Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host we speak with Nick Soutter — American author, philosopher, and journalist behind In Time Media and the dystopian novel The Water Thief .  Soutter has spent years dissecting the moral and political decay of democratic societies and the slow rise of corporate authoritarianism. Together, Theo and Nick explore the erosion of democracy in the United States and acr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Theo Allthorpe-Mullis speaks from Kyiv with Knight , a British volunteer serving in Ukraine’s Azov International Battalion . Knight explains why he left the United Kingdom to join Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, how he copes with fear and loss on the front line, and why he considers this war a just and necessary struggle. He describes daily life wi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , host Theo Allthorpe-Mullis speaks with Oleg Magaletsky , a Ukrainian investor, strategist and one of the founders of the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum . Oleg argues that true and lasting peace in Europe will only be possible through the decolonisation and disintegration of the Russian Federation. From the Caucasus to Sib...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , I speak with Lieutenant Colonel Andrii “Djakonda” Koval , head of the Unmanned Systems Battalion “Kondor” of the 1st Presidential Operational Brigade Bureviy in the Ukrainian National Guard. Djakonda and his soldiers are on the cutting edge of modern warfare—fighting with drones and robotic systems that have reshaped the bat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , I speak with Rosie Cecil — head of strategic partnerships for Mission Ukraine UK and a medic/ambulance driver with Mobile Medical Rescue (MMR). For three years, Rosie has volunteered in Ukraine, supporting frontline medics, delivering vehicles and aid, and driving into danger zones to evacuate the wounded. We discuss her jou...

Send us Fan Mail On this unique episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , I speak with LK , a Hong Kong artist, puppeteer, playwright, and dissident now living in exile in France. LK’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and defiance. We discuss how art can resist silence, the dangers and power of puppetry and object theatre, and the struggle to create freely under censorship. LK opens...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , I speak with Dr Mark Clifford President of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, journalist, academic, and author of The Troublemaker , a biography of Jimmy Lai. Mark spent nearly three decades in Hong Kong, working as editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and The Standard , and serving on the board of...

Send us Fan Mail In this very special episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , we are honoured to speak with General David H. Petraeus : former CIA Director, Commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and one of America’s most respected military leaders. Across a remarkable career at the highest levels of military and intelligence service, Petraeus has had a front-row s...

Send us Fan Mail “If you fire, fire at me.” During Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution in 2014, Ray Wong saw an older man stand in front of armed police and offer his life to protect the crowd. That moment changed Wong forever, and set him on a path from student protester to activist leader, and finally into exile. In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , Ray — now policy and strategy...

Send us Fan Mail In this compelling episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we sit down with Professor Tim Wilson - academic, filmmaker, YouTuber, and former politician - in London to explore the crisis facing modern democracy and what we can do about it. Professor Wilson brings a unique perspective, having taught in authoritarian countries including Russia, where he met Vladimir Putin in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , we’re joined by Professor Mark Galeotti, one of the world’s leading experts on modern Russia, for a sweeping conversation on authoritarianism, democracy, and the future of Putin’s regime. We explore: Why democracy failed in post-Soviet Russia The real legacy of Boris Yeltsin and the 1990s How Putin rebuilt an authoritarian s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight we’re speaking with Jonathan Fink. He was a digital marketing strategist, then Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed everything.  Now, he’s the creator of Silicon Curtain , a YouTube channel and podcast that battles Russian disinformation with facts, context, and strategic narrative warfare. Be sure to check out his...

Send us Fan Mail In this gripping episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight we sit down with award-winning journalist and war correspondent John Sweeney .  With four decades on the frontlines from Grozny to Kyiv, Sweeney unpacks what he's learned about authoritarian power, the role of propaganda, and why telling the truth still matters. From Chechnya to Ukraine, from the Taliban to Tommy...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight , We speak with Estonian MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson for an unflinching conversation about Russia’s imperial legacy, the modern authoritarian playbook, and what it takes to defend democracy today. Drawing on decades of experience as a journalist and politician, Mihkelson shares eyewit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight , I speak with Adil Raja, a former major in the Pakistani military who became one of its fiercest critics. Now living in exile in the UK, Raja pulls back the curtain on how Pakistan’s military has dominated the country’s politics, enabled extremism, and violently suppressed dissent both at home and abroad. We explore: · His transformation from decor...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Why We Fight , we speak with award-winning Pakistani investigative journalist Taha Siddiqui, who survived an attempted abduction by Pakistan’s military and now lives in exile in Paris.  From exposing military human rights abuses to running The Dissident Club , a bar for global exiles and freedom fighters, Siddiqui shares how authoritarian regimes weapon...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re again recording in Kyiv, speaking to the legendary war correspondent Paul Conroy.  He’s covered nearly every war since Kosovo: Libya, Iraq, Syria and now, Ukraine. He has brought back stories that have made an enormous difference; the human stories, the stories that mattered.  We discuss what war is, where in the human spirit it comes from, wh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re at the Estonian Embassy in Kyiv, speaking with Ambassador Annely Kolk, Estonia’s highest representative in Ukraine.  She has had a storied career in the Estonian Foreign Service, previously serving as ambassador to Turkey, concurrently accredited to Iran and Azerbaijan. In 2017 she helped secure the release of Estonian security personnel in In...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re speaking with Jimmy Rushton, a British journalist and defence analyst. He has covered nearly every conflict in the 21st century. He is a geopolitical expert and has been living in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.  We discuss what we can expect from the US in Ukraine, what China may do and the prospects for Ukrainian victory....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re speaking with Marika Mikiashvili. She's a politician, an academic and an activist working to keep the flame of liberty alight in embattled Georgia, where the regime is trying to turn the clock back to older, darker times of tyranny and repression.  We talk about how Georgian Dream stole the 2024 elections, what democrats in other countrie...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re speaking with Freddie Steimler A 27 year veteran of Norway’s military, he now serves again as a volunteer bringing vital vehicles and equipment into Ukraine for the charity Bergen Hjelper Ukraina. We explore how a children’s theatre in Norway came to support Ukraine, and reflect on his wartime experience to assess how much warfare has changed...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight we’re speaking with Dr Alex Fergusson. He’s a British boffin in the highest and best tradition.  A PhD in materials science from Imperial College London, he initially founded a green tech company: FAC Techonology. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he refocused his efforts on arming the Ukrainian military with the best drones he could design.  We talk abo...

Send us Fan Mail In our third episode of ‘Why We Fight’ I am privileged to be talking with the filmmaker  Caolan Robertson. His films on Russia’s illegal and imperialist invasion of Ukraine have reached millions worldwide and he represents a new, young and vibrant type of conflict correspondent.  We talk about how to combat disinformation, the fear you need to keep hold of when reporting war and w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Why We Fight, I am speaking with Tamara, a woman protesting against Aleksandar Vucic’s corrupt and undemocratic government in Serbia.  She is one of many protesting in the wake of a tragedy at a railway station in Novi Sad last year in which 16 people died.  She speaks about feeling democracy slip away, about how corruption effects daily life and what she wants...

Send us Fan Mail In our first episode of why we fight, we're talking with Sheikh Said Ismagilov.  He is one of the most senior Islamic clerics in Ukraine and was Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine.  When the Russians invaded in 2022, he signed up to fight as a combat medic, serving in Bakhmut and across the lines. He participated in the liberation of his hometown of B...