The General & the Journalist

Mark Galeotti, a historian and author who studies Russian politics and organized crime, joins to unpack Moscow's oddities. He highlights strange defections and paranoia in the Kremlin. He charts competing military doctrines and how the Iran conflict reshapes Russian strategy. He explains why Moscow views a weakened but intact Iran as useful and how global attention shifts from Ukraine.

Peter Frankopan, historian and author of The Silk Roads, reframes the Iran war through long-term history and geography. He links Iran's oil and strategic position to centuries of power struggles. He explores Gulf states' shifting security, China and Russia's responses, the strain on multilateralism, and why this moment feels as world-changing as 1989 or 9/11.

We are in the second week of a war that was supposed to be over by now. Yet the world is facing soaring oil prices, rising inflation and a regime which doesn't seem ready to capitulate.  While President Trump continues to threaten Iran, he faces the limits of what air power, alone, can achieve and increasing pressure at home. Recording on Day 12 of the conflict, Patrick and Tom are joined by Sir Simon Gass, former Ambassador to Tehran and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, to dissect the rise of a new Iranian dynasty and the high-stakes search for an off-ramp that no one seems able to find.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Sir Simon GassProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyClips: War.gov Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump has given numerous reasons for America's war on Iran. But if a clear objective cannot be defined, can that war be won?Admiral James 'Sandy' Winnefeld is a former vice-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Until last year he headed the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, overseeing planning for American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.He joins Tom and Patrick to talk US tactics, Iranian response and a possible end-game.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Admiral James 'Sandy' WinnefeldProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyClips: Whitehouse.gov, Reuters, USA Today, @WION. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years ago, Al Carns was a colonel in the Royal Marines and, though he can never confirm or deny it, had also commanded the Special Boat Service. He pivoted to politics when he realised that the country's military leadership did not fully grasp the seismic shift in warfare brought about by drones and AI - but he did.Having risen at breakneck speed to become armed forces minister, Al talks candidly to Patrick and Tom about the need for the country to prepare for war with Russia in "three to five years."Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Al Carns DSO OBE MC MPProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: courtesy of Al Carns Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beginning with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, but accelerated by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has super-charged its military to become the third largest in Nato, behind only Turkey and the US.It spends more on defence as a proportion of national wealth than even America and is soon to have more large tanks than the UK, Germany and France combined.So how did this happen, what are the implications, and are there lessons to be learned for the UK? Host:Tom Newton DunnGuests: Oliver Moody and Bartosz KielakProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the UK is to present a credible deterrence to any adversary, its armed forces need to be sufficiently large. They are not. And the fastest, most economical, way of plugging the gap is by growing the reserves. The Chief of the defence staff recently called for an 'all in mentality', urging civilians to step up to the very real threat posed by Russia. Not 'weekend warriors', but people from high-tech industries and professions, skills the regular army lacks. He meant all of us. So, who could join the reserves, how quickly, and what would they get out of it?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuests: Elisabeth Braw and Peter AppsProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the space race and the arms race, only a human could determine an outcome. But what happens in war when AI, and not a human, takes the decision to pull the trigger? If AI can equal human capabilities, Artificial 'superintelligence' is smarter, potentially putting ASI beyond human control.Jon Wolfsthal worked in the Obama White House on nuclear non-proliferation. He, like scores of others in defence, diplomacy and AI, has signed a petition calling for a ban on superintelligence, unless and until it can be controlled. He joined Patrick and Tom from New York to spell out exactly why we must stop our nuclear and biological weapons being run by machines.But, don't worry, it gets lighter. Jon is a massive fan of sci-fi. Turns out, so are Patrick and Tom. The three of them swap film and book faves, from Prometheus to Frankenstein, Alien to Terminator, and talk about how they all foreshadowed this artificial intelligence moment.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Jon WolfsthalProducer: Sophie McNultyClip: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Photo: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our colleagues at The Times this week launched an American edition of their superb UK politics pod, The State of It. We thought you might want to hear the fabulous first episode. Welcome to the first ever episode of The State of It: USA. An attack on Iran looks imminent: we reveal what senior military and political figures are saying about it.Also, is Donald Trump taking a softer line on immigration after the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis?And get ready for Melania, the movie.Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday TimesGerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street JournalProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessEmail us: thestateofit@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Xi Jinping has effectively removed his last remaining rival power-base in Beijing. Until last weekend, Zhang Youxia was the highest ranking general in the Chinese armed forces and second only to Xi in the military's hierarchy. But having now carried out an almost-total purge of the PLA's leadership, has Xi consolidated his power or, ultimately, undermined it? And what does it mean for a prospective move on Taiwan? Patrick and Tom are joined from Taipei by RUSI's Philip Shetler-Jones, to talk about rumours of a coup and chew over what's left of the PLA's command and control structures.Watching events in Beijing closely will be Japan, which has recently ditched its post-war pacificism to rearm at breakneck speed. Recognising the reality of Xi's ambition to 'reunite' with Taiwan, and mindful of an increasingly unpredictable America, Tokyo has come off the fence and declared that any attack on Taiwan would automatically draw it into a war with China. But is it too late to deter Xi?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive producer: Fiona LeachClips: Al Arabiya EnglishPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.