Episode 339: Disinformation, Information Disorder, and Democratic Resilience in a Fragmented Media Environment with Natalie Martin and Eliot Higgins

ByElla Burden

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Natalie Martin and Eliot Higgins about the growing impact of disinformation, digital media, and information disorder on global security and democratic resilience. As the information environment becomes faster and progressively fragmented, the episode explores how trust in institutions is being challenged and how…

Episode 338: Louis Theroux & the Manosphere: When Misogyny Goes Mainstream with Dr. Allysa Czerwinsky

ByElisa Garbil

You might’ve seen the recent Inside the Manosphere documentary by Louis Theroux. About a year ago we had this episode with Dr. Allysa Czwerinsky discussing this exact topic! Misogyny is no longer confined to the fringes, it’s part of the mainstream. Find out more about who is harmed, how online rhetoric shapes real-world consequences, and the blurred…

Episode 337: Inside Russia’s Political War Against the West with Professor Mark Galeotti

ByEdward Penrose

In this episode, we host Professor Mark Galeotti to explore how Russia wages political warfare against the West beyond the conventional battlefield. Drawing on decades of work on Russian power, intelligence, organised crime, and state coercion, Professor Galeotti explains why Moscow’s challenge to Europe is not best understood simply through hard power but rather through sabotage, disinformation,…

Episode 336: Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier: Why the Lake Chad Basin Matters for Global Security with Cedric de Coning and Andrew E. Yaw Tchie

ByElla Burden

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Cedric de Coning and Andrew E. Yaw Tchie about the complex relationship between climate change, conflict, and human security in the Lake Chad Basin. Once a vital lifeline for millions of people across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, the region has become a…

Episode 335: Water Scarcity and Systemic Risk in Iran with Milad Jafari

ByAnna Kummelstedt

Iran is facing what many experts describe as a looming state of “water bankruptcy”— a crisis where demand has so profoundly outstripped supply that the very foundations of economic stability, social cohesion, and national security are under strain. From drying reservoirs in Tehran to collapsing aquifers and land subsistence, water is no longer just an…

Episode 334: North Korea: Strategic Signalling, Economic Constraint, and Regional Risk with Rachel Minyoung Lee

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Rachel Minyoung Lee examines the evolving risk landscape surrounding North Korea, moving beyond headlines focused solely on nuclear escalation to explore the country’s broader strategic behaviour. We discuss how Pyongyang balances military signalling with pragmatic decision making, why weapons tests and military exercises are often calibrated rather than impulsive, and how sanctions, limited trade,…

Episode 333: Securing the State: Crisis Management and Counterterrorism Strategy with Professor Sir David Omand

ByEdward Penrose

In this episode, we host Professor Sir David Omand to explore crisis management, counterterrorism, and intelligence at the highest levels of the British state. Drawing on a career that includes senior roles at GCHQ, the Home Office, the Cabinet Office, and the Joint Intelligence Committee, Sir David reflects on how governments prepare for crises, why some threats…

Episode 332: Who Pays for Climate Damage? Climate Litigation, Attribution and Accountability with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith

ByElla Burden

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith about the rapid expansion of climate litigation and what it means for corporate strategy, financial stability, and international risk. The discussion explores how climate lawsuits have evolved from targeted environmental challenges into a structural feature of the climate transition, reshaping…

Episode 331: Hypersonic Missiles, Nuclear Deterrence and the New Arms Race

ByKeir Fairley

In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon. The conversation moves beyond the hype to examine the structural drivers of today’s nuclear competition,…

Episode 330: Current State of Sudan in 2026

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Hamid Khalafallah examines the current state of Sudan’s civil war beyond shifting battlefield developments. We explore how patterns of territorial control have altered the structure of authority across the country, why governance capacity remains limited even where military advances have occurred, and how elite bargaining and the “political marketplace” logic have become…