
Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell
Behind the Lines with Arthur Snell is a new geopolitics podcast. Every week we give the listener access to the best informed people to help you understand this turbulent world and get a feel for the things that will matter in the future.I am on Bluesky here and you can read some of my thoughts on world affairs here https://arthursnell.substack.com/If you enjoyed this podcast please spread the word and give us a positive review - it makes all the difference!NEW: we get a lot of great writers on the show. With that in mind, I have set up a Bookshop.org linked account. If you'd like to buy any of the books discussed on the podcast, click here and you'll be able to support both the podcast and independent bookshops as you do so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

May 5, 2025 • 58min
Ukraine and America: the great betrayal
I spoke to Romeo Kokriatski, presenter of the Ukraine without the Hype podcast about recent events in his country, including the Trump betrayal.We mentioned Operation Sky Shield, a plan which you can read about here.Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 21, 2025 • 45min
The Geopolitics of Climate: how Tuvalu is thinking about possible extinction
What does the climate crisis mean for sovereignty in a world where certain countries face existential risk? I spoke to Taukiei Kitara, a native of Tuvalu, about the case of low-lying Pacific Islands, including his native Tuvalu.Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 15, 2025 • 48min
RUSI/Disorder Partnership: Ransomware in our Age of Disorder
Read RUSI piece The Rise of Ransomware as a National Security Threat: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/organised-cybercrime-rise-ransomware-national-security-threat Read RUSI piece Beyond the Bottom Line: The Societal Impact of Ransomware: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/beyond-bottom-line-societal-impact-ransomware Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 6, 2025 • 51min
The Crisis in The Atlantic Alliance ep 2
The impact on Central and Eastern Europe, with Jonathan TerraCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 28, 2025 • 1h
The Crisis in the Atlantic Alliance
The Transatlantic Alliance is coming to an end. I discuss this with academic and journalist Jonathan Terra.Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 24, 2025 • 55min
Blood, toil, tears, and sweat: the plight of migrant labourers in the Gulf
Every year, tens of thousands of labourers in the wealth countries of the Gulf, most of them migrants from South Asia, die in unsafe working conditions on construction sites. As the GCC states pour enormous resources into developing their infrastructure, little attention is paid to the plight of the people doing the actual building work. I spoke to James Lynch of FairSquare, a UK-based non-profit that researches and advocates for the rights of labourers in the Gulf.https://fairsq.org/Assistant Producer: Japji OberoiCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 14, 2025 • 1h 3min
Myanmar: the Unfolding Civil War
For the past 4 years, Myanmar has experienced an ever more serious civil war, which now threatens the ruling military junta in Naypyitaw. I spoke to Ronan Lee about this little-reported conflict.You can find Ronan's work here: https://ronanlee.com/And my writing here: arthursnell.substack.com Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 7, 2025 • 43min
What does the collapsing global order mean for the world beyond the West?
Samir Puri, a geopolitics expert and director at Chatham House, discusses the evolving global order post-Western dominance. He highlights the rising influence of non-Western countries, particularly China, and explores the dynamics reshaping international relations. Puri examines the implications of shifting alliances, the impact of BRICS, and the complexity of Taiwan's position in this new landscape. He also reflects on the unpredictability of global politics and Europe's challenges amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Mar 6, 2025 • 49min
How the extremism of our age is being fed by disinformation
The role of disinformation in our current world, whether feeding the false allegations put out by Trump, the lies spread online by Elon Musk, or the over-reliance on social media for news coverage, is feeding the rise of extremism and dysfunction in democratic systems, to the detriment of liberal and progressive political movements. To help us understand this better, I was delighted to be joined by Amil Khan, CEO of Valent Technologies and a disinformation expert.Many thanks to Assistant Producer Japji OberoiCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 2, 2025 • 36min
The latest from Kyiv: what does John Sweeney make of what's being going on?
I spoke to the man in the lucky orange hat, everyone's favourite war correspondent John Sweeney about the latest developments from Kyiv in this week of extraordinary events relating to Ukraine. Find John's work at x.com/johnsweeneyroarCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.