This week, the United States Congress finally passed a $95 billion military aid package for its allies after months of delays. Democratic Defense leader, Congressman Adam Smith of Washington, joins correspondent Christina Ruffini for a wide-ranging interview to discuss the package that provides crucial aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and shares his thoughts on recent pro-Palestinian protests spreading across the United States. Plus, One Decision's resident spymaster, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove, discusses Europe's reaction to Washington's support for Ukraine, and if America's delay in passing aid has forced Europe to step up its support for Kyiv and its own security. 

Norman Roule served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing significant programs related to the Middle East, including his role as National Intelligence manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from November 2008 to 2017. Roule joins guest host and journalist Christina Ruffini and One Decision's resident spymaster, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove, to discuss the new security threats in the Middle East after Iran's unprecedented drone and missile attack against Israel. Roule says Tehran will test the limits of the "new red lines" to keep Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and others under pressure in a quagmire in the region. They also discuss how the crisis will change U.S. Middle East policy, the status of Iran's nuclear program, and predictions on the Islamic Republic's next steps.

Ambassador Laurent Bili has served as his nation's diplomatic eyes and ears on the ground in Washington, D.C. —and across the country—since he began his posting in the spring of 2023. Guest host and journalist Liz Landers and One Decision's resident spymaster Sir Richard Dearlove speak with him about the prospects for Congress to pass a support package for Ukraine and President Macron's comments that Western boots on the ground cannot be ruled out. They also discuss the NATO alliance and the European Union's military commitment to Ukraine, the war in Gaza, and the potential security concerns around the upcoming Paris Olympics. Plus, Sir Richard talks with Bili about his previous posting in Beijing, where he arrived as the ambassador in September 2019, and navigated several years of diplomacy during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Greece's Special Envoy to Ukraine, Ambassador Spiros Lambridis, knows firsthand what Ukrainians have been experiencing since Russia's full-scale invasion of their country. He tells One Decision's resident spymaster Sir Richard Dearlove and guest host, BBC anchor Kasia Madera, how a Russian ballistic missile struck just a few hundred meters from where he and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were meeting Ukriane's President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a wide-ranging interview, Ambassador Lambridis shares strong words about Russia. He also speaks of his heartache over the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, a region he knows well, having served as Greece's Ambassador to Israel. Ambassador Lambridis also discusses his government's enthusiasm for building closer relations with China at a time when Western nations are issuing sanctions in attempts to stop widespread Chinese state-sponsored cyber attacks. Plus, Sir Richard discusses coordination and intelligence methods on the ground in Gaza after seven international aid workers from Chef José Andrés World Central Kitchen charity were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas serves as the chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees the State Department and shapes the United States foreign policy. Guest host and correspondent Christina Ruffini sat down with McCaul for a wide-ranging interview about the stalled $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, Middle East security, and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza could damage Israel's standing on the global stage. McCaul discusses his work leading the oversight investigation into the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Kabul and says that U.S. foreign policy has been "abysmal," starting with the fall of Afghanistan in 2021. Plus, One Decision's resident spymaster, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove, discusses the current state of intelligence-sharing with Russia after the deadly mass shooting in Moscow and whether the Kremlin failed to heed the West's warning of a terrorist attack.

The United Kingdom and the United States are two leading governments working on transitioning to net zero emissions by 2050. Both the Sunak and Biden administrations have set ambitious goals for the next several decades, and in some ways, they are going about it similarly with sweeping legislation—like the Inflation Reduction Act—that is setting new standards. Guest host and journalist Liz Landers spoke with two top officials overseeing this work for their respective countries: UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, and United States Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk. Coutinho's a rising star in the conservative government who was first elected in 2019—and has the ear of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a close advisor. We asked her about nuclear power, using oil and gas drilling licenses to stabilize energy sources during the transition, and how the war between Ukraine and Russia has impacted energy policy. Across the pond in the United States, Turk has decades of experience in government, including working in President Biden's senate office, and more recently was the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. We spoke with Turk about the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, a massive piece of legislation signed in 2022 that invests in clean and domestic energy projects—and why there aren't more electric vehicle charging stations around the country.

This week, Vladimir Putin hailed a landslide win for a fifth term in an election with no real opposition, whose result was never in question. In a victory speech extending his iron grip on power, Putin warned that World War III between Russia and the West is not out of the question. Guest host and foreign affairs journalist Indira Lakshmanan and One Decision’s resident spymaster, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove speak with Sir Laurie Bristow, who served two tours in Putin’s Russia as Britain’s ambassador to Moscow and as deputy chief of mission, about what to expect in the next six years from the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin. Bristow says that relations between Russia and NATO are at their most fragile point since the Cold War. Indira also spoke with Putin expert Dr. Angela Stent for her readout of the election results. Stent, a former U.S. national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia says the reelection of Donald Trump could be a victory for Putin, and warned of Russia’s attempts to meddle in the U.S. election.

California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna represents parts of Silicon Valley— the wealthiest congressional district in America and the world's largest technology hub, home to tech giants Apple, Meta, and Google. Khanna sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with One Decision guest host and correspondent Liz Landers to discuss tech, AI regulation, and the ongoing conflict in Gaza, saying the United States’ “bear hugging" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a "strategic mistake.” As one of the leading voices on technology regulation in the House of Representatives, Khanna says Europe shouldn't be "preaching" when it comes to regulation, and we're past the days of "colonialism where Europe thought they could tell the world what to do." They also discuss his role as a Biden campaign surrogate and President Biden's reelection prospects. Plus, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove joins Liz to discuss the proposed ban on TikTok in the United States and the backlash over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law. 

Democratic Congressman Jim Himes is the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, with oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the NSA. He’s also one of the most outspoken members of Congress advocating for supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Guest host and foreign affairs journalist Indira Lakshmanan spoke with Himes about his recent meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Republican leaders block a vote on a $60 billion aid package to Kyiv, and with Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, just as she learned of her husband’s suspicious death in a Russian gulag. Himes discusses the global competition between democracy and autocracy and says there's one decision for the United States—"Do we shrink from that fight?" He calls Donald Trump a "cult leader" whose hold over the Republican Party is dangerous to democracy and global stability. Indira and One Decision’s resident spymaster, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove, discuss the Congressman's comments on the threat of Russia deploying a nuclear weapon in space, the massive growth in open-source intelligence, and threats to security from internet-connected technologies.

Charlene Chu, the world-renowned economic analyst whose warnings in 2014 prompted the Chinese government to hastily change their economic policies, is back on One Decision to discuss the fallout from the liquidation of the Hong Kong assets of Evergrande, China’s massive, troubled property developer that she described as “the canary in the coal mine”. As scores of developers default on their debts, countless Chinese homeowners see the value of their savings and assets plummet, and the CCP considers putting foreign investors on the hook for massive losses to protect the domestic market—what are the global ramifications of the property market crisis? Chu’s analysis on the latest stage of the crisis comes with a dire warning of a different looming challenge, one that could be an even bigger catastrophe for China—and the world—and is coming down the track soon. Plus analysis from One Decision’s Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of MI6. 

The team behind the top global affairs podcast, One Decision, brings you "Power Decisions," a new energy series that explores the world's energy sources and the politics and power behind the clean transition. At the beginning of a critical election year in the United States, the Biden administration made waves when it announced a pause on proposed liquid natural gas export projects in the US. In 2023, the US became the number one exporter of LNG—surpassing previous global leaders in the industry. American LNG exports have helped Europe keep the lights on as the war between Ukraine and Russia severed other energy sources. But President Biden, in keeping with his climate commitments to younger voters and green groups, announced the pause while his administration conducts public interest reviews on future projects. Guest host and journalist Liz Landers convenes a roundtable of energy reporters: Timothy Gardner of Reuters, POLITICO's Ben Lefebvre, and The Hill's Zachary Budryk. They discuss the reasons behind the Biden administration's decision, the reaction from the European Union and other nations relying on US LNG exports, impacts on US national security, and how the decision could affect the clean energy transition.