggest air strikes on Ukraine in two months. Sir Richard reveals the details of his unfortunate night spent in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, what he learned from conversations on the ground with high-level government officials, Ukraine's focus on NATO's upcoming summit in Vilnius, preparations for the long awaited 'spring offensive' and why the Discor...
May 04, 2023•52 min•Season 15Ep. 6
Former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House, Brett Bruen joins to host our weekly special One More Decision to provide analysis on President Joe Biden's announcement—that at 80 years old he will seek another term as president setting up a potential Trump vs. Biden rematch in 2024. Brett speaks with Johanna Maska, the former Director of Press Advance at the White House during the Obama administration. Maska shares an insider view on the personal side of Joe Biden, what makes him...
Apr 28, 2023•13 min
