Last week Tsai Ing-wen, president of Taiwan, and Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, met in California. Katie Stallard speaks to Paul Huang, a research fellow at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation and a journalist, based in Taipei, about the politics of the encounter. They discuss the calculations behind the response of China, which claims Taiwan as its own; how that could play into Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election; and the pace of Taiwan’s military reforms and...

On Tuesday, the former US president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, amid allegations that he orchestrated hush-money payments to two women before the 2016 election.    Katie Stallard in Washington DC, Megan Gibson in London and Ido Vock in Paris discuss what Trump’s arrest and trial could mean for the 2024 presidential race.    Next, the team turn to Finland where Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday. The right-wing National...

As the Ukraine war continues, one of the strongest supporters of Vladimir Putin has been Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Katherine Kelaidis, author of a new book on the Church, joins Ido Vock to discuss its history, the Church's split with Ukraine, and the influence it holds over Russian politics. Read more:   The invasion of Ukraine forces a reckoning for the Orthodox world   Putin believes he is defending Orthodox Christianity from the godless West Hosted on Acast....

On Monday, after protests swept the country and trade unions threatened major strikes, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that he was delaying his controversial judicial reforms package. Netanyahu said he was doing this “to avoid civil war”. Ido Vock in Berlin and Megan Gibson and Alona Ferber in London discuss the response to Netanyahu’s announcement in Israel and abroad, as well as how far the crisis could go. Next, the team turn to Russia, where Vladimir Putin has...

Protests continue in Israel and many trade unions have called immediate strikes over Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed reforms to the judiciary, which critics say will turn the country into a dictatorship. Over the weekend the defence minister was sacked for calling for the plans to be withdrawn but there’s growing expectation that the prime minister will have to back down. Ido Vock speaks to Alona Ferber, Spotlight editor, about what’s behind the protests, why Netanyahu is so desperate to pass...

On Wednesday Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement in Moscow promising to deepen their strategic partnership and stressing the importance of “settling the Ukraine crisis through dialogue”. Megan Gibson in London and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss how Xi has attempted to frame his visit as a “journey for peace” and what really sustains his relationship with the Russian president. Next they turn to the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq and the lessons...

The French president Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a confidence vote after it invoked a contentious article of the constitution to override parliament and pass an unpopular reform to the pensions system. The move enraged the opposition and unions, which have vowed to escalate direct action in protest. For a special episode, Ido Vock in Berlin is joined by Georgina Wright, director of the Institut Montaigne’s Europe Programme, in Paris, to discuss why the government thought it...

As protests against the Iranian regime continue, Megan Gibson speaks to the award-winning writer Dina Nayeri, whose latest book is Who Gets Believed When the Truth Isn’t Enough? They discuss the uprising in Iran since Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the oppressive morality police, where the protests are going, Nayeri’s own experiences with the morality police, and why refugees and asylum seekers are demonised by public discourse and political policies. Read more: Iran’s regime won’t...

Over the weekend, Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to some of the biggest names in the technology world, became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. Regulators scrambled to contain the fallout from the collapse as share prices plummeted, with HSBC stepping in to buy the bank for £1 in a rescue deal.   Ido Vock is joined by the New Statesman’s associate business editor Emma Haslett and Spotlight editor Alona Ferber to discuss the roots of the crisis, the hypocrisy of...

One year into Russia's war against Ukraine, Katie Stallard speaks to Jade McGlynn, an expert on Russian propaganda and memory politics, about how the Kremlin has framed the conflict at home. McGlynn is an academic researcher at King's College London and the author of two forthcoming books, Russia's War and Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia.  They discuss the spectrum of public attitudes towards the war in Russia, whether European visa bans on Russian citizens could be...

On Tuesday (7 March), hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to raise the retirement age. Workers in a variety of sectors – including education, transport, energy and waste – downed tools on the largest day of strikes since Macron's presidency began.    Megan Gibson in London, Ido Vock in Berlin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC discuss Macron’s proposals and his refusal to back down, raising the prospect of an escalating struggle. Plus,...

Following a flurry of Chinese diplomatic efforts in Europe, culminating in a visit to the Munich Security Conference on 18 February by Wang Yi, the country's top diplomat,, Katie Stallard speaks to Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Asia programme, about the future of European relations with Beijing.   His latest book, No Limits: The Inside Story of China's War with the West, charts the revolution in Europe's China policy over the past five years, and how Beijing's...

The president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko met with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week. A staunch ally of Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko would have been eager to demonstrate his close relationship with another major world leader. For Beijing, however, the visit is a little more complicated.   Megan Gibson in London, Katie Stallard in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the significance of the visit's timing, which follows China’s attempted charm offensive in Europe, and...

Megan Gibson speaks to the economist and author Mariana Mazzucato, professor at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. The Big Con is her latest book, co-written with Rosie Collington, which exposes the consequences of governments’ dependency on consultancies such as McKinsey and Deloitte. “The more governments and businesses outsource,” they write, “the less they know how to do.” They discuss the rise of the consultancy industry and how these companies have, over the course of...

Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday (20 February) to demonstrate what he called America’s “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s war effort. It was the first time a US president had visited the country since Russia first attacked Ukraine, in 2014.   Megan Gibson in London, Katie Stallard in Wasington DC, and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the significance of this visit and Vladimir Putin’s latest warning to the West in his state of the nation speech. They also cover support for Ukraine...

As Ukraine marks one year since Russia’s invasion, Ido Vock is joined by Ukrainian journalist and broadcaster Maria Romanenko, military expert Mark Galeotti and the New Statesman’s writer at large Jeremy Cliffe. They discuss how Ukrainians felt at the outbreak of war, whether Western support to Kyiv will hold and how the war could eventually end.   Read more: Oleksiy Danilov: “Weak people always come up with excuses not to act” No, Russia isn’t about to break apart Is Ukraine prepared for the...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...