Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell

I spoke to Dan about many things. Better to have a listen. If you are looking for the chart about AI financing that he mentioned, it's here. You can find Dan on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/dankaszeta.bsky.social If you would like to support this podcast please consider taking out a paid subscription to my Substack arthursnell.substack.com or if you don't want the hassle of a subscription you...

Charlie Gammell is one of Britain's leading Iran experts and he joined me in a conversation recorded on 13 January about the rapidly evolving situation in Iran. You can find Charlie's work here on Substack: https://onceadiplomat.substack.com If you would like to support this podcast please consider taking out a paid subscription to my Substack arthursnell.substack.com or if you don't want the hass...

Catherine Royle was Britain's Ambassador to Venezuela, making one of very few people to have met and worked with all of Nicolas Maduro, his predecessor Hugo Chavez and Maduro's (perhaps temporary) successor Delcy Rodriguez. She shared her unique experiences and insights for this emergency episode recorded on 4 January 2026. If you would like to support this podcast please consider taking out a pai...

A struggle over who controls South Yemen might not seem particularly important, but it's a proxy for a far bigger conflict that has been bubbling for years between two of the key countries in Gulf region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. I was able to speak to Iona Craig about this and what it means for Yemen and the wider region. If you would like to support this podcast please consider...

From the revolutionary use of drones to staged coups, child abduction and psychological warfare, the war in Ukraine is like no other. It is a new form of total war, combining traditional military force with all the non-military tools of the Russian state. The 2022 invasion was just the next stage of a conflict that Russia has been fighting since 2005, using all the tactics at its disposal to contr...

In this episode, Arthur Snell and Dr. Jonathan Terra delve into the Trump administration's National Security Strategy, exploring its ideological underpinnings, rejection of globalism, and implications for America's role in the world. They discuss the document's views on migration, the Monroe Doctrine, and the contrasting approaches to Europe and Asia, highlighting the administration's isolationist...

Mali, a vast country larger than most of Western Europe added together is a country whose central authority has largely collapsed and whose capital city Bamako is surrounded by radical Islamist militants. There seems to be a pattern here, with Syria and Afghanistan having fallen as Western countries lose interest. As with Syria, the corrupt Malian government had allied itself with Russia, apparent...

I spoke to Quiet Riot regular Alex Andreou as well as Iuliia Osmolowska, former senior Ukrainian diplomat now running the GLOBSEC think tank office in Kyiv about the so-called 28-Point Peace Plan as well as Ukraine and Europe's response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I spoke to Orwa Ajjoub about the remarkable rise of Syria's new ruler, Ahmad Al-Shara'a, from wanted terrorist to White House visitor. His ruthless pragmatism is his signature and we discussed this in some detail, including his relations with the Kurdish SDF, with Turkey, Israel and the regional states, as well as with the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sara Dorman of Edinburgh University spoke to me about the rising tide of authoritarianism around the world, and particularly the form of competitive authoritarianism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Behind the Lines formally announces joining the Cooler Heads podcast family, making us now the little brother to the massive success that is Quiet Riot - the brilliant politics podcast with Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell, I was delighted to have as my guest none other than Emily Thornberry MP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...

Back in January I spoke to Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, about what the Trump era would portend. Her views proved remarkably prescient and I thought it would be of further interest now. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

The Trump deal for Gaza, announced with great pomp and ceremony appeared to lead very quickly to a resumption of hostilities. Has Trump or even his administration got a plan for seeing this through, or was this just a quick deal to get the hostages out? I discussed this with regular guest, Middle East expert Michael Stephens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Emma Briant is a prolific and important researcher on disinformation and information warfare, some of the most things in our age. She has frequent been asked to give evidence to parliaments about the issue including recent evidence to the UK parliament here https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/138542/pdf/ and to the New Zealand parliament here She can be found online at https...

Two years on from the devastating events of October 7, 2023, Gaza lies in ruins and numerous hostages are still held by Hamas. The destruction and losses, both in human terms and to the idea of peace as a possibility has been devastating. Whilst there are glimmers of hope in the latest ceasefire negotiations, it still feels too early to try to answer huge questions about the future of Israel and P...

As countries all over the world, but particularly liberal democracies in the West, turn themselves inside out over the issue of migration and in the process empowering the far right, it was my great pleasure to speak to one of the few people who actually is willing to give calm, clear facts on this subject. Zoe Gardner is rightly a prominent figure in media and public debates on migration, but is...

Check out Olena's work at https://ukrainesarmsmonitor.substack.com/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the...

Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

I speak to Jan Pospisil of Coventry University about the war in Sudan, its roots and its current trajectory. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI,...

Dan Kaszeta is the author of two books on the Baltic States, as well as being world renowned expert on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. He talked to me about the Baltic States in the twentieth century and the risks to them today from a rampantly aggressive Russia. You can find Dan's books here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/dan-kaszeta/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site...

Professor Christina Pagel is responsible for the excellent website https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/? in addition to her work in public health and public policy. Here, she explains how she is tracking increasing authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies in the Trump administration. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.subs...

Joint Episode with Disorder and RUSI, Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hos...

Professor Tim Willasey-Wilsey is author of The Spy and the Devil. We spoke about the remarkable subject of his book, Baron Bill de Ropp and the story of Britain's secret operations against Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can so...

with Jade McGlynnCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See aca...

With Michael StephensCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See...