Robert Pratten

Robert Pratten

Robert Pratten is a UK-based entrepreneur, transmedia storyteller, and simulation specialist, best known as the founder and CEO of Conducttr, an immersive crisis-simulation and information-operations platform used by governments, defense organizations, and enterprises. Originally trained in marketing and consultancy within the telecommunications sector, his background in narrative design became the foundation of his later work in transmedia…

The Importance of Storytelling in Organisational Preparedness

The Importance of Storytelling in Organisational Preparedness

By Conducttr In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, we are joined by Robert Pratten, storyteller, risk manager, and CEO of Conducttr, a platform providing high-standard risk simulation scenarios. “Stories are how we make sense of the world”. Organisational preparedness depends on how people interpret events, not just on whether procedures exist. In moments…

Hesham Youssef

Hesham Youssef

Ambassador Hesham Youssef is a distinguished, former Egyptian diplomat and international peacebuilding expert, with more than thirty years of experience navigating some of the Middle East’s most complex political and humanitarian challenges. He began his diplomatic career at Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985, serving in the Egyptian Embassy in Canada (1988–1992) and the Egyptian Mission in Geneva (1995–1999). Between 1992…

Episode 298: Where does Egypt stand within the Arab world, and in its relation with Israel? Insights from former Ambassador Hesham Youssef

In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Hesham Youssef discuss the growing tensions and international risks between Egypt and Israel, the fragile state of regional diplomacy, and the pressures placed on long-standing agreements such as the Camp David Accords.  Find out more about why Egypt views forced displacement from Gaza as an existential red line, how humanitarian…

Egypt–Israel Relations: Between Strategic Necessity and Enduring Suspicion

Egypt–Israel Relations: Between Strategic Necessity and Enduring Suspicion

Very few bilateral relationships in the Middle East are as paradoxical as the one between Egypt and Israel. The two countries are bound together historically, geographically and diplomatically, one could say. They share what is today the region’s longest-standing peace treaty  -the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty-, but their relationship is characterized by strategic cautiousness and distance. Today, cooperation between Cairo and Jerusalem,…

France at the Crossroads: Debt, Politics, and Taxing the Ultra-Rich

France at the Crossroads: Debt, Politics, and Taxing the Ultra-Rich

In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Susannah Streeter to examine the pressures weighing on France’s economy, from credit downgrades and long-running deficits to a political landscape that struggles to deliver coherent fiscal reform. Their exchange explores how these domestic challenges shape Europe’s wider financial stability, raising questions about investor confidence, the…

Episode 290: France at the Crossroads: Debt, Politics & the Wealth Tax Debate with Susannah Streeter

In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Susannah Streeter discuss financial sector experts and decision makers’ views and warnings on the political instability characterizing France these past few months, and what consequences the accompanying growing debt would lead to on the international scene. Find out more about what Susannah thinks of such a situation; is it…

Susannah Streeter

Susannah Streeter

Susannah Streeter is a leading financial commentator, international broadcaster, and award-winning analyst known for making global economic trends understandable to audiences around the world.  A former BBC business anchor, she has reported, presented, and analysed market-moving stories for major outlets including the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, TRT, and CGTN. Susannah previously headed…

Skyrocketing Gold prices: 2025 geopolitical risks and trends

Skyrocketing Gold prices: 2025 geopolitical risks and trends

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Dr. Moshe Lander to examine the waves of gold prices and investment trends, and what they are linked to, from investor sentiment to geopolitical instability and historic legacy. Moshe Lander is a Canadian economist and Senior Lecturer at Concordia University, and a…

Dr. Moshe Lander

Dr. Moshe Lander

Dr. Moshe Lander is a Canadian economist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Concordia University, where he has taught since 2013, and a sessional instructor at Dalhousie University. Before joining academia full-time, he served as Senior Economist with the Government of Alberta from 2003 to 2007. His fields of expertise include public…