World Review from the New Statesman

Strikes across Europe have thrown the continent into chaos just as summer travel takes off. Emily Tamkin, Alona Ferber and Alix Kroeger discuss what is driving workers across the public sector to take to the picket line, and they speculate where the “summer of discontent” is headed.In Israel, the coalition government has dissolved, prompting the fifth election in almost four years, and giving Israel’s longest-serving prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu another shot at returning to power. The team discuss what finally brought the “government of change” to its knees, if it indeed did bring about any change, and what the election means for Netanyahu.Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks how the UK views the rising tide of Islamophobia in India.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:Emily Tamkin on India's diplomatic dilemma over war in Ukraine.Alona Ferber writes Israel's double standard on flag-waving is a risk to democracy.Anoosh Chakelian on why rail strikes are testing the Tory's culture war on working at home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of this series of France Elects Ido Vock, Europe correspondent, is joined by the New Statesman’s writer-at-large Jeremy Cliffe to digest France’s legislative election, at which Emmanuel Macron’s party failed to win a majority and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally had its best ever result. Macron will now be the first president in 20 years to govern without a parliamentary majority.They discuss whether Macron and his party could have done more to prevent the far right winning so many seats, what the next few years has in store for France and whether forcing the executive to work with other factions could benefit the country’s political culture.Further reading:Emmanuel Macron falls to earthFrance’s Jupiter may be about to discover a culture of compromiseIn the long shadow of De GaullePodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heading towards its fifth month, Europe correspondent Ido Vock speaks to the former Nato general secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen.They discuss what else can be done to support Ukraine, what form security guarantees for a neutral Ukraine might look like, and why democracies need to stand up to autocrats.Further reading:Europeans were united in support of Ukraine, but that consensus is fraying.The war in Ukraine should have strengthened Europe’s common voice. Why hasn’t it?Vladimir the Great Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 7 June, the former German chancellor Angela Merkel appeared at a speaking event at a Berlin theatre, to discuss how she has spent the past six months since leaving office and reflect on present politics. Jeremy Cliffe in Berlin joins Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC to assess Merkel’s defiant stance on her policies towards Moscow and ask whether we should reappraise her international legacy. Could she have done more to prepare Germany, Ukraine and the rest of Europe for Russia’s invasion?Meanwhile, in a speech in Moscow on 9 June, Vladimir Putin compared himself to Peter the Great and his leadership during Russia’s Great Northern War against Sweden. He claimed that the imperialist, who ruled tsarist Russia from 1682 to 1725, was “returning and reinforcing” Russian land, and “it fell to us to return and reinforce as well”. The team discuss this troubling historical comparison and why so many commentators appear reluctant to believe that Putin does not envisage a future for Ukraine as a sovereign state.Then, in You Ask Us, a listener notes that unlike other networks Fox News did not air the first public hearing on the Capitol riot that shocked America and the world on 6 January 2021. The listener asked how concerned we should be that a major news network is helping to create an alternative reality for a significant portion of the US.If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:Jeremy Cliffe writes that Angela Merkel’s self-justification over Russia does not add upKatie Stallard on Vladimir the Great Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of a two-part special of France Elects, as the united left comes ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s party in the first round of the French legislative elections, we look at what this might mean for the French president and what’s to play for in Sunday’s second round. Europe Correspondent Ido Vock discusses the result with Alix Kroeger. They talk about how the left managed to unite, what has happened to the far-right, and what it could mean for Macron if he fails to keep his majority in the French National Assembly. Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh from his reporting trip to Kharkiv in Ukraine, Bruno Maçães talks to Katie Stallard about the mood in Ukraine.They discuss how Kharkiv is at the heart of a new national movement, why Ukraine needs long-range artillery capabilities and how Macron’s “off-ramp” offer to Putin will not help end the war.Further reading:Bruno Maçães’s Diary: Kharkiv is shelled, streets are renamed, and soldiers on a break head for the cafésHow will the Ukraine war end?“Russia cannot afford to lose, so we need a kind of a victory”: Sergey Karaganov on what Putin wantsA “strategic nuclear exchange” would offer Putin zero military gains Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After narrowly missing out on making the second round of the presidential election, the leader of the left in France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is battling Emmanuel Macron’s renamed Renaissance party to win this weekend’s legislative elections. Could he give the president a tough five years?The New Statesman's Europe correspondent, Ido Vock, joins Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard to look ahead to the vote.Also this week, as a progressive district attorney is recalled in San Francisco, the panel discuss why US police are so bad at tackling crime.In You Ask Us, Ido, Emily and Katie answer a listener’s question on whether Vladimir Putin might actually be dead or dying? If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.Further reading:Headache for Emmanuel Macron as support for the French left surges.Policing in America is broken.Is Vladimir Putin dead? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bessborough House, a grand mansion on the outskirts of the city of Cork, was one of Ireland’s largest mother and baby institutions, open from 1922 to 1998. Thousands of women and girls confined there had their babies taken from them and placed for adoption, often without maternal consent.In her new bestselling book, Bessborough: Three Women, Three Decades, Three Stories of Courage, the BBC journalist Deirdre Finnerty recounts the stories of three women who spent time there across three different decades, and the devastating impact the institution had on their lives.She speaks to Alix Kroeger about what went on inside this secretive institution, the legacy of trauma and shame, and the findings of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, published last year.Further reading:Megan Nolan on the appeal of Catholicism – but not the Catholic Church.Michael Coren writes about the hypocrisy of the Pope to lecture anyone about violence against women.Helen Charman on the politics of everyday life: motherhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the EU claims victory with a partial oil embargo on Russia, Ido Vock, Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard discuss whether Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is weakening the West's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They also look at the significance of Russia’s latest advances in the east of Ukraine.Then, in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on France’s policing of the Liverpool vs Real Madrid Champions League final in Paris.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.ukPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further Reading:Viktor Orbán is using the war in Ukraine to entrench his powerHungary throws sand in the gears of an EU oil embargoThe West can’t desert UkraineWill the West pressure Ukraine to concede territory?Were fake tickets behind the Champions League final chaos? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the site of the Chernobyl disaster was occupied by Russian troops during their invasion of Ukraine, fears of further contamination put the safety of nuclear power in the spotlight once again.In his latest book, Atoms and Ashes: From Bikini Atoll to Fukushima, the Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy looks at the history of nuclear disasters and asks whether there are better ways to tackle climate change than nuclear power.He speaks to Alix Kroeger about his book and the dangers of a lack of transparency around nuclear power, plus how academics in Ukraine asked him to keep their records safe before the invasion, and how Russia underestimated Ukrainians’ resolve.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.  Further reading:Philippa Nuttall on the risks of nuclear power in an increasingly destabilised worldHow Vladimir Putin weaponised the environment in UkraineSerhii Plokhy: it’s impossible for states to be both democratic and pro-RussianAdam Tooze on whether Ukraine needs a Marshall PlanListen to The Future of Media, Explained – from the Press Gazette Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.