One Decision

Why is Donald Trump letting Nvidia sell chips to China, and what does it mean for global power politics? In this episode of One Decision In Brief, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 Chief, break down the unusual deal, where the U.S. government gets a cut of the profits. They explore the strategy behind America’s chip dominance, how China might respond, and what this reveals abo...

In this episode of One Decision, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove and former CIA Director Leon Panetta bring a level of insight into the Trump–Putin summit you won’t find anywhere else. With decades of intelligence briefings, Cold War strategy, and high-stakes negotiations behind them, they assess whether Alaska is a bold bid for peace or a dangerous gamble. They discuss the lack of diplomati...

President Donald Trump is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska. But Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky won’t be in the room. On this week’s One Decision In Brief, hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 Chief, and Christina Ruffini analyze the implications of a proposed U.S.-Russia summit without Ukraine, the uproar in Europe, and what a truce might look like on the ground. Plus: The striking parallel be...

From Bolsonaro to Orbán, what drives leaders who reject democratic norms—and what keeps them in power? One Decision hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dealove sit down to explore the makings of an authoritarian leader, including the times Sir Richard met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Later, they speak with historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat about the moder...

This week on One Decision In Brief, Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 Chief, analyze how an Israeli minister’s visit to Temple Mount and Hamas’s release of a hostage video have each raised the stakes. Also, this week, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow, but there’s no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to compromise. Plus, Trump...

In this week’s episode of One Decision, Congressman Bill Foster — the only Ph. D. physicist in Congress — joins hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove to examine the widening gap between science and policy in Washington. Foster warns that as the U.S. defunds research and sidelines experts, it risks falling behind in the global race for technological dominance, particularly against China....

In this episode of One Decision In Brief, hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 Chief, and Christina Ruffini unpack Donald Trump’s new trade deal with the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, and the growing international backlash over Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced...

In this episode, “The Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton joins One Decision hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove to discuss the growing global race to build and control superintelligent machines—and why artificial intelligence can no longer be simply switched off. Hinton warns that AI systems are learning in ways we don’t fully understand—and may soon be capable of making decisions beyond our...

In this week’s One Decision In Brief, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove examine Israel’s expanding operations in Syria and its backing of the Druze minority amid renewed violence. As Iran prepares to meet with European nations—without the United States—questions emerge about the coherence of Western diplomacy. Meanwhile, a sensitive data leak hidden by the UK government for over a year ha...

In this week’s episode, Congressman Don Bacon, a self-described “old school Reagan Republican,” joins hosts Sir Richard Dearlove and Christina Ruffini to unpack the internal battle over Republican foreign policy and what it means for U.S. credibility abroad. Bacon outlines how China, Iran, and North Korea are propping up Russia’s war effort and why he believes a Ukrainian defeat could embolden an...

This week on One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove unpack the latest shifts in diplomacy, notably U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's decision to cut 15% of the State Department's staff. They also analyze the significance of France's military capabilities amid rising global tensions, and what President Trump's latest tariff threats could mean for the future of t...

In this week’s episode of One Decision, Laura Holgate, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), joins host Christina Ruffini to break down the uncertain state of Iran’s nuclear program following recent U.S. strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites. Ambassador Holgate explains how the IAEA works, why its supervision of nuclear...

This week on One Decision In Brief, Sir Richard Dearlove and Kate McCann upack the high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as the world watches for a potential ceasefire. Plus, Chinese President Xi Jingping's puzzling withdrawal from the global stage and what UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron could reveal about Europe's new power...

In this week's episode, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former chief of Britain's MI6, sit down with Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, who has served as the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary. They discuss what Hunt calls Britain's "crisis of self confidence," what NATO must do to contain Russia and China, and how global instability - from Iran to Taiwan - is reshaping f...

In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, explore the opening of Greenland to U.S. tourism and what locals thinks of American influence. They then dive into the latest tariff tensions between the U.S. and Canada, assess Trump's trade tactics, and unpack reports on Iran's nuclear program after recent airstrikes - questi...

In this week's episode, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, wrap up their on-the-ground reporting at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands. Kate and Richard discuss President Donald Trump's closing press conference, his statements about an Israeli assessment that the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were successful, and the intelligence methods that c...

In this bonus episode, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove are on the ground in The Hague, Netherlands where they're reporting from the NATO Summit. Kate and Sir Richard sit down with U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a leading member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to discuss the latest from the summit including talks among NATO members for increased defense budgets, President Trump's u...

In this week's episode, host Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, is joined by Sir David Manning, a former colleague and friend. Manning is currently Director of Gatehouse Advisory Partners and previously held several diplomatic posts including British Ambassador to Israel, NATO, and the United States, among others. They sit down to discuss the tensions in the Middle East, including...

In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down to break down the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran and how the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are navigating the growing tensions. They also examine the recent military parade that honored both the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and Presiden...

In this episode of One Decision, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down with General Stanley McChrystal, a retired United States Army General who was the leader of the Joint Special Operations Command during the war in Iraq. McChrystal and Dearlove reflect on the war in Iraq and share stories of meeting and working with former Afghan President, Ham...

In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, catch up and discuss the United Kingdom's Defence Secretary John Healey's recent announcement that Britain will increase its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. They also go over the recent phone call between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and whether the discussion was produ...

In this week's episode, hosts Christina Ruffini and Leon Panetta, former US Secretary of Defense and CIA Director, are joined by Rahm Emanuel, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Emanuel has a long political career having previously served as the mayor of Chicago, a U.S. Congressman, and the former White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama. They discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza, I...

In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down to break down Germany's latest decision to support Ukraine with a €5 billion military aid package. They also explore the political and social ramifications of President Donald Trump's decision to block foreign visa applications from prospective Harvard students and the...

In this week's episode, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down with Kajsa Ollongren, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Netherlands. They discuss how the European Union is approaching security and defense policy in the era of Donald Trump and what the American president's style says about global diplomacy. They also dis...

In this week’s One Decision In Brief, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain’s MI6, sit down to discuss President Donald Trump’s diplomatic style in recent meetings with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and how world leaders should prepare for an Oval Office visit with the American president. They also discuss the state...