EPISODE · May 22, 2026 · 53 MIN
Inside Europe's debate about nukes
from Mildly Alarmed · host Mildly Alarmed
Welcome to the fourth episode of Mildly Alarmed, a new weekly podcast about European and global security hosted by Anastasiia Lapatina, Fabian Hoffman, Minna Ålander, and Karen-Anna Eggen. This episode is about nuclear detterence—how it works, how it doesn’t work, and what the future of nuclear detterence in Europe looks like. We explain nuclear strategies of the United States and Russia, look at the French and British nuclear forces, and discuss why some European states, like the Baltics, are skeptical of a potential French nuclear detterent for Europe. If you want to support our show, go to our Buy Me A Coffee page at http://buymeacoffee.com/mildlyalarmed Email us at [email protected] with any guest feedback, suggestions, and questions. Mentioned in the show:“Macron Offers a Promising Vision for Nuclear Deterrence in Europe” from French Institute of International Relations: https://shorturl.at/kjyT2 Nordic nuclear debate“Nordic Nukes: Seeking Strategic Agency in Uncertain Times” from the Center for Strategic and International Studies: https://shorturl.at/08zIJ “The Fall Crisis of 2022: why did Russia not use nuclear arms?” by Ulrich Kühn: https://shorturl.at/8zhNn “UK struggles to reassure Ukraine after easing new sanctions on Russian oil” from The Guardian: https://shorturl.at/BcxKS “Even by Trumpian standards, a $1.8bn fund for friends is bad” from The Economist: https://shorturl.at/kCYvd Credits: Anastasiia Lapatina is Ukraine Fellow at Lawfare. She writes a weekly newsletter about Ukraine called Yours Ukrainian. She is based in Kyiv. Karen-Anna Eggen is a Senior Researcher and the Head of the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. She is based in Oslo.Fabian Hoffman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. He is the author of the Missile Matters newsletter about defence, missile technology, and nuclear strategy. He is based in Oslo.Minna Ålander is an Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. She’s also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a Non-Resident Fellow at CEPA. Minna also writes a newsletter about European security called Northern Flank Notes. She is based in Stockholm.The podcast is engineered by Anthony Bartaway, who is also the co-host of a podcast called Ukraine Without Hype: / @ukrainewithouthype
What this episode covers
Welcome to the fourth episode of Mildly Alarmed, a new weekly podcast about European and global security hosted by Anastasiia Lapatina, Fabian Hoffman, Minna Ålander, and Karen-Anna Eggen. This episode is about nuclear detterence—how it works, how it doesn’t work, and what the future of nuclear detterence in Europe looks like. We explain nuclear strategies of the United States and Russia, look at the French and British nuclear forces, and discuss why some European states, like the Baltics, are skeptical of a potential French nuclear detterent for Europe. If you want to support our show, go to our Buy Me A Coffee page at http://buymeacoffee.com/mildlyalarmed Email us at [email protected] with any guest feedback, suggestions, and questions. Mentioned in the show:“Macron Offers a Promising Vision for Nuclear Deterrence in Europe” from French Institute of International Relations: https://shorturl.at/kjyT2 Nordic nuclear debate“Nordic Nukes: Seeking Strategic Agency in Uncertain Times” from the Center for Strategic and International Studies: https://shorturl.at/08zIJ “The Fall Crisis of 2022: why did Russia not use nuclear arms?” by Ulrich Kühn: https://shorturl.at/8zhNn “UK struggles to reassure Ukraine after easing new sanctions on Russian oil” from The Guardian: https://shorturl.at/BcxKS “Even by Trumpian standards, a $1.8bn fund for friends is bad” from The Economist: https://shorturl.at/kCYvd Credits: Anastasiia Lapatina is Ukraine Fellow at Lawfare. She writes a weekly newsletter about Ukraine called Yours Ukrainian. She is based in Kyiv. Karen-Anna Eggen is a Senior Researcher and the Head of the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. She is based in Oslo.Fabian Hoffman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. He is the author of the Missile Matters newsletter about defence, missile technology, and nuclear strategy. He is based in Oslo.Minna Ålander is an Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. She’s also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a Non-Resident Fellow at CEPA. Minna also writes a newsletter about European security called Northern Flank Notes. She is based in Stockholm.The podcast is engineered by Anthony Bartaway, who is also the co-host of a podcast called Ukraine Without Hype: / @ukrainewithouthype
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Inside Europe's debate about nukes
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