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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
Millennium Development Goals
Fifteen years after the Millennium Development Goals were set, it’s time for a review. Monocle’s foreign editor Steve Bloomfield chairs a discussion asking if these targets for global development worked. Michela Wrong and Simon Maxwell join the debate and question whether this box-ticking approach is the best way to measure…
Rwanda’s Paul Kagame
Despite his dubious approach to democracy and his role in regional conflict, Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame has received the ear and praise of many world leaders. Why? Steve Bloomfield asks his guests Phil Clark and Vincent Gasana. Plus: investigative journalist Linda Melvern reflects on allegations made against Kagame after the…
Politics on the big screen
In the final episode of our series on politics and the arts, we turn to film. From drama to documentaries, what makes for great political cinema? And who decides whether or not a film is labelled “political”? With ‘Best of Enemies’ co-director Robert Gordon, film journalist Karen Krizanovich and Toronto…
Politics on the small screen
In the third episode of our series on politics and the arts, we turn to television. From ‘Borgen’ to ‘The West Wing’, what makes for a great political drama? And what grabs audiences? With ‘Borgen’ producer Camilla Hammerich, ‘West Wing’ writer Michael Oates Palmer and political drama producer Richard Keddie.
Politics on the page
In the second episode of our series looking at politics and the arts, we turn to literature. What makes for a political novel? Who decides? And what is the future of political fiction? With writers Gabriel Gbadamosi, Vesna Goldsworthy and Jonathan Freedland.
Politics on stage
Steve Bloomfield hosts the first in a series of programmes looking at politics and the arts. Today we turn to politics and theatre. What is the relationship between the two? What exactly is ‘political theatre’? And how can change come through placing politics on the stage? With playwright Anders Lustgarten,…
Israel’s Arabs
After the Joint Arab List’s success in this year’s election in Israel, we discuss what’s changed for Arab citizens in the country’s public and political life – and what happens next. Thabet Abu Ras and Daniella Peled report.
Is Germany destroying its reputation?
In recent years Germany has become Europe’s de facto leader and Angela Merkel the continent’s most respected politician. But the Greek crisis threatens to change that. Germany has been accused of humiliating Greece and its leaders don’t appear to care.
The Responsibility to Protect
What happened to the norm of The Responsibility to Protect that emerged after the world said ‘never again’ to the conflicts of the 1990s? With guests James Traub, Megan Schmidt and Aidan Hehir.
Orbán’s Hungary
Steve Bloomfield and guests Péter Krekó and Ágnes Kövér profile politics in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and reflect on the rise of the far-right party Jobbik. Plus poet and translator George Szirtes discusses the significance of the great Hungarian novel ‘Satantango’.
