Affairs / Podcast

The Foreign Desk

Presented by Andrew Mueller, Monocle’s flagship global-affairs show features expert guests and in-depth analysis of the big issues of the week. Nominated for ‘Best Current Affairs’ show and the ‘Spotlight Award’ in the 2022 British Podcast Awards.

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The legacies of US presidents: As US president Joe Biden’s time in office comes to a close, we consider how to assess the legacies of national leaders. What makes a president great? And why do our views change over time? Andrew speaks with the custodians of these legacies – biographers, presidential library directors and historians – to see how these mythologies are created and maintained.

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Episode	Date	Description	Download	Play
576	11 Jan 2025 40 min	The legacies of US presidents As US president Joe Biden’s time in office comes to a close, we consider how to assess the legacies of national leaders. What makes a president great? And why do our views change over time? Andrew speaks with the custodians of these legacies – biographers, presidential library directors and historians – to see how these mythologies are created and maintained.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	8 Jan 2025 6 min	Explainer 449: Is China cutting Taiwan’s cables or are their wires crossed? Andrew Mueller explains how likely it is that China is cutting Taiwan’s undersea cables and what’s in it for them.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
575	4 Jan 2025 35 min	The geopolitical risks of 2025 Andrew Mueller talks to Lithuania’s outgoing foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, and Monocle regulars Latika Bourke, Yossi Mekelberg and Charles Hecker about what to keep an eye on as geopolitical risks rise in 2025.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
574	28 Dec 2024 34 min	Elections, conflicts and the rise of the right: a look at 2024 More than one billion people headed to the polls, wars turned into regional crises and right-wing parties found new footholds in 2024. Andrew Mueller speaks with electoral expert Tony Banbury, and Monocle regulars Latika Bourke, Charles Hecker and Yossi Mekelberg take stock of the year.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
573	21 Dec 2024 42 min	The case for foreign aid The holidays are a time of giving but wealthy nations have not been in a generous mood. Andrew Mueller explores the case for foreign aid and how to turn the concept into a win-win for both donor and recipient. With Mark Lowcock, Andrew Mitchell and Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	18 Dec 2024 6 min	Explainer 448: Trudeau in trouble Following the scathing resignation letter of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, Andrew Mueller explains why Canada’s prime minister may be about to lose his job and what Trump has in store if he doesn’t.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
572	14 Dec 2024 47 min	The spectacular fall of the Assad regime How did the rebels manage to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime so quickly? How inclusive will any new government realistically be? Who in the region wins and who loses? Andrew Mueller speaks with Syrian-born writer Rime Allaf, counter-insurgency expert David Kilcullen, Middle East security analyst Burcu Ozcelik and Russia expert Mark Galeotti.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	11 Dec 2024 7 min	Explainer 447: Why is Israel striking Syria? As Syrians celebrate Assad’s fall, Israel is striking targets across the country. Andrew Mueller explains why.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
571	7 Dec 2024 31 min	The case for indigenous political inclusion Against strong resistance, indigenous communities are asserting their right to inclusion in the political systems of their respective nations. Andrew Mueller speaks to Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the illustrator of ‘When the World Was Soft: Yindjibarndi Creation Stories’, Alex Mankiewicz, and a justice of the Shawnee Tribe Supreme Court and law professor, Kristen Carpenter.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	4 Dec 2024 7 min	Explainer 446: The South Korean coup that wasn’t As South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol attempts to undo last night’s shock announcement of martial law, Andrew Mueller explains the real reasons behind the attempted coup.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
570	30 Nov 2024 32 min	Taiwan’s China problem As Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te embarks on his first international tour, we explore this delicate moment for an island that China still claims as a rogue province. Will China really try to reclaim Taiwan? And how would the island – and its allies – go about its defence? Andrew Mueller speaks with journalist, William Yang, and defence expert, Arthur Ding, in Taipei, plus filmmaker Venessa Hope in London.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	27 Nov 2024 6 min	Explainer 445: Are Romania’s election candidates really that surprising? As we wait to hear if Romania will annul its first round of elections, Andrew Mueller explains why the shocking result should not be that shocking.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
569	23 Nov 2024 32 min	Is Europe ready for war? This week, households in Sweden received a government pamphlet entitled ‘In Case Of Crisis Or War’, while similar manuals were published across Scandinavia. Some European nations are evidently preparing for war, but are they ready? Andrew Mueller is joined by Monocle’s Gunnar Gronlid to speak with Richard Shirreff, the former Nato Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, former director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
★	20 Nov 2024 6 min	Explainer 444: Why are New Zealand’s Maori protesting? Andrew Mueller explains the origin of the controversial bill New Zealand’s Maori are protesting against.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
568	16 Nov 2024 41 min	Trump’s doctrine: the sequel Following Trump’s first cabinet appointments, we consider what his second term might mean for tensions between international powers. Andrew Mueller speaks with Amy Mackinnon, national security reporter for ‘Foreign Policy’; John Herbst, former US ambassador to Ukraine; Stephen Young, former ambassador to China; and Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play

Affairs / Podcast

The Foreign Desk

Latest episode

Latest episodes

The legacies of US presidents

Explainer 449: Is China cutting Taiwan’s cables or are their wires crossed?

The geopolitical risks of 2025

Elections, conflicts and the rise of the right: a look at 2024

The case for foreign aid

Explainer 448: Trudeau in trouble

The spectacular fall of the Assad regime

Explainer 447: Why is Israel striking Syria?

The case for indigenous political inclusion

Explainer 446: The South Korean coup that wasn’t

Taiwan’s China problem

Explainer 445: Are Romania’s election candidates really that surprising?

Is Europe ready for war?

Explainer 444: Why are New Zealand’s Maori protesting?

Trump’s doctrine: the sequel