One Decision

The British pound sterling plummeted this week after Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her budget containing a divisive 45-billion tax cut, spooking markets and leading to warnings from the IMF to the White House. The Bank of England took emergency measures to keep the economy afloat, promising to buy bonds at "whatever scale is necessary." Can the UK economy avoid catastrophe as it faces threats from inflation and fuel shortages? Leading British economist Alpesh Paleja explains what exactly happened to bond markets, giving us a sobering assessment of the country's financial health and whether we have seen the worst of the storm.

As the world's attention turns to Iran, grave human rights abuses, and those protesting against this regime, One Decision looks at the negotiations regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - or the hotly contested Iran deal. Morgan Ortagus who spent years in the Trump administration after serving as an intelligence analyst explains the administration's reasoning behind President Trump's abrupt cancellation of a deal that placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions’ relief. Vali Nasr, leading Iranian-American academic at Johns Hopkins University, goes back to what the deal was and wasn't - and what could happen next. As always Sir Richard Dearlove joins, and makes a key prediction about the coming end to the current Iran regime. 

Thousands of desperate young men are trying to escape Russia after Vladamir Putin announced a plan to mobilize 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine. His forces have recently suffered a string of embarrassing military defeats. Some Russians are already seeking to escape by crossing the long border into neighboring Finland. On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, we sat down with Finnish Ambassador Elina Kalkku to discuss the recent influx of Russians frantically trying to avoid Putin's plans for them to fight in Ukraine. She takes us into her country's complex relationship with Moscow and how they are coping with the constant threat of an imminent Russian attack, especially following President Putin's recent threat to launch nuclear weapons.  

Russia's President Putin is losing his war against Ukraine, he was roundly humiliated at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit last week and this week called up 300,000 reservists and threatened the west with nuclear retaliation. As the world convenes at the United Nations in New York, military expert Shashank Joshi joins hosts Julia Macfarlane and former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove to walk us through the decisions Putin has made and how they will play out, Russia's nuclear threat and the UK's defense capabilities.

As the world gathers to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, co-hosts Julia Macfarlane and Former Chief of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, a longtime Crown servant, reflect on the life and times of Britain's longest-reigning Monarch. 

Will the Biden Administration dial back sanctions against Venezuela, a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, in an effort to address the global energy crisis? That's the question we ask two leading experts on the country's energy industry. They discuss how crumbling infrastructure to export crude may slow or stymie any immediate impact. Nicolas Maduro and the Chavistas have ignored the results of past elections and have one of the worst human rights records in the hemisphere, which will make any concessions challenging for the American president at home and abroad, especially after a widely criticized trip to Saudi Arabia. Plus, the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, analyzes the impact a warming of relations between Washington and Caracas could have on Venezuela's ties to Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow.

The Wagner Group is used extensively by the Russian government in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and across the African continent. The private military company serves as a shadow military consisting of thousands of highly-trained and well-equipped mercenaries. From war crimes to trafficking in illicit goods, they have earned a reputation as one of the most significant sources of instability in countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The United Nations Human Rights Council's Jelena Aparac and former CIA paramilitary case officer Philip Wasielewski look at how and where the group does Vladimir Putin's dirty work. They examine the role Wagner forces are currently playing on the battlefield in Ukraine and whether the international community should designate them as an international terrorist organization. The panel is joined by the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, who adds insights into Russia's asymmetric warfare tactics and what else may be in store as the Kremlin looks for more ways to destabilize its neighbors and other vulnerable nations.

Russia and China are undertaking an unprecedented assault on the international order. Meanwhile, serious questions linger about America's willingness to exert leadership across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Spain's former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Manuel Muñiz discusses why the war in Ukraine is likely to drag out for years and how it will accelerate a process of deglobalization. In his view, the world will divide across two main blocs, democracies and authoritarian states. The consequences of this tectonic transition will be considerable for countries, companies, and consumers. Yet, he believes in this scary scenario, there are still some reasons for optimism and new opportunities, if we are ready to seize them.

Will the metaverse jeopardize security and stability around the world? Venture capitalist and author of “The Metaverse and how it will revolutionise everything,” Matthew Ball sits down with One Decision to delve into the implications of the new virtual world on the real world. One Decision hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of MI6, and journalist Julia Macfarlane explore opportunities and concerns about the new risks that will be found in the metaverse. 

Darya Dugina, daughter of close Putin ally and Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, was driving her father's car, when it exploded. Russia's FSB security services quickly claimed to have identified the assassin. But western governments have pushed back against this narrative, with some officials like Tom Tugendhat, a British member of Parliament, suggesting that Putin may have targeted Dugin over recent criticisms made against the Kremlin. One Decision hosts Julia Macfarlane and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove sit with Edward Lucas, one of the most well-informed journalists on Kremlinology and the shadow politics of Putin's inner circle, to discuss who may be behind the assassination and what it means for war in Ukraine.