World Review from the New Statesman

Just days before the first round of the French presidential election, polls are showing that the far-right leader Marine Le Pen is within just a few points of overturning Emmanuel Macron's lead. What is behind her surge in support? Could she actually win the whole thing? Ido Vock, Europe correspondent, is joined by the political theorist Hugo Drochon and the  New Statesman ’s i...

In what could be a big year for weapons testing in North Korea, Katie Stallard speaks to Jean Lee, senior fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington DC and the former Pyongyang bureau chief for the Associated Press.   They discuss the country's recent missile launches, fears that the regime could be preparing to test a new nuclear weapon, and why 2022 could see a new crisis on the Korean...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises the question: could Vladimir Putin attack Nato’s eastern flank? The alliance is greatly increasing its defences all along this “New Iron Curtain”. The New Statesman’s writer-at-large Jeremy Cliffe has been reporting from Estonia, where the UK has doubled its military presence. He speaks to Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin about the evolution...

China has been walking a diplomatic tightrope in its response to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, caught between close ties with Russia and concerns about further straining relations with the West. Katie Stallard is joined by Bonny Lin, the director of the China Power Project and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss China’s position in the conflict, and w...

The intensive media coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has rallied global public opinion behind Ukraine, while also resulting in accusations of Western bias.  In London, the  New Statesman ’s editor-in-chief, Jason Cowley, joins Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington, DC, to discuss how coverage of the war has differed from other conflicts and the ways in which people in Russia a...

As Russia continues its attack in Ukraine, the French election has featured little in news coverage and the public consciousness. Will this help Emmanuel Macron's hopes of winning re-election? In this episode of  France Elects , Ido Vock gets the latest polling from the  New Statesman ’s data guru Ben Walker, and then speaks to Catherine Fieschi, the director of Counterpoint, and the Par...

Andrey Kurkov, author of  Death and the Penguin , speaks to Megan Gibson about life in Ukraine right now. They discuss the role of artists during war, how this conflict will change Ukrainians’ view of Russia for good, and what it will take to bring an end to the war.   If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email  podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk Podcast listeners...

Russia’s war in Ukraine has challenged preconceptions in western Europe – and confirmed the views of many in Russia’s more immediate neighbourhood, including the Baltic states. We discuss why this was the case – and whether western Europe is still underestimating Vladimir Putin.   Emily Tamkin is joined by former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves to discuss Europe and America’s res...

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth week, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the US Congress, calling on the West to “do more” to help Ukraine.   The  New Statesman ’s senior editor of politics, Harry Lambert, joins Megan Gibson and Katie Stallard to talk about the pressure for no-fly zones, what the conflict might mean for how the West supports Taiwa...

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, we discuss how Viktor Orban’s more pro-Russian government in Hungary has managed to distance itself from Vladimir Putin ahead of a general election in April. Emily Tamkin talks with Hungarian political scientist Péter Krekó about how Hungary’s government has reacted to the war, why it’s supported Western sanctions against Russia and how it’s left the o...

As the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine continues, the Baltic states continue to call for sustained pressure on Vladimir Putin.   Megan Gibson speaks to the Estonian president Alar Karis about his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky days before the war, the importance of Nato membership and how best to support Ukraine. Further reading: Iceland’s prime minister: “My opposition to Nato has not changed” A n...

This week, US president Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The European Union opted to phase out gas imports only.   Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin are joined by the  New Statesman’s  environment and sustainability editor, Philippa Nuttall, in Brussels to discuss the EU’s more cautious approach, the...

Welcome to  France Elects , an in-depth look at the 2022 French election. As Russia’s siege on Ukraine continues, the  New Statesman ’s Europe correspondent, Ido Vock, examines how the crisis is dominating the presidential campaign, and may benefit President Emmanuel Macron after he officially announced his re-election bid last Thursday (3 March). He is joined once again by Tara Varma fr...

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third week, the former Portuguese Europe minister and New Statesman contributing writer Bruno Maçães speaks to Ido Vock, Europe Correspondent, about how we got here and what could happen next. They discuss Russia’s increasingly indiscriminate bombings of Ukrainian cities, whether Putin misread Ukrainian strength and morale, and what action Western go...

Russian attacks on a number of Ukrainian cities continued on Saturday, as President Zelensky pleaded for Nato to introduce a No Fly Zone. Emily Tamkin in Washington DC is joined by Writer-at-large Jeremy Cliffe in Marseille and Managing Editor, International, Alix Kreoger on the Slovakian Ukrainian Border. They discuss why Nato is resisting a No Fly Zone, whether Europeans yet understand the true...

The UN reports that 136 civilian deaths have been recorded since Russia invaded Ukraine seven days ago, although the real number is likely to be "far higher". Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and its second largest city, Kharkiv, are braced for further violence from Russian troops after missile strikes on Tuesday (1 March) that could amount to war crimes.   Last night, the US president Joe Biden’s St...

As another refugee crisis unfolds in Europe, the former UK international development minister Rory Stewart speaks to the  New Statesman ’s US senior editor, Emily Tamkin, about his call for a new global coalition on asylum seekers. They discuss what can be done to support Ukrainians leaving their country, the continuing Afghan refugee crisis, and how to share the migrant impact without underm...

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth day, the  New Statesman ’s Executive Editor, Foreign, Megan Gibson, interviews the Russian security expert, Mark Galeotti. Galeotti is an honorary professor at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, and the author of  The Weaponisation of Everything  and  We Need to Talk About Putin: How...

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second day, we bring this special episode of the  World Review  podcast.   Ukraine is facing an onslaught from Russian forces on several fronts, with troops entering the northern districts of the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reports that 137 people have been killed and 316 wounded after the first...

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has ordered Russian troops to cross the border into eastern Ukraine on what he claims is a “peacekeeping mission” in defence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk. Western leaders have condemned the move as the beginning of an invasion and imposed a first round of sanctions on Moscow, which have been widely criticised as not being punitive enough....

In just over six weeks, voters in France will go to the polls in the first round of the 2022 presidential election, in which President Emmanuel Macron’s toughest competition for re-election comes from the right. This week, the  New Statesman ’s Europe correspondent, Ido Vock, examines the state of the French right wing.   He, along with special guests Agnès Poirier, a journalist and the...

This week marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's visit to China. In 2022, there are warnings the US and China are entering a new Cold War, while the latter's relationship with Russia is strengthening. The  New Statesman ’s senior editor of China and global affairs, Katie Stallard, interviews the historian and author Rana Mitter, whose most recent book is  China...

While the US and UK predicts that an invasion of Ukraine is imminent, the recent intensification of Western military aid to Ukraine has raised the stakes for Russia. Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington, DC, are joined by Ido Vock in Berlin to discuss the latest flurry of diplomacy and what might happen next.   Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what parallels we can draw with the s...

  As voters in India go to the polls in state elections across the country, Emily Tamkin, the  New Statesman ’s Senior Editor, US, talks to the historian and author Ravinder Kaur about the impact that these elections might have on Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.    They discuss whether Hindu nationalism is more important to voters than the economy,...

China has been using the Olympics to try and present a positive view of its treatment of the Uyghur minority in China amid a diplomatic boycott of the games over human rights abuses. Katie Stallard and Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the games, as well as the treatment of tennis star Peng Shuai, and whether her reappearance has erased concerns for her welfare. Also, t...