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
2020: The year ahead
Andrew Mueller is joined by Isabel Hilton, Lina Khatib and Jeffrey Howard to discuss the challenges that 2020 will bring – and what to look forward to.
2019: the year in review
Andrew Mueller is joined by Isabel Hilton, Lina Khatib and Jeffrey Howard to discuss the highs and lows in global affairs in 2019.
Soft-power special: global leaders
Leading a country is no easy task, not only at home but also on the international stage. In a special episode Andrew Mueller is joined by Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Yossi Mekelberg and Quentin Peel to discuss which global leader has won the world over with their soft-power prowess.
Explainer 196: Why has Pakistan sentenced a former president to death?
Many of Pakistan’s leaders, or at least their careers, have met an untimely end – and now a court in Islamabad has sentenced former president Pervez Musharraf to death for high treason. Andrew Mueller looks at what Musharraf might have done to deserve this.
Who’s standing up for the Uyghurs?
The treatment of the Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang region has been condemned by journalists but overseas governments have remained silent. Has China become too powerful to criticise or does the international community simply not care? Andrew Mueller is joined by Rushan Abbas, David Schlesinger and John Everard.
Explainer 195: Why is Aung San Suu Kyi at the International Court of Justice?
Andrew Mueller explains how Aung San Suu Kyi went from Nobel Peace laureate to being questioned about genocide in the International Court of Justice.
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…
Explainer 194: Who killed Daphne Caruana Galizia?
The murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 has influenced Malta’s politics for the past two years. Andrew Mueller asks whether we’re getting closer to finding out who is responsible.
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.
