Episode 360: Hungary After Orbán: Democratic Reset or Political Reconfiguration in Europe? with Zsuzsanna Szelényi

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Zsuzsanna Szelényi explores Hungary’s dramatic political transformation following the end of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, examining how an entrenched illiberal system was dismantled through democratic means and what this reveals about the resilience of liberal democracy in Europe. The conversation traces the structural factors that converged to break Orbán’s grip on power—including economic mismanagement,…

Episode 359: Conflict Pollution: How Modern War Damages Climate, Water, and Land for Generations with Doug Weir

ByElla Burden

This episode hosts Doug Weir from the Conflict and Environment Observatory to examine the environmental consequences of modern warfare and the wider ecological risks created by armed conflict. The conversation explores how conflict generates complex forms of pollution, from toxic air emissions and oil fires to groundwater contamination and long-term ecological damage, often with impacts that persist…

Episode 358: The Long Arm of Tehran: Proxies, Criminals and State-Backed Threats with Edmund Fitton-Brown

ByEdward Penrose

In this episode, we host Edmund Fitton-Brown to explore how Iran projects power beyond its borders through proxies, criminal networks, intelligence services, and deniable operations. Drawing on his experience as a former British Ambassador to Yemen and former senior United Nations expert on ISIS, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Edmund explains why Iran’s external operations cannot…

Episode 356: War on the Climate: Conflict, Carbon, and the Hidden Cost of War in Iran with Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi

ByElla Burden

This episode hosts Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi to examine the environmental and climate consequences of modern warfare, with a particular focus on the ongoing conflict involving Iran and its rapidly escalating global impact. The conversation explores how conflict is generating emissions at unprecedented speed and scale, with millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide released…

Episode 355: Leading under Pressure in a More Volatile and Compounded Crisis Environment with Jon-Paul Gabriele

ByAnna Kummelstedt

Business leaders are operating in a harsher, more expensive, and more politically volatile environment, where geopolitics is now showing up directly in fuel costs, inflation, supply chains, capital markets, alliance structures, and executive decision-making. I’m Dominic Bowen, host of The International Risk Podcast, where we unpack the issues shaping business, leadership, and global risk. Today,…

Episode 354: Beyond Strikes: The Ripple Effects of the US–Iran Conflict with Dr Jamie Shea

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Professor Jamie Shea explores how contemporary conflict is no longer confined to the battlefield but unfolds across multiple interconnected domains, generating effects that extend far beyond the immediate theatre of operations. The conversation examines how the confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran is producing systemic shockwaves across energy markets, supply…

Episode 353: Terrorism Rewired: AI, Crime-Terror Networks and the New Global Threat Landscape with Dr Colin P. Clarke

ByEdward Penrose

In this episode, we host Dr Colin P. Clarke to explore how terrorism is evolving in an era of AI, organised crime, proxy warfare, and great power competition. Drawing on decades of work on terrorism, insurgency, illicit finance, and political violence, Dr Clarke explains why today’s threat landscape is no longer defined solely by hierarchical jihadist organisations,…

Episode 352: Inside the Ransomware Economy: Incentives, Governance, and Risk with Anja Shortland

ByElla Burden

This episode hosts Professor Anja Shortland, returning to the podcast following her previous appearance in 2021,  to examine how ransomware has evolved into a sophisticated and highly organised form of cybercrime, operating as a global market shaped by incentives, reputation, and weak governance. The conversation explores the scale of the threat, with billions in annual losses,…

Episode 351: Climate, Infrastructure, and Nuclear Risk: Rethinking Strategic Stability with Dr Florian Krampe

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Dr Florian Krampe explores how climate change is no longer a peripheral environmental issue but a central factor reshaping global security. The conversation examines how environmental shifts are already degrading critical military infrastructure, from Arctic early warning systems built on melting permafrost to changing ocean conditions that affect submarine detection and strategic…

Episode 350: The Human Blind Spot in Cybersecurity with Robert Siciliano

ByEdward Penrose

In this episode, we host Robert Siciliano to examine why the biggest vulnerability in cybersecurity is so often not the technology, but the people using it. Drawing on decades of work in fraud prevention, identity protection, and security awareness, Robert argues that most organisations still treat cyber risk as a compliance issue rather than a human one….