Broderick McDonald is a Research Fellow at Kings College London’s XCEPT Research Programme and a Research Associate the Oxford Emerging Threats Group. Prior to this, he served as an Advisor to the Government of Canada and was a Fellow with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). Broderick’s writing and commentary has appeared in The New York…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 29.09.2025 When Bashar al-Assad fell in late 2024, many Syrians dared to imagine a future beyond authoritarianism and endless war. The dictator’s sudden departure sent a wave of relief across the country, and for a fleeting moment, optimism seemed to outweigh fatigue. Yet the early glow of freedom quickly dimmed. By mid-2025,…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Today Dominic Bowen hosts Broderick McDonald on the podcast to discuss the future of Syria. They dive into the different external actors and their interests, the challenges that the new government of Syria is facing, the fine line of institutional reform and unity, the need for inclusion of the minority groups, what the impact…
The International Risk Business Leaders Can’t Ignore in OpenAI’s New ChatGPT 5 Release When OpenAI rolled out GPT-5 to all ChatGPT users on 07 August, it wasn’t just another AI press cycle; it was a board-level signal. The model now sits in front of roughly 700 million weekly users, with OpenAI openly pitching it as…
The Red Sea, a linchpin of global commerce, has become a vortex of geopolitical friction, maritime instability, and international risk. In a recent dialogue on the International Risk Podcast, Professor Jamie Shea, a renowned academic and seasoned strategist with 38 years at NATO, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, illuminated the…
This week on The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Almudena Azcárate Ortega to explore the rising role of commercial entities like Starlink in space security. Many commercially operated systems are dual-use, intermingling civilian and military services in manners that are often ambiguous and can heighten tensions, raising questions about targetability and the…
Coordinated and produced by: Camila Mateos Betancourt This week on The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Julien Haye to explore how psychological safety shapes effective risk management and strategic decision-making. In today’s complex, fast-moving environment, fear and silence can be hidden risk factors that undermine resilience, innovation, and performance. Julien explains how cultures…
Julien Haye is the founder of Aevitium LTD, a pragmatic risk-taker and people-centric leader with over 26 years of experience in financial services. He specialises in transforming risk and compliance functions into strategic enablers by embedding psychological safety, strengthening governance, and enabling operational resilience. His latest book, The Risk Within: Cultivating Psychological Safety for Strategic Decision-Making,…
Author: Camila Mateos Betancourt Do you feel comfortable disagreeing with your peers at work? Calling out bad decisions? Is your workplace open to honest conversations and dissent? And when something’s not right, how long does it take you to speak up? Is failure punished or treated as a learning opportunity? If you answered postively to most…
Coordinated and produced by: Camila Mateos Betancourt This week on The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Dr. Sarah Case Lackner to explore the emerging risks and evolving opportunities at the intersection of artificial intelligence and nuclear security. With increasing attention to the resilience of global infrastructure, Dr. Case Lackner unpacks how AI is…
