"Do not expect too much from Germany". With Minna Ålander
In the bunker with Darth Putin
The Prez went 1-1 with Minna Ålander who came back to the bunker to discuss the consequences of the new German Chanceller, Ukraine and the great orange elephant in the room. Minna works at Chatham House and CEPA and focuses on NATO, Northern European security and arctic security and also German-Finnish relations and security. SUPPORT THE CHANNEL - BUY MASTER STRATEGIST MERCH and DARHT's BOOKS EU shop: US/Canada/worldwide: Buy me a coffee Katie twitter: Darth twitter: Darth Bluesky: Katie Bluesky:
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"Europe Has Not Woken Up to Russia": Gabrielius Landsbergis - former Lithuanian Foreign Minister
In the bunker with Darth Putin
We welcomed former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis down to the bunker. He's already been offered tea by the Kremlin and has watch Lavrov slam vodka at a meeting of diplomats. He believes that Europe has not properly woken up to Russia and has not yet made the decisions that are obvious. Gabrielius' stuff: Bluesky: Twitter: SUPPORT THE CHANNEL - BUY MASTER STRATEGIST MERCH and DARHT's BOOKS EU shop: US/Canada/worldwide: Buy me a coffee Katie twitter: Darth twitter: Darth Bluesky: Katie Bluesky:
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Former CIA Analyst Holly Berkley Fletcher: White Evangelism, Ukraine & Trump
In the bunker with Darth Putin
We were joined in the Bunker by former CIA analyst Holly Berkley Fletcher, who spent 19 years working in the CIA’s Africa division. She’s also the author of a book about her experiences growing up as the child of evangelical missionaries in Kenya. We discuss why so many religious people support a man who has broken nearly all of the Ten Commandments—and more. Holly Substack: Holly Bluesky: Check out for the video version of this conversation and catch up on more talks from the bunker! SUPPORT THE CHANNEL - BUY MASTER STRATEGIST MERCH and DARHT's BOOKS EU shop: ...
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Jade McGlynn on Russia’s Ideology and Ukraine’s Reality
In the bunker with Darth Putin
In this special bunker edition, Dr. Jade Selena McGlynn returns to the pod! A British researcher, lecturer, linguist, historian, and author specializing in modern Eastern Europe—particularly Russia—Dr. McGlynn is joining us once again, this time from inside Ukraine. With air raid alarms and power outages as the backdrop, she generously takes a break from her on-the-ground work to dive into Russia’s ideology and, of course, Ukraine. Check out for the video version of this conversation and catch up on more talks from the bunker! SUPPORT THE CHANNEL - BUY MASTER STRATEGIST...
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Rick Wilson: Trump is serious about Greenland
In the bunker with Darth Putin
Rick Wilson is in the bunker for a second visit. We talk Trump, MAGA, what it might mean for Ukraine, and what Trump really wants. Rick's twitter The Lincoln Project Support the channel here: EU Book store: All other products & countries:
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Navigating NATO Security Without the U.S.: A Semi-Optimistic Perspective with Anders Puck Nielsen
In the bunker with Darth Putin
This time, we’ve lured military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen, from the Royal Danish Defense College, into the bunker. Anders is also the host of the hugely popular YouTube channel We started off feeling a bit gloomy, discussing the future of European security and Ukraine, but managed to cheer each other up along the way. Oh, and Darth is not happy—he claims two of us are stealing his podcast! Anders turns the tables and asks Katie a few questions about Belarus and its role in regional security. Don't miss it! Like, share, and subscribe to our (or else!) — we’ve got plenty more guest...
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Melissa Chan: Could Xi really stop Putin's war?
In the bunker with Darth Putin
Melissa Chan is an Emmy-nominated journalist based between Los Angeles and Berlin. She has reported everywhere from Cuba to Canada, Mongolia to Moscow, North and South Korea. These days she focuses on transnational issues, often involving China’s influence beyond its borders, as well as the rise of global authoritarianism and ebb of democracies. She is currently writing a graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, in collaboration with Chinese Australian artist Badiucao. Sold at auction to Street Noise Books (US), the work of speculative fiction is set for publication in early...
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David Gioe, Huw Dylan & Elena Grossfeld: How Russian Intel Serves—and Fails—the Tsar
In the bunker with Darth Putin
In our largest-ever gathering in "the bunker," scholars David Gioe, Huw Dylan, and Elena Grossfeld discuss their latest article, "The Autocrat’s Indispensable Service: How Russian Intelligence Secured Vladimir Putin’s Regime After Failing Him in Ukraine." With the Prez presiding over the conversation from the end of the long table, we dive into a pressing research puzzle: Why does Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence operative himself, struggle to use intelligence data effectively in decision-making? Professor David Gioe is Visiting Professor of Intelligence and International Security in...
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Philip Ingram: Ukraine’s Military Outperforms U.S. and China
In the bunker with Darth Putin
Today's guest in the bunker refers to himself as an “Ex spymaster, specializing in taking over countries." Philip Ingram MBE BSc MA GCLI is a widely published journalist, specializing in the security and intelligence arenas, who has built on a long and senior career in British Military Intelligence, with years of experience in all aspects of intelligence and security as well as strategic planning. He maintains a close interest in global events. Philip now runs his own media company, Grey Hare Media, that specializes in delivering informed content. Between the Army and this, he was a sales...
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Keir Giles: Europe should get back from a defense holiday
In the bunker with Darth Putin
Keir Giles is a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme. Previously, he worked with the BBC Monitoring Service and the UK Defence Academy, where he wrote and advised on Russian military, defence and security issues including human factors influencing Russian security policy, Russian strategy and doctrine, the Russian view of cyber and information security, and Russia’s relations with its neighbours in Northern Europe. ------- LINKS What Deters Russia (Chatham House) Russian Nuclear Intimidation (Chatham House) Who Will Defend Europe? Moscow Rules: What...
info_outlineIn this Episode Darth and I talk about the election results and how it was a real cliffhanger. We talk a little about what this might mean in future and what the prospects are for Russia becoming a democracy (spoiler, not much). We recap some of the events this week aside from the voting theatre and then introduce the Patreon we're gonna be loading these future epsides to.