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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
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.
Explainer 193: What is France doing in Mali?
On Monday, 13 French soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Mali – the French army’s worst day of active service since 1983. Andrew Mueller asks what France is doing in Mali and the wider region.
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…
Explainer 192: What have we learned from the Iran cables?
This week hundreds of Iranian intelligence reports were leaked to a US news website. These reports not only confirm the vast amount of influence Iran has in neighbouring Iraq but also include some intriguing insight into Tehran’s spy network. Andrew Mueller looks at what they tell us – and why…
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…
Explainer 191: Why are Australia’s governing parties denying the obvious?
As catastrophic wildfires spread across New South Wales in “the most dangerous bushfire week Australia has ever seen”, Andrew Mueller asks why some of those in power are dismissing the views of climate experts.
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…
Explainer 190: Will Ukraine-gate be the end of Trump?
Yet more testimonies have been released by those investigating Donald Trump’s phone call to Ukraine’s President Zelensky. Andrew Mueller asks if this might be the scandal that actually unseats the US leader.
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…
Explainer 189: Why are Ethiopia and Egypt fighting about water?
Just weeks after winning the Nobel Peace prize for his outreach to Eritrea, Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed warned Egypt that “no force” can stop Ethiopia from building a dam that had been planned for years. Andrew Mueller asks if this is really the rhetoric of a Nobel Peace laureate…
