Le Monde diplomatique - English edition
Le Monde diplomatique
Subscribe
Each month, George Miller interviews LMD authors about their articles and the issues behind them
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Sep 25, 2023
Why so many coups in Africa?
The tally of coups in West Africa currently stands at six, after the recent military takeover in Niger (which was followed by another in Gabon in Central Africa). In this month's podcast, Anne-Cécile Robert, director of international editions at Le Monde diplomatique, talks about the conditions in which generals step in, offering simple solutions to complex problems. But, Robert says, it would be wrong to see this as a purely regional phenomenon, an ‘epidemic' affecting a ‘coup belt'. As she (...) - 2023/09 / Podcast
playlist_add
Jul 25, 2023
Alexander the Great comes to Naples
On this month's podcast, culture critic Maya Jaggi talks about an exhibition currently on at the National Museum of Archaeology Naples (MANN), which she reviews in the July issue of Le Monde diplomatique in a piece entitled ‘Alexander the Great, between Asia and Europe'. As Alexander the Great pushed ever further east in the late 4th century BCE, his aim was conquest. But the result was much more than that: it also brought cultural exchange, unexpected encounters and the sharing of learning. (...) - 2023/07 / Podcast, 2023/07 alexander
playlist_add
Jun 19, 2023
Moldova: a state stuck in the grey zone between east and west?
In this month's podcast, Ukraine-based journalist Glen Johnson discusses his article in the June edition of Le Monde diplomatique, ‘Moldova's stark choices about its future'. The key choice this landlocked former Soviet republic faces is over whether it should maintain its hitherto strict neutrality or seek protection under the NATO umbrella. Johnson describes Moldova's initial reaction to the war in Ukraine as ‘pitch perfect'. But since then, he says, its government has veered sharply towards (...) - 2023/06 / Podcast, 2023/06 Moldova
playlist_add
May 3, 2023
China's quest for AI supremacy
China has designated it a ‘national priority' to become ‘the world's premier artificial intelligence innovation centre' by 2030. OpenAI's release of ChatGPT suggests China may have some catching up to do. In this month's podcast, Gabrielle Chou of NYU Shanghai University discusses some of barriers to China achieving its goal, including a brain drain, corruption and a US embargo on high-end (...) - 2023/04 / Podcast, 2023/04 china
playlist_add
Mar 28, 2023
After Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf: what next for Scotland?
In the second of two podcasts this month, Glasgow-based journalist Jamie Maxwell discusses Scotland's change of leader after Nicola Sturgeon's surprise decision to stand down after eight years as Scotland's first minister. As Humza Yousaf takes on her role, Jamie discusses the Sturgeon legacy and the challenges ahead for her successor, both in terms of the independence movement and progressive politics in (...) - 2023/03 / 2023/03 Scotland, Podcast
playlist_add
Mar 23, 2023
Jacinda Ardern calls it a day
In the first of two podcasts this month on the resignations of two prominent female leaders, journalist Glen Johnson reflects on New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern's surprise departure. She won international admiration for her handling of Covid and the Christchurch massacre but, Johnson explains, elements in the business community, the political opposition and the national media cultivated a highly toxic environment that ultimately made her position (...) - 2023/02 / Podcast, 2023/02 Ardern
playlist_add
Jan 18, 2023
Why Chinese thought matters
From the outside, it's easy to think that all Chinese intellectuals fall neatly into the category of dissidents or propagandists. In fact, there's a host of public intellectuals that the West largely ignores who are actively engaged in debating their country's future. In this month's podcast, David Ownby of the University of Montreal explains how these thinkers see China's role in a multipolar world and why they (...) - 2023/01 / Podcast, 2023/01 china
playlist_add
Oct 19, 2022
UK: the collapse of Tory rule
A long list of scandals brought down Boris Johnson this summer. His successor Liz Truss's premiership looks likely to be even briefer; within weeks of entering No 10 in September, support for her had all but vanished, after her disastrous mishandling of the economy and repeated U-turns. In this month's podcast, journalist Jamie Maxwell discusses these recent upheavals and puts them in the wider context of British politics, including the question mark over the survival of the union (...) - 2022/10 / Podcast, 2022/10 UK
playlist_add
Sep 27, 2022
Tensions mount as US ends ‘strategic ambiguity' over Taiwan
On 2 August Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taipei, prompting anger from the Chinese government. Six weeks later, President Biden confirmed that US troops would defend Taiwan if China attacked. In this month's podcast, Michael Klare, professor emeritus of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, discusses some of the critical questions around this volatile situation. Why, after decades, has the US abandoned its policy of ‘strategic ambiguity' over Taiwan? And could the Biden (...) - 2022/08 / Podcast, 2022/08 Taiwan
playlist_add
Aug 18, 2022
The end of California's last nuclear plant?
Diablo Canyon, California's last-remaining nuclear power plant, provoked the US's biggest ever anti-nuclear demonstration in the early 1980s. The plant was built in an earthquake zone, where memories of the Three Mile Island accident were still fresh. The message was clear: environmentalists saw no role for nuclear energy. Our guest in this month's podcast, journalist Maxime Robin, visited California recently to see how the debate around nuclear power has moved on. As the state grapples with (...) - 2022/08 / Podcast, 2022/08 america nuclear
playlist_add