Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Tehran University professor and former nuclear negotiations advisor, gives a sharp take on Iran’s foreign policy and military stance. He discusses warnings of overwhelming retaliation to any U.S. strike. He outlines likely targets in the Gulf and regional power dynamics. He examines U.S. coercion, Israeli calculations, and where Tehran draws red lines.

John J. Mearsheimer, a leading realist scholar at the University of Chicago, offers a hard-nosed take on great power politics. He discusses the rise of a new Cold War and a Russia-China deterrent alignment. He examines NATO expansion, Western misreadings of Russian motives, bleak prospects for negotiations, and the military and escalation risks surrounding Ukraine.

Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst and State Department counterterrorism staffer, lays out the collapse of the U.S. dollar and the unraveling of dollar-led financial order. He touches on the end of the petrodollar, rise of BRICS payment systems, precious metals shortages, Japan’s treasury risks, and the geopolitical fallout as power shifts toward a multipolar financial world.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE and former UN envoy, outlines Russia’s view on pan-European security. He talks about NATO expansion, the OSCE’s decline, failed treaty efforts, and why Russia must be part of any lasting European security architecture. He warns about escalation risks, hybrid warfare, and the limits of current diplomacy.

Jeffrey Sachs, economist and policy advisor, warns that U.S. actions point toward a large-scale attack on Iran. He critiques Western complicity and the weaponization of sanctions. He highlights risks of regional escalation and the need for an international push to prevent war.

Alex Krainer, market analyst, author and former hedge fund manager, outlines the rise of Western oligarchy and democratic decay. He explores historical parallels from Rome to medieval bankers. He discusses pandemic-era power shifts, elite control of media and policy, and how blocked democratic change can escalate into violence.

Scott Ritter, former US Marine intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, breaks down signs of a possible imminent attack on Iran. He discusses force buildups, strike planning, Iran’s defensive depth, covert networks and multi‑axis campaign scenarios. He also covers likely Iranian reactions and the roles Russia and China might play.

Gilbert Doctorow, historian and analyst of Russia and European affairs, discusses volatile diplomacy and hidden backchannels shaping the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He covers Russia’s proposals on frozen assets, Maynard-style reconstruction deals, and secret talks linking Washington and Moscow. The conversation highlights rising Russian escalation, EU fractures over assets, and shifting prospects for negotiated settlements.

Jiang Xueqin, an academic and Predictive History commentator who uses history and game theory to forecast geopolitics. He explores US imperial behavior during decline, Europe’s loss of influence, rising turmoil across Asia, and the high-stakes dynamics around a potential renewed conflict with Iran. Short, incisive takes on shifting power, coercion, and societal stress in a changing world.

Yanis Varoufakis, economist and former Greek finance minister who founded DiEM25, delivers a sharp critique of Trump’s 'Board of Peace' as a corporate takeover of international order. He discusses how recent resolutions may erase Palestinian legal status, shield leaders from accountability, and fuse Big Tech, finance, and the military into privatized imperial power. Short, urgent, and provocative.