One Decision

Russia's President Putin is losing his war against Ukraine, he was roundly humiliated at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit last week and this week called up 300,000 reservists and threatened the west with nuclear retaliation. As the world convenes at the United Nations in New York, military expert Shashank Joshi joins hosts Julia Macfarlane and former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove t...

As the world gathers to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, co-hosts Julia Macfarlane and Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, a longtime Crown servant, reflect on the life and times of Britain's longest-reigning Monarch.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the Biden Administration dial back sanctions against Venezuela, a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, in an effort to address the global energy crisis? That's the question we ask two leading experts on the country's energy industry. They discuss how crumbling infrastructure to export crude may slow or stymie any immediate impact. Nicolas Maduro and the Chavistas have ignored t...

The Wagner Group is used extensively by the Russian government in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and across the African continent. The private military company serves as a shadow military consisting of thousands of highly-trained and well-equipped mercenaries. From war crimes to trafficking in illicit goods, they have earned a reputation as one of the most significant sources of instability in count...

Russia and China are undertaking an unprecedented assault on the international order. Meanwhile, serious questions linger about America's willingness to exert leadership across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Spain's former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Manuel Muñiz discusses why the war in Ukraine is likely to drag out for years and how it will accelerate a process of deglobalizatio...

Will the metaverse jeopardize security and stability around the world? Venture capitalist and author of “The Metaverse and how it will revolutionise everything,” Matthew Ball sits down with One Decision to delve into the implications of the new virtual world on the real world. One Decision hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of MI6, and journalist Julia Macfarlane explore opportunities and co...

Darya Dugina, daughter of close Putin ally and Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, was driving her father's car, when it exploded. Russia's FSB security services quickly claimed to have identified the assassin. But western governments have pushed back against this narrative, with some officials like Tom Tugendhat, a British member of Parliament, suggesting that Putin may have targeted Dugin...

French President Emanuelle Macron is in a pretty tough spot. Recent legislative elections seriously undermined his standing at a dangerous point, as he starts his second term in office. In a country where strikes and protests are common, the next one might have far reaching political consequences. Meanwhile, Europe finds itself grappling with a war on its eastern border and an increasingly aggress...

The United States' longest foreign war came to an end as the last American troops departed Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base on August 15, 2021. On the same day, Taliban forces breached the walls of Kabul, taking full control of the country as President Ashraf Ghani fled. One Decision sits down with the former Vice President of the National Assembly, Fawzia Koofi, and former U.S. Marine and investor i...

Bill Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies. Browder's colleague Sergei Magnitsky uncovered a massive tax scam totalling hundreds of billions of dollars, and the officials he accused of stealing the funds threw him into jail, where he was beaten, tortured, and then died in custo...

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Taiwan has leaders worldwide concerned that it will provoke China and lead to a potential military conflict with the United States. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane and former Head of British Intelligence Sir Richard Dearlove sit down to analyze the motives and possible dangers of the visit. Sir Richard reveals why he thinks the trip is more than just...

Amid a wave of European support for Ukraine, Hungary has emerged an outlier; refusing to send weapons to Kyiv or cut off Russian oil supply. Newly re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban has openly spoken of his admiration for Russia’s President Putin, and described himself as the leader of “an illiberal democracy.” So does that leave Budapest more closely aligned with Brussels or Moscow? Guest co-...

NATO's former Director General of Military Staff, General Hans-Werner Wiermann sits down on this bonus episode for a look back on the tumultuous times he and the Alliance have endured over the last several years. From the American withdrawal from Afghanistan to China's increasingly aggressive posture, the General shares some of the lessons he learned and the threats the West will likely face over...

While foreign correspondent Laura Haim is on assignment in Paris reporting on the effects of the war in Europe, she's also been following the story of a small coastal village in the South of France that's drawn Russians for years - and not just wealthy Russians, but some of the world's most notorious Russian oligarchs. However, with the war in Ukraine, the town is in a state of flux. With sanction...

US President Joe Biden promised to make a “pariah” out of Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is widely held responsible overseas for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the brutal war in Yemen, a rise in mass executions and other human rights abuses in the Kingdom. But at a time when inflation is soaring, global oil prices are surging and China is courting the Gulf - c...

This month, China has been marking the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong, from British rule back to China. For many Hong Kongers, this was not a day of celebration - including for Samuel Chu, a Hong-Kong born American activist, founder and President of the non-profit group Campaign for Hong Kong. His father, a retired pastor, was one of the leading figures behind the Occupy Central mov...

Ten years ago, Charlene Chu, dubbed the 'rockstar of Chinese debt analysis' sent shockwaves across the world by sounding a warning over China's escalating debt problem and the risk it presented to the global financial system. Today, two years after the outbreak of the covid pandemic, in the midst of a war in Europe, and a worldwide supply-chain and energy crisis, President Xi is grappling with his...

Better late than never? As Nato members scramble to organize support and aid for Ukraine, Nato command has pledged to beef up the Eastern Flank - the Alliance's frontier against Russia. With the potential addition of Sweden and Finland - which may yet be stymied by Turkey - Nato's border with Russia looks set to double. For the countries on the edge, of what's known as the 'Eastern Flank', Nato ne...

Latvia, along with its fellow Baltic nations Estonia and Lithuania, has long raised the alarm on Russia’s expansionism. This week in Madrid, NATO heard its call. One Decision gets an exclusive interview with the President of Latvia Egils Levits, who tells us that Russia tends to respond to weakness - not strength.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia Macfarlane is in Madrid for the historic NATO summit as it’s considered to be the most important gathering of the alliance in a generation. One Decision secured exclusive interviews with world leaders, foreign ministers, ambassadors to discuss NATO’s new strategic concept, the reclassification of Russia as the greatest threat to the Euro-Atlantic area, and also the need for member...

Vladimir Putin's efforts to prevent NATO’s expansion suffered a dramatic setback this week as Finland and Sweden were formally invited to join the seventy-three-year-old alliance. Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, joins host Julia MacFarlane on this special edition of One Decision recorded at this week's historic NATO Summit to discuss why the Nordic country decided to abandon...

At the start of what’s being billed as the most important Nato gathering in a generation, One Decision hosts a panel with former Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Director of Chatham House Robin Niblett, and The Times Defense Editor Larisa Brown.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus episode before the NATO Summit Julia Macfarlane & Sir Richard Dearlove consider Bob Gates’s opinion that America is the biggest national security threat to itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Defense Secretary and Director of the CIA, Dr. Robert Gates, sits down exclusively with One Decision and shares his prediction on how Beijing is likely to apply the lessons Russia learned in Ukraine. Gates began his years as an expert on the Soviet Union, and led the Agency after the fall of the USSR. With host Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of MI6 and host Julia Macfarlane, Gates weigh...

India is finding itself pulled in different directions - by Russia, one of its major trading partners. By the west, working to isolate Russia. All while navigating a tricky relationship with China, which has competing interests in the region.  Ambassador Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary of India, discusses India’s options with One Decision's Julia Macfarlane who later gets the unfiltered anal...