HeyJaredThe Next Best with Marcel Dirsus
Hey, it’s Marcel Dirsus. I’m a political scientist and this is The Next Best, my podcast. The world is complex, dangerous and confusing. To make sense of it all, I talk to authors, historians, diplomats and spies.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 11
- Latest publication
- Sep 22, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 10, 2026
Latest episodes
#36 Hanna Notte: Isolating Russia? Impossible. (opens the original)
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Russia was supposed to be isolated. But four years into the war in Ukraine, that hasn’t happened. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/DrMarcelDirsus Buy Hanna's book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324117018 In this episode of The Next Best, Marcel Dirsus speaks with Russia expert Hanna Notte about Russia’s place in the world — and why the country continues to maintain important economic, political and security relationships outside the West.
#35 Ben Macintyre: The Cold War Spy Who Stopped Nuclear War (opens the original)
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What happens when a senior KGB officer walks into the British embassy in revolutionary Iran and offers to spy for MI6? Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DrMarcelDirsus Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy is out now. Buy Redwood: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458783/redwood-by-macintyre-ben/9780241754801
#34 Anders Puck Nielsen: Putin is Running Out of Options (opens the original)
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Is Vladimir Putin running out of options in Ukraine—and could desperation push Russia into war with NATO? Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DrMarcelDirsus In this episode of The Next Best, host Marcel Dirsus sits down with military analyst and author Anders Puck Nielsen (The Logic of War) to analyze the evolving dynamics of the war in Ukraine. They discuss how technological shifts like the "drone wall" have eliminated tactical surprise, the limits of Russia's war economy, the impact of long-ran
#33 Samuël Kruizinga: "Easy Wars" Are a Fantasy. (opens the original)
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There is no "magic button" in war. From naval blockades in the Strait of Hormuz to precision air strikes and economic sanctions, military planners constantly search for a magic button — a way to achieve decisive political victory without mass casualties or drawn-out ground conflicts. But history shows that shortcuts in warfare rarely deliver on their promises. In this episode of The Next Best, Marcel Dirsus speaks with Samuël Kruizinga, a historian at the University of Amsterdam who specializes
#32 Shaun Walker: Inside the Brutal Life of Russia's Elite Spies (opens the original)
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How do elite Russian spies operate? How are they recruited and trained, and what makes the life of these "Illegals" so miserable? Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/DrMarcelDirsus In this episode of The Next Best, host Marcel Dirsus sits down with Shaun Walker, foreign correspondent for The Guardian and author of "The Illegals". They dive deep into the brutal psychological reality, extreme recruitment methods, and history of Russia’s deep-cover intelligence network—from t
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