The Foreign Desk
Monocle’s global-affairs show with Andrew Mueller. Expert guests, in-depth analysis, and sharp commentary on major geopolitical issues.
Latest Episodes
Explainer 464: The threats facing Ecuador: real or invented?
Ecuadorian officials have placed the country on high alert, claiming imminent terrorist attacks and presidential assassination attempts. There is, however, very little evidence of these dangers. This week, Andrew Mueller explains whether the threats…
Live from Delphi: has the sun set on the transatlantic relationship?
In fewer than 100 days in power, Donald Trump has upended his country’s historic alliance with Europe, told the continent that it can no longer rely on security guarantees from the US and launched…
Explainer 463: Why is a UK MP facing corruption charges in Bangladesh?
Nepo-corruption or a politically motivated smear? Andrew Mueller explains why Bangladesh has issued a warrant for the arrest of UK MP Tulip Siddiq.
Live from Delphi: how to respond to Trump’s trade war
In the days before this year’s edition of the Delphi Economic Forum, Donald Trump launched, and then only partially retreated from, a global trade war in which the EU was a target. Reporting from…
Explainer 462: Is Mali and Algeria’s feud really about drones?
Andrew Mueller explains why what could have been a minor diplomatic dispute has sparked a massive feud between Mali and Algeria.
Why has Israel gone back to war?
As the ceasefire in Gaza falls apart, Tahani Mustafa, Nimrod Goren and Faysal Itani join ‘The Foreign Desk’ to weigh possible paths forward. Is Netanyahu even interested in peace? How will Lebanon fare? And…
Explainer 461: Marine Le Pen and the movable feast of far-right law and order
This week Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and banned from seeking public office for five years. Andrew Mueller explains why the far right cares deeply about law and order – until its…
Is Erdoğan’s crackdown backfiring?
Hundreds of thousands of protestors have poured onto Turkey’s streets after president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his authorities arrested Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu. Since then, thousands more have been arrested, detained…
Explainer 460: Jeffrey Goldberg has exited the war chat
As the US government scrambles to explain why the editor in chief of ‘The Atlantic’ was added to a group chat discussing war plans, Andrew Mueller considers just how serious a security breach this…
Syria: Is this going to work?
The unloading of Bashar al-Assad in December was a hopeful moment for Syria. The installation of his successor, jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, was a more nervous one. We discuss the mood among civilians with…
