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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
An Iraqi Spring?
Ongoing demonstrations in Iraq, which began in early October, are significant because of protesters’ persistence – despite heavy-handed and sometimes deadly responses from authorities – and the youth of some of those taking to the streets. Andrew Mueller is joined by Pesha Magid, Abbas Kadhim and Renad Mansour to ask…
Tear Down This Wall: Legacies
Description: In the final episode of our series on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Andrew Mueller is joined by Istvan Rev, Oana Serafim and Cerstin Gammelin to explore the legacy left by the Soviet Union in its former satellite states.
Tear Down This Wall: The resistance
In the third episode of our series reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Andrew Mueller explores the forms of resistance from within the Eastern Bloc. Whether led by peaceful playwrights, powerful trade unions or mutinous soldiers, how did people trapped behind the Iron Curtain…
Tear Down This Wall: Life behind the Iron Curtain
In the second part of our series on the fall of communism 30 years ago, Andrew Mueller is joined by Carmen Bugan, Anna Funder and Tim Mohr to look at what life was like behind the Iron Curtain, including the surveillance by secret police, the personality cult of the leaders…
Tear Down This Wall: Tipping Points
In the first episode of a four-part series exploring the end of communism in Eastern Europe, we look at the fall of the Berlin Wall, 30 years ago this week, and ask when and where the cracks began. Andrew Mueller is joined by Artemy Kalinovsky, Serhii Plokhii and Cerstin Gammelin…
Do targeted killings really work?
The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Isis, will not have been upsetting to many. But it did serve as a reminder of how much warfare has changed this century. Who gets to decide who is captured and who is killed? What does targeted killing do for the reputations…
The threats to democracy
Special episode in association with the Nordic Council of Ministers. ‘The Foreign Desk’ has teamed up with the Nordic Council of Ministers for a series of five special episodes that delve deeper into topics of global importance from the region. This episode looks at the growing threats to democracy in…
The battle for Rojava
When US president Donald Trump withdrew US troops from Syria, he bewildered many among his own military, intelligence and foreign-policy establishments. But, most of all, his decision dismayed the Kurds of Northern Syria, long-serving allies to the US in the fight against Isis. As Turkish forces roll into the region…
How lawless are the oceans?
In an ever more monitored world, escaping to the high seas might seem like a romantic idea. For some, however, being that far off the grid means being exploited, often while undertaking illicit activities. Who should be controlling what happens on the world’s oceans, and what’s being done to help…
Ageing populations
*Special episode in association with the Nordic Council of Ministers* We’ve teamed up with the Nordic Council of Ministers for a series of five special episodes delving deeper into topics of global importance from the region. In this episode, Michael Booth explains how the Nordic countries are attempting to see…
