Independent Thinking
Chatham House director Bronwen Maddox hosts conversations with leading policymakers, journalists and Chatham House experts to provide insight into the latest international political issues.Independent Thinking gives listeners the opportunity to engage with the high level…
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- Sep 4, 2026
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- Jul 3, 2026
Latest episodes
What is the United Nations for? (opens the original)
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The United Nations convenes for its 81st General Assembly next week amid turmoil around the world that it seeks to bring together. The conflicts in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza, and the US, China and Russia's undermining of the rules-based international order cast a shadow over UNGA. Can the organization renew itself for a dangerous multipolar world? Or is it doomed to the same fate as the League of Nations? Bronwen Maddox discusses the UN's present and future with Heather Hurlburt, associate fellow w
Iran, Gaza, Trump and Netanyahu: Understanding the Middle East's crises (opens the original)
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It's been a tumultuous year in the Middle East – and it's far from over. Six months after the US and Israel launched their offensive against Iran, the conflict continues to disrupt trade, energy and food security. President Trump struggles to escape a deadlock that threatens to seriously damage him in the American mid-term elections. Meanwhile, Gaza remains locked in a humanitarian crisis despite a ceasefire, while Israel faces growing political division ahead of an October election that will de
The summer of '26: A turning point for the climate crisis? (opens the original)
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The climate crisis has seldom been dramatized so vividly as in the summer of 2026. Apocalyptic fires, widespread droughts and drained rivers in Europe made clear a worsening situation that even the most fervent denier can't wave away. But is there the necessary time, commitment and technology to slow or reverse the climate spiral – even in the face of a US administration that is committed to fossil fuels? How do the two approaches of mitigation and adaptation translate into real life on the grou
The foreign policy challenges Labour can't ignore (opens the original)
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Britain's new prime minister Andy Burnham is not known for his interest in foreign affairs, but foreign affairs are eternally and often unforgivingly interested in Britain. What should Burnham and his new foreign secretary Ed Miliband prioritise on the global front? How can they balance the urgent demands of defence, climate action, resetting relations with the EU and Britain's place in the wider world? And who is going to pay for it all? To discuss what should be on Burnham and Miliband's to-do
Is the AI boom about to bust? (opens the original)
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The $2.6 trillion spent on artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced chipmaking dwarfs the cost of previous infrastructure megaprojects. Yet AI has become a money pit for tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta, and the tech is failing to hit its stratospheric targets. Could an AI crash take overinvested economies down with it? In the longer term, whose approach will dominate? Will it be the US's private-led model with tech giants at the top? Or China's tactic of spreading l
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