PODCAST · news
The Global Agora
by Andrej Matisak
This is the podcast about foreign policy, international relations, politics, security, defense... My name is Andrej Matišák. I'm a journalist and deputy head of the foreign desk in the Slovak daily Pravda. So far, this is mostly a small side project. Maybe it will grow. I'll see. Anyway, I hope that you will like it and you will support it by listening, sharing and subscribing. Of course, there are gazillions of projects like this, but I think that this is the only one from Slovakia. :-) If you enjoy what I do, please buy me coffee. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak
Episodes
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Does Putin believe in existential warfare against the West?
Andrei Soldatov is a leading investigative journalist, co-founder of Agentura.ru, a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), and a foremost expert on Russian security services. In this episode of The Global Agora, we discuss recent warnings about targeted assassinations of...
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Brexit: Is the UK ready to rejoin the EU?
It has now been more than ten years since citizens of the United Kingdom made the decision in a referendum to leave the European Union, Yet, the latest public opinion polls show that as many as 59% of Britons would support rejoining the EU. Does this mean, however, that the UK is ready to return?...
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Is the firewall a viable strategy? What to do about the AfD and the Left?
Is the firewall a viable political strategy, and how could centrist parties deal with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the radical Left? Alexander Clarkson, Lecturer in European Politics and History at King's College London, has an idea. What is it? Do the AfD and the Left…
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Students vs. Vučić and his maneuvers: What to expect from the elections in Serbia
More than two decades ago, I started my journalistic career covering the aftermath of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. My very first on-camera interview was about the Dayton Agreement. I have to say that I don't cover the Western Balkans as extensively as in the past, but it is always…
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What to do about undersea wars, Russian sabotage attacks, and why Sweden will never surrender
Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, and a columnist for Foreign Policy and Politico Europe. We met at the Europe Future Forum in Warsaw and discussed her new book, The Undersea War: The Battle to Control the Cables and Pipelines That...
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The legacy of 9/11: How Peter Bergen met Osama bin Laden and what he would ask him now
The 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks are one of the reasons why I am a foreign policy journalist. One of my motivations has been to understand the world better. In this episode of The Global Agora, I discussed what happened before 9/11, on the day of the attacks 25 years ago, and also what the legacy of…
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Would Lukashenko allow Putin to attack NATO from Belarus?
Imagine a situation where Vladimir Putin wanted to attack NATO from Belarus. Would Alexander Lukashenko be willing to cooperate? "I don't think that he has a lot of choices here," said Hanna Liubakova to me. She is a Belarusian journalist, political analyst, and nonresident senior fellow at the...
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Elon Musk, Peter Thiel & Co.: Can techno-oligarchy cause the end of humanity?
What is the techno-oligarchy? What roles and agendas do billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and others have? How much do the interests of the techno-oligarchy intersect with those of geopolitical actors such as Russia and China? And where does President Donald Trump fit into all of this? I...
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One year on: Ukraine refused to give in after the Trump-Putin summit, but there are also concerns and doom
On August 15th last year, US President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Do we live in a different world, or does Kyiv still feel the heat from the Anchorage summit? In this episode of The Global Agora, I discuss all Ukraine-related topics –...
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Is the US becoming a country of measles and diarrhea under President Trump?
The midterm elections are less than three months away, and part of the American political discourse is about alleged communists taking over the country. But in fact, it seems that diseases are taking over the United States. Is the US becoming a country of measles and diarrhea under President…
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It's unlikely to happen, but who could get rid of Putin?
Is Vladimir Putin's grip on power weakened amid Ukrainian strikes? Can we expect a big mobilization in Russia? Will the upcoming Duma elections be totally faked? And while it's unlikely to happen, who could get rid of Putin? In this episode of The Global Agora, I speak with Anton Barbashin, an...
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We shouldn't call people monsters, says genocide scholar when talking about Srebrenica, Ukraine, Gaza...
Hariz Halilovich was born in Srebrenica. He is an award-winning social anthropologist, author, and a Professor of Global Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne. His research has focused on place-based identities, politically motivated violence including genocide, forced migration, memory…
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Expert on organized crime: You want to fight Russia?! Make Ukraine less corrupt and better governed
Donald Bowser helped set up the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and works as an international security and law enforcement advisor. “You want to fight Russia? Then what you need to do is fight corruption in Ukraine. Russia's greatest fear is to have a well-governed country next…
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Ankara summit: What went right and what went wrong for NATO
The NATO summit was held on July 7-8 in Ankara. The declaration from the meeting in Türkiye has six paragraphs, and in this episode of The Global Agora, I dissect them with Roger Hilton. He is a Canadian global affairs and defence analyst from GLOBSEC living in Central Europe. So, what went right...
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America at 250: What would the world look like without the US?
The United States has celebrated its 250th anniversary. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Declaration of Independence. Are American ideals just a political myth? Can the US truly be called an imperialist country? What would the world look like without…
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How do Oana Lungescu and Ben Hodges preview the NATO summit in Ankara?
This is a special episode of The Global Agora. I was lucky enough to speak with Oana Lungescu, the longest-serving NATO Spokesperson and a Distinguished Fellow at RUSI, and Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of United States Army Europe. The interviews were recorded separately, but I decided…
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If 2025 had continued, Ukraine would have lost and Europe would have been at risk of a Russian attack
If 2025 had continued, Ukraine would have lost and Europe would have been at risk of a Russian attack. That is the view of military analyst Gustav Gressel. „We were actually in a very shitty phase,“ he claims. In this episode of The Global Agora, we discuss the situation on the battlefield,...
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Is Starmer finished, is Britain ungovernable and could Farage become prime minister?
There are still a lot of ifs, but if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election on June 18, he is highly likely to succeed the current Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Yet ten years after Brexit, is Britain even governable? Could the anti-migrant violence and riots – stirred up by figures...
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Trump turns 80: What does he want for his birthday and is he too old for the White House?
US President Donald Trump will turn 80 on June 14. If he completes his second term, he will leave the White House in January 2029 at the age of 82, making him the oldest American president in history. Is Trump too old for the office? What does he want for his birthday? And to what extent is he...
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Does Xi Jinping prefer Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump? And is his power unlimited?
Professor of Political Science at the University of Canterbury Anne-Marie Brady is a specialist on the Chinese Communist Party. We met in Prague at the GLOBSEC Forum 2026 and in this episode of The Global Agora we discuss the life and political endeavors of Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping.…
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Cas Mudde on sanewashing of Trump, far-right threat and normalization of Meloni
After many years of correspondence and phone calls, I finally met Cas Mudde in person last year at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague. Our meeting resulted in the 235th episode of The Global Agora podcast. This year, we crossed paths again. The result? Another round of conversation. This time about the...
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Zelenskyy has allowed Putin's military parade. Will they meet at the negotiation table?
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree allowing Russia’s Victory Day military parade to proceed, it was clear that there would be a strong reaction from the Kremlin. “We knew there would be a response in terms of metal, as we always call it. A lot of metal flying through our...
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Who are the low-level agents and how is Russia using them against Europe?
Bart Schuurman is a Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence at Leiden University. In this episode of The Global Agora, we discuss his latest research article, Russia’s low-level agents: characteristics, roles and organisational structure of covert operatives in Europe, 2022–2025. So, who…
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Regime change in Hungary: What’s next for Péter Magyar and Viktor Orbán?
A new Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar will take office on May 9. What will be its primary focus during the first 100 days? Unfreezing EU funds and “de-Orbanization”? And what lies ahead for Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz after the crushing defeat delivered by Magyar’s Tisza...
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Why has Beijing turned to coercion instead of trying to win Taiwanese hearts and minds?
Many Europeans worry that U.S. President Donald Trump may be unwilling to help them in the event of Russian aggression. Does Taiwan have similar concerns regarding Trump’s commitment in the face of China? And why does it seem that Beijing has ultimately turned to coercion instead of trying to win...
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Will Trump, Putin, and Xi lead the world into more conflicts?
Seva Gunitsky is an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. In this episode of The Global Agora, I speak with him about his two articles – The Personalist Global Order and The Incel Global Order. We discuss how closely the personalist world order is connected to the...
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Small countries, big choices?: What Cyprus and Slovakia can learn from a changing world order
As the Middle East's tensions escalated, Cyprus found itself unexpectedly in the line of fire. In this episode of The Global Agora, I speak with Professor James Ker-Lindsay, an expert on Cyprus and European security, about the drone attack on British bases, the island's shifting foreign policy…
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Hungary's elections: Would Viktor Orbán accept defeat if he loses? And what about Péter Magyar?
Orsolya Ráczová is an analyst on Eurasia Group’s Europe team, covering Central and Eastern Europe. She is definitely the right person to speak with about the upcoming elections in Hungary, which will be held on April 12. Will Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party, Fidesz, lose power after 16...
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Ukraine and Iran: Is this a global conflict?
Robert Hamilton is the President of the Delphi Global Research Center. He served for 30 years in the US Army, retiring as a Colonel, and during his career, he was deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Belarus, Georgia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He is the author of the book...
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What does the Iran war mean for Ukraine? And what are the Russians doing in Hungary?
What does the Iran war mean for Ukraine? And what are the Russians doing in Hungary? Julia Kazdobina is the head of the Ukrainian Foundation for Security Studies, so we talked about the ripple effects of the US-Israeli war against Iran on Ukraine's ability to defend itself, about the unique drone...
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What can the Iran–Iraq War tell us about the current conflict?
Who is running Iran? And what can the Iran–Iraq War tell us about the current conflict? These were just two of the questions I asked Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh, a full professor and chair of the History Department at Northeastern Illinois University. We discussed his journey from Iran to the United...
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Could the Iran war go nuclear?
Michal Onderčo is a Full Professor of International Relations in the Department of Public Administration and Sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and his most recent book is titled Europe's Nuclear Umbrella. The current global instability, ongoing wars, and the collapse of key arms control...
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Could Iran become Donald Trump’s Iraq or Afghanistan?
Is Operation Epic Fury a punitive campaign – or a regime change war? Why is it even called Epic Fury? Could Iran become Donald Trump’s Iraq or Afghanistan? And what advice would national security expert Jonathan Schroden give the President to avoid such a scenario? My guest is the Chief Research...
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Would President Trump fight for Gdansk?
In this episode of The Global Agora, I speak with Monika Sus, a professor at the Institute of Political Studies at Polish Academy of Sciences and expert on European security and EU foreign policy. Together, we explore whether Europe is already at war with Russia, and why the distinction between...
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Ukraine wants to destroy 50,000 Russians per month. Could it work?
In this episode of The Global Agora, I speak once again with retired Australian Major General Mick Ryan. We have been having these conversations for over three years now. This time, we discuss Ukraine’s evolving strategy of cumulative attrition – targeting not only Russian troops, and Ukraine…
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Is it time to bury the post–Cold War world order?
When I spoke with Minna Ålander in March last year, I asked her how far she thought American President Donald Trump could go in his hostility toward the European Union, on a scale from zero to ten, where ten represented the worst-case scenario. She said it would be around 8.5. Less than a year...
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With Pakistani heritage and experience in Ukraine: Meet the new UK Ambassador to Slovakia
The new UK Ambassador to Slovakia, Bilal Zahid, has Pakistani roots, has lived in Northern Ireland, and studied in Scotland. He explains why he chose a diplomatic career and why he focuses on the Central and Eastern European region. Most recently, he served as Minister-Counsellor at the UK…
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Latin America, Greenland, Canada... What does Trump want to do with the Western Hemisphere?
Does US President Donald Trump have an endgame in Venezuela? Which Latin American leader should be most concerned about the Donroe Doctrine, and what could it mean in concrete terms for US foreign and security policy? And should Greenland and Canada really be worried as well? “I think Trump is...
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Trump's obsession with Greenland is very dangerous. But he is also a limping duck, says Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols considers Donald Trump's obsession with Greenland very dangerous. "I think that's his most dangerous fixation because if this turns violent or confrontational, it could blow up NATO. I think Putin and others will say it's time to start taking advantage," Tom told me when we spoke…
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Could Europeans kidnap Trump if he attacked Greenland?
What was the most complicated aspect of preparing for the American intervention in Venezuela? What does the selection process for such a special operation look like? Will American President Donald Trump repeat it elsewhere – for example, in Greenland? And if so, should Europeans start practicing...
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What do Venezuela and January 6 attack tell us about Donald Trump?
What do the Venezuela operation and the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which happened five years ago, tell us about President Donald Trump? "The anniversary of January 6th and the insurrection and uprising that occurred that goes on when Congress comes back into session with the background of...
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What is Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán willing to do to stay in power?
Elections in Hungary are not expected until April, but who is leading in the polls? Péter Magyar’s Tisza party or Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz? To better understand the situation, I spoke with Daniel Hegedüs, Regional Director for Central Europe at the German Marshall Fund. He writes and...
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What are the Global Risks to the EU in 2026?
Global Risks to the EU is a large-scale survey designed to quantify expert perceptions of conflict-related threats to European Union security. To explore what to watch for and what threatens the EU, I spoke with Erik Jones, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the…
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Was NATO dangerously close to war with Russia? My conversation with Jens Stoltenberg
This episode of my podcast, The Global Agora, features an exclusive interview with former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. After leaving Brussels in October last year, he became Norway's Finance Minister, and he also wrote a book, On My Watch, reflecting on his 10 years at NATO. It was…
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Russia is not the enemy. The EU should be destroyed. Is this Trump’s strategy?
"Although the National Security Strategy says very little about Russia, what it does say is really, really significant because it does not treat Russia as an adversary. But we’re talking about an attempt to break the European Union, to absolutely shatter this institution.” This is what Scott…
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What would anti-corruption fighter Olena Tregub say to President Zelenskyy?
"Fighting corruption has strategic importance for Ukraine’s national security. I believe this because when it comes to corruption in areas critical to national defense and security, we very often see that this corruption is not random, that people are not just there to steal some money. They do…
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Why did the US peace plan for Ukraine look like a Russian influence operation?
Alex Finley, a former officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and author of the Victor Caro intelligence novels, unpacks a story that sounds like one of her satirical books – but may be anything but fictional. She reacts to allegations that a recent US peace plan for Ukraine was, at least…
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Toward far-right policies? What to expect from the European Parliament
Does the European Parliament have a new majority? Is the EPP normalizing the far-right? And why does EPP chair Manfred Weber vote with the Patriots when he and the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are essentially portrayed as political anti-Christs in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary?…
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Is Russia the most malign actor in the global information sphere?
How has the nature of threats changed over the past decades? With a 36-year career in Canada’s foreign service and security community, Jennifer Irish can tell. We met at the Stratcom Under Pressure conference in Bratislava, organized by the Hoaxy a podvody (Hoaxes and Scams) project. Ms. Irish is...
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If Trump starts testing nuclear weapons, who will be the biggest winner?
US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that, because of other countries' testing programs, he has instructed the Department of War to begin testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis – a process he says will start immediately. What does this mean? How risky is it? Will Trump...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is the podcast about foreign policy, international relations, politics, security, defense... My name is Andrej Matišák. I'm a journalist and deputy head of the foreign desk in the Slovak daily Pravda. So far, this is mostly a small side project. Maybe it will grow. I'll see. Anyway, I hope that you will like it and you will support it by listening, sharing and subscribing. Of course, there are gazillions of projects like this, but I think that this is the only one from Slovakia. :-) If you enjoy what I do, please buy me coffee. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak
HOSTED BY
Andrej Matisak
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Global Agora have?
The Global Agora currently has 302 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Global Agora about?
This is the podcast about foreign policy, international relations, politics, security, defense... My name is Andrej Matišák. I'm a journalist and deputy head of the foreign desk in the Slovak daily Pravda. So far, this is mostly a small side project. Maybe it will grow. I'll see. Anyway, I hope...
How often does The Global Agora release new episodes?
The Global Agora publishes regularly with 302 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Global Agora?
You can listen to The Global Agora on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Global Agora?
The Global Agora is created and hosted by Andrej Matisak.
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