Republicans in the United States are divided on how much support to provide Ukraine in the fight against Russia's invasion of its territory. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has courted controversy by pursuing Trump’s base, arguing that supporting Kyiv is not in America’s national security interests. He’s been deeply criticized by senior figures within his own party for doing so. What is driving this divide in the party? What are the politics of transitions when it comes to important foreign policy commitments? We speak to Stephen Hadley, former National Security Adviser to President George W. Bush, about the division developing in the Republican party, what remains of bipartisan American values, and how he feels about the war in Iraq, 20 years since its beginning.  Interested in hearing more about the decisions behind the Iraq War? Tune in to hear our interview with former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar: pod.fo/e/1620f0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A veteran diplomat and one of the leading experts on China, Charlie Parton, joins his old friend Sir Richard Dearlove to discuss the increasing and personally invasive threat posed by the tiny chips present in everything from your smart fridge to your Fitbit. It’s a remarkable conversation that will change the way we look at the modern technology that now fills our homes. They also delve into how China’s monopoly in the production of these chips has put the world in a very vulnerable position and what we can do to extract ourselves from this dangerous dependency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner was jailed and sent to a penal colony in Moscow last year, the US government got to work on securing her release. But, a few days after she was detained by Russian authorities, Putin invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, it became complicated for the Americans to talk to the Russians in an official capacity. But luckily for Griner, they weren’t the only ones on the case. One Decision sits down with former American Ambassador Cameron Hume, who worked on the small team that traveled to Moscow to directly deal with the Kremlin themselves, on behalf of Griner’s and other detained Americans’ families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Richard Haass became the head of the influential policy think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, twenty years ago, the world was very different from where we are now. Dominated by a post-9/11 reality, the American-led international order was in little doubt. In 2003, China had only just joined the World Trade Organization and had yet to become the rising power and economic behemoth it is today. The new Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the European Union was Russia’s "natural, most important partner". War fatigue was far on the distant horizon, even if opposition to what was to become the ‘forever wars’ was there from the start. Richard Haass sits down with One Decision to reflect on the past 20 years of observing global events and why the next decade may be even more dangerous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The day before Putin's State of the Union address, President Joe Biden emerged in dramatic fashion beneath Ukraine's glimmering golden domes. A secret operation got him on the ground to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital. Air raid sirens blared out as Biden strolled the streets of Kyiv with Zelensky - the first time in modern US history a serving president visited a warzone without the aegis of an American military presence. The former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove talks about the significance of such a visit and what it portends for enduring American support. Plus, the NATO Secretary General is publicly floating the idea of Finland being fast-tracked to membership in the alliance without their neighbor Sweden, with whom they presented a joint bid. Sweden’s Foreign Minister joins us to discuss how worried his country is about Turkey’s intransigence on the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Pompeo is the only American to have served as both CIA Director and Secretary of State. A bullish defender of the legacy of the Trump era, in a new autobiography on his time during office, he argues that ‘peace through strength’ is the only way to ensure that America’s foes like Putin and Xi will not actualize the threat they currently pose to Western interests. As speculation mounts over whether he will become the latest Republican to announce a bid for the Presidency in 2024, Pompeo makes it clear that - even if he doesn’t decide to run - he has some pretty strong opinions on what the United State’s foreign policy objectives must be and will continue to play a prominent role in shaping his party's foreign policy. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove join him for a robust chat about his time in office and his thoughts on the current global security outlook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian President Vladimir Putin is particularly observant when it comes to anniversaries. This month he marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over the Nazis in the battle of Stalingrad. Given he is an enthusiastic student of history - albeit, his own versions of history - watchers of the war in Ukraine have raised the question: what will Putin do when his invasion reaches the ‘one-year’ mark? Max Seddon is the Bureau Chief in Moscow for the Financial Times. He will share the view from Moscow, and as the war enters a new phase. It's one that is likely to increasingly hinge on political will from Washington, where we are joined by Fox News’ White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich. She discusses what support remains among Republicans for arming Ukraine, one year from the invasion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, the decision to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power continues to shape the Middle East and the world. In this episode, guest host Helena Humphrey speaks to former Spanish Prime Minister, José María Aznar, about his decision to support the war despite widespread opposition in his own country. He joined American President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to launch the war from the Azores islands in 2003. We explore his central role in one of the most important events of the 21st century and what lessons can be learned as Europe once again grapples with how far it should dive into a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seldom do you get this level of access. The former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency General Michael Hayden sits down with One Decision. In one of his rare recent interviews, he shares an unvarnished view of the risks posed by Xi Jinping's ambitions and the lessons we should have learned from the War on Terror. In a remarkable exchange, he speaks with co-host and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove about how intelligence gathering has changed and how it should work to better address emerging threats. They cover decisions made and ongoing in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Russia. Hayden, who also led the National Security Agency, lets us in on his conversations with the current Director of the CIA William J. Burns, and where he thinks the world is headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christo Grozev once humorously described himself as an ‘internet nerd’ who hunted Russian trolls in his spare time. Well, his hobby has now made him an internationally celebrated journalist - and earned him a place on Russia’s most wanted list. As Lead Russia Investigator for the open-source investigative website Bellingcat, Grozev is one of the best people to talk to if you want to learn more about the war of information being fought by Moscow, and how data trails from some of the GRU’s more clumsy spies are giving canny investigators and journalists the chance to expose some of Russia’s activities it would rather you not know about. Sir Richard Dearlove and Julia Macfarlane sit down with him to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2022 was a crazy year. And our Sir Richard Dearlove says 2023 won't be any less eventful. The former head of MI6 sits down with host Julia Macfarlane to discuss what the future might hold for the war in Ukraine, the burgeoning protest movement in China, and the United States presidential race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rory Stewart caused a buzz when he challenged Boris Johnson for leadership of the Conservative Party. He did not win the leadership, but he won widespread support for his ‘Rory Walks’ campaign across the United Kingdom, from Brits of all political stripes. He is also known for his walks across Afghanistan, where he was hunted by the Taliban in the mountains between Herat and Kabul at the height of the United States occupation in 2001. Stewart has been a diplomat, a politician, a soldier and - some say - a spy. But you’ll find him today championing one of his biggest passions - international aid, as the head of GiveDirectly, one of the biggest international charities in the world. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove talk with Stewart and discuss whether the United Kingdom’s handling of its aid and soft power has seen better days, and what it means for Britain’s place in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of our end-of-year review looking into the biggest decisions of 2022, we look at how Putin's invasion of Ukraine plunged Europe into its biggest security crisis since the Second World War. Just a few days after Putin ordered troops to cross the border into Ukraine, German Chancellor Scholz declared a historic reversal of decades-old policy and a 100 billion euro fund to bolster Germany's armed forces. After leading the UK out of the EU, Boris Johnson suddenly became one of the continent's biggest advocates for defense, spearheading much of the response to Ukraine. And old attitudes to Russia and the West were suddenly reevaluated around the world. The Economist's Anne McElvoy, Prashant Rao of Semafor, and BloombergTV's Maria Tadeo joined One Decision for a look at how the Ukraine war has changed the political map for Europe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our end-of-year review, we analyzed the big events and decisions made in 2022 - the headline blockbusters that dominated the headlines: Putin’s war in Ukraine, Xi’s third term, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the surprising United States midterm elections. But what about the choices made that flew under the radar? Or the choices that needed to be made in 2022, but were ignored? One Decision is joined by a panel of leading journalists to discuss a momentous year and the stories that you may have missed. One Decision has been selected as a finalist for the 1st Annual Signal Listener’s Choice Award for Best Conversation Starter. Please follow this link to vote now: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2022/individual-episodes/general/best-conversation-starter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2022 started with the White House warning that Putin planned to invade Ukraine. Many were skeptical. But in this year's most significant decision survey of more than 100 journalists, the consensus is in: Putin's decision to invade Ukraine was the biggest decision of 2022. Some of the other decisions will surprise you and might end up having more impact in 2023. In this roundup of the biggest stories of the year, we examine them all as we end one year and move on to the next. One Decision is joined in London by The Economist's Anne McElvoy, Semafor's Prashant Rao, and Bloomberg's Maria Tadeo.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeremy Bowen, International Editor at the BBC sits down with One Decision shortly after returning from the Ukrainian frontline, having been embedded with troops as government forces retook control of the occupied city of Kherson last month. A huge victory for Kyiv and a humiliating setback for Putin, who has this week admitted on television that his 'special operation' is likely to take a long time to complete, and tried to downplay rumors swirling of a second mobilization for more soldiers to join his invasion. Meanwhile, United States intelligence says that the Russians and Ukrainians are likely to pause the fighting over the bitter winter period - though aerial bombardment on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities is causing devastation for civilians facing freezing temperatures with no heating, water, or electricity. The United Kingdom's Defence Ministry says that the Russians may be preparing to attack more cities close to the areas they control in the east of Ukraine. As always, we will have an analysis by One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of MI6. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States' last legislative elections surprised many political onlookers in the country. Unlike long-standing precedent, where the president's party usually suffers severe losses during these midterm elections, the Democrats actually held control of the Senate and narrowly lost the House of Representatives. We bring together President Donald Trump's former Communications Director Alyssa Farrah Griffin together with Johanna Maska, a veteran of President Obama's Director of Press Advance. They offer a special post-mortem on the gains, losses, and the challenging roads that lie ahead for both parties over the next two years. These prominent pundits for their parties provide unvarnished and at times unexpected analysis of who may stand for the presidency in 2024, along with the international implications of these historic elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global supply chain has taken a battering since COVID. But it’s not just about how long you have to wait for your Playstation - the disruption to global trade has illuminated how dependent we all are on other countries for necessary goods. It’s a reality that could also have national security implications, as many countries in Europe who rely on imported gas from certain hostile counties in their neighbourhood, are swiftly finding out. Brian Wenck, the CEO of Flat World Global Solutions, a global supply chain and logistics firm, walks us through the butterfly effects of supply chain disruption - why China shipping PPE to Africa and America meant that Europeans couldn’t get their electronics for months. And co-host Sir Richard Dearlove joins us to explain why all of the above should give us concerns for our national security too.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of people in Iran have been killed after the death of a 22-year-old woman sparked the biggest uprising in the country for years. More than 15,000 have been arrested in women-led protests demanding human rights, freedoms - and an end to Iran’s oppressive laws concerning women. The regime has accused the protests of being “foreign-backed riots”, meanwhile, the niece of the Supreme Leader has spoken out against what she described as the “murderous, child-killing regime” in Tehran. One Decision speaks to Iranian journalist Negar Mortazavi to hear more about the situation in the country.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our third installment on China at a crossroads, we look at where President Xi Jinping is positioning China in the world order and what his politics means for Chinese expansionism, influence, and aggression in the wider region. Is he likely to make a move on Taiwan? Will the contested areas in the seas around China be a new arena for hostilities? Will the US and China eventually be forced to go head-to-head, or is there too much financial incentive to cooperate? Brig. Gen. David Stilwell was the American Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and an Air Force veteran of 35 years. A fluent Chinese and Korean speaker, he also served as Defense Attache at the US Embassy in Beijing and has been a close watcher of Chinese politics ever since. He sits down with One Decision for a look at China's place in the world at the beginning of Xi's third term, with our Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, providing exclusive analysis on what he thinks the world should do in response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices