The EI Podcast

With deterrence and compellence becoming more crucial than they have been in over three decades, understanding what makes foreign leaders tick is of the utmost importance. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: Silhouettes of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Credit: KLYONA / Alamy Stock Photo 

Andrew Roberts profiles Brendan Bracken , Winston Churchill's faithful and most trusted political adviser. Read by Sebastian Brown. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: Winston Churchill leaving Downing Street with Brendan Bracken. Credit:: Fremantle / Alamy Stock Photo 

EI's Angus Reilly discusses the life and legacy of Henry Kissinger with Thomas A. Schwartz , author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . EI Talks... is produced by Alastair Benn . The sound engineer is Gareth Jones. Image: President Gerald Ford and US Secretary of State Henry...

Gustaf Mannerheim's rise from a troubled youth to Finland's great wartime leader illustrates how leadership is forged by both personal traits and the unpredictable tides of history. Read by Helen Lloyd. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, centre, discusses strategy against the Russians at hi...

EI's Paul Lay discusses how the Baltic states have survived, and thrived, in the shadow of Russian aggression, with Kristjan Prikk , Estonia's Ambassador to the United States and Eitvydas Bajarūnas , a former Lithuanian senior diplomat, who has served as the Ambassador to Sweden, Russia and the UK. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . E...

Australia stands at the forefront of democratic resistance against China's expanding influence, reshaping its strategy and alliances to meet the challenges of a contested Indo-Pacific. Read by Helen Lloyd. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: Two US Air Force B-2 Spirits fly alongside four Royal Australian Air Force EA-18G Growle...

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 offered opportunities to reset relations between East and West. EI's Paul Lay discusses how these opportunities were squandered with Mary Elise Sarotte , Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation f...

Konrad Adenauer combined Realpolitik and German values and interests with international cooperation. The multilaterally integrated, co-operative nation state he championed was a fundamental innovation in European history. Read by Helen Lloyd. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: German statesman Konrad Adenauer depicted on a coin...

Maria Golia profiles Carl Akeley , an inventor, sculptor, and taxidermist. His life's lessons still echo in the effort to conserve wildlife. Read by Sebastian Brown. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: Wildlife photographer Carl Ethan Akeley photographed in 1926. Credit: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery / Public Domain

EI’s Angus Reilly is joined by Luke A. Nichter , author of The Year that Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968, to discuss Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, and the battle for the future of America in a year that offers notable parallels to the election of 2024. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Pub...

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence capable of deducing human intentions signals a new frontier in technology that could transform the world of strategy, diplomacy and warfare. Read by Helen Lloyd. TV screens showing the live broadcast of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match at Yongsan Electronic Technology Land in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

EI's Alastair Benn is joined by Marina E. Henke , Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School, Berlin, to discuss how Europe can defend itself from the latest threats and thrive in a contested world. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn . The sound engineer is Gareth Jone...

If Russia is allowed to walk away with any of its ill-gotten gains in Ukraine, the deterrent power of the United States and the transatlantic alliance will be lost. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: The flags of the United States and Ukraine flying side by side. Credit: Todd Bannor / Alamy Stock Photo 

Adrian Wooldridge profiles Philippa Fawcett , the first female Senior Wrangler at Cambridge University and a trailblazer for women's achievement in a nascent meritocratic society. Read by Sebastian Brown. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . Image: 1890 engraving of Philippa Fawcett, the first female Senior Wrangler. Credit: Universal H...

The study of statecraft would profit by spending less time on ‘should’ and more time on ‘how’. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: Woodrow Wilson delivering a Christmas address to soldiers of the A.E.F. Langres, Haute Marne, France, December 1918. Credit: Hum Images / Alamy Stock Photo

EI's Paul Lay is joined by Dmitri Alperovitch, leading geopolitical analyst, entrepreneur, and co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, to discuss the parallels between US-Soviet rivalry and that of the US and China. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn . The sound engi...

The vision of nuclear strategy as a means to prevent war remains a powerful but contested idea in international politics. As global rivalries intensify and nuclear arsenals expand, the risk of conflict seems more pronounced than ever. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: A photograph of nuclear testing at Pacific Island test sites. Credit: EMU history / Alamy Stock Photo 

Was the revolution that created the United States of America inevitable? The life of Joseph Galloway shows what might have been. Read by Sebastian Brown. Image: An illustration of Joseph Galloway by Thomas Emmett, 1885. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Over the last decade, NATO has embarked on a significant process of military and political adaptation to ensure it can effectively enable the collective defence of allies in a competitive, contested and unpredictable world. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: NATO flag waving in the wind. Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo 

EI's Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss an attention dilemma that has haunted western thought for centuries. READING LIST Our attention dilemma is age-old | Alastair Benn Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium | Seneca The Essays of Michel de Montaigne Don Quixote | Miguel de Cervantes Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . EI Talks... is hosted b...

Through his visionary leadership, inspired rhetoric, and willingness to compromise, John F. Kennedy summoned the narrative of American hope, his most powerful and enduring legacy. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: Senator John F. Kennedy at Hyannis Port. Credit: Phillip Harrington / Alamy Stock Photo

One of the few leaders on whom history has bestowed the title ‘the Great’, Akbar was a noted connoisseur of cultures and architect of political pluralism. Read by Sebastian Brown. Image: Akbar the Great hunting. Mughal Scool, 1590. British Museum. Artist Unknown. Credit: CM Dixon/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Like it or not, Japan has become one of the most critical actors in contemporary international politics. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: A naval exercise conducted by Japan. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo 

Michael Sheridan , author of The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China , joins EI's Angus Reilly to discuss the personal and ideological roots of one of the world's most powerful, and inscrutable, leaders. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit . EI Talks... is produced by Alastair Benn . The sound engineer is Gareth Jones. Image: Xi Ji...

Foundation myths based on the lives of heroic figures are often used by leaders to affirm their own authority — but they can also inspire wider society. Read by Helen Lloyd. Image: Statue showing the mythological origins of Roman society. Credit: LatitudeStock / Alamy Stock Photo