Shows / Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell
Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell
Behind the Lines with Arthur Snell is a geopolitics podcast. Every week we give the listener access to the best informed people to help you understand this turbulent world and get a feel for the things that will matter in the future. I am on Bluesky here and you can read some of my thoughts on world affairs here https://arthursnell.substack.com/ If you enjoyed this podcast please spread the word and give us a positive review - it makes all the difference! I don't have a special subscriber tier…
Episodes
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellRussia's Use of Chemical Weapons and a Victory for Dutch Spies
I spoke to Dutch defence journalist and Russia expert Steven Derix about an important new revelation of Russia's use of chemical weapons in the war in Ukraine…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellEPISODE 100: Creeping authoritarianism in the United States
This is the 100th episode of Behind the Lines podcast. Thank you all for listening and for supporting this show. It's nothing without the listeners. In this…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellIsrael - Iran - ceasefire? Or more chaos
As Lenin apparently never said, ‘There Are Decades Where Nothing Happens and Weeks Where Decades Happen’. We are clearly living through the latter. Arthur and…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWar in the Middle East and its wider impacts
I spoke to Chris Coghlan, MP for Dorking and Horley and former diplomat and soldier about the unfolding crisis in the Middle East, the implications for…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellSten Rynning on the Past and the Future of NATO
At different engagements throughout the month, NATO allies will meet in Brussels and the Hague to discuss Ukraine and defense spending – with Trump’s team…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellMike Martin MP on the Strategic Defence Review
I spoke to Dr Mike Martin, MP for Tunbridge Wells and former soldier about the Strategic Defence Review. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellIran and the US: is a new nuclear deal in sight?
I spoke to Iran expert Charlie Gammell in the light of the recent developments in the Iran nuclear negotiations. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellStarvation in Gaza, is the world finally responding?
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza descends to unimaginable levels, and the war of words between Benjamin Netanyahu and the West escalates, I spoke to…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellMurder in Helmand
On this episode I discuss recent allegations of war crimes committed by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan. These featured in a recent BBC Panorama episode which…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellYemen, the UK, the US and the transatlantic alliance
On this episode I speak to Iona Craig, the veteran Yemen expert and journalist about recent events, including the UK's decision to join the US in carrying out…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellUkraine and America: the great betrayal
I spoke to Romeo Kokriatski, presenter of the Ukraine without the Hype podcast about recent events in his country, including the Trump betrayal. We mentioned…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Geopolitics of Climate: how Tuvalu is thinking about possible extinction
What does the climate crisis mean for sovereignty in a world where certain countries face existential risk? I spoke to Taukiei Kitara, a native of Tuvalu…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellRUSI/Disorder Partnership: Ransomware in our Age of Disorder
Read RUSI piece The Rise of Ransomware as a National Security Threat: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/organised-cybercrime-rise-ra…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Crisis in The Atlantic Alliance ep 2
The impact on Central and Eastern Europe, with Jonathan Terra Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Crisis in the Atlantic Alliance
The Transatlantic Alliance is coming to an end. I discuss this with academic and journalist Jonathan Terra. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellBlood, toil, tears, and sweat: the plight of migrant labourers in the Gulf
Every year, tens of thousands of labourers in the wealth countries of the Gulf, most of them migrants from South Asia, die in unsafe working conditions on…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellMyanmar: the Unfolding Civil War
For the past 4 years, Myanmar has experienced an ever more serious civil war, which now threatens the ruling military junta in Naypyitaw. I spoke to Ronan Lee…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWhat does the collapsing global order mean for the world beyond the West?
Samir Puri of Chatham House is the author of Westlessness, a book about the post-Western world. The book came out last year but the geopolitical setting that…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellHow the extremism of our age is being fed by disinformation
The role of disinformation in our current world, whether feeding the false allegations put out by Trump, the lies spread online by Elon Musk, or the…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe latest from Kyiv: what does John Sweeney make of what's being going on?
I spoke to the man in the lucky orange hat, everyone's favourite war correspondent John Sweeney about the latest developments from Kyiv in this week of…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellTHIS ONE'S A REAL EMERGENCY EPISODE: THE END OF THE WESTERN ALLIANCE
The actual end of the Western Alliance, the departure of the United States from European Security and the need for a new Euro-Atlantic Treaty Organisation…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellUKRAINE, John Sweeney and a betrayal foretold
In November 2023, I spoke to John Sweeney, veteran war correspondent, about the pressures on Ukraine as the world's attention turned towards the Middle East in…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellNomad Century - is climate change going to transform global migration?
Gaia Vince is a writer, journalist and fascinating thinker on issues relating to the crossover between humanity and the planet we inhabit. Her book Nomad…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellCould we change the weather?
The idea that people can change weather has a long history - both as part of mythology and as part of modern day conspiracy theory. But the science of…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Gulf countries and a post-oil future?
How would the Gulf countries transition to a post oil economy? Could they do so and what happens if they don't? I spoke to Dr David Roberts, author of Security…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellDisinformation in the Trump 2.0 era with Nina Jankowicz
This is a co-host with the Disorder Podcast. You can find their details here: https://tr.ee/ksicr-3Wty Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellJustice in Syria: on the trail of Assad's henchmen
Since 2011, war crimes investigator Bill Wiley has been on the trail of the criminal elements of the Assad regime who have carried out extraordinary amounts of…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellFrance in the Age of Populism
How does a society like France grapple with the challenge of populist politics? I spoke to Thom Reilly, former British Ambassador to Morocco who was a…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellBONUS EPISODE - CRISIS IN GEORGIA
Marika Mariashvili returns for a special bonus episode as Georgia faces a constitutional crisis - the existing president refusing to cede power after a stolen…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellCharles Gammell on Iran post-Assad
What does the fall of Assad mean for the mad Mullahs running Iran? I spoke to Charles Gammell. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellChristmassy Episode: Miguel Delaney on the geopolitics of football
Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer at the Independent is the author of states of play, a book about the geopolitics of football. You can find him on Bluesky…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellInside HTS: what does Al-Jolani want and how will they rule?
There are literally a tiny number of people in this world who can speak with authority and insight on Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham - or HTS - the militant group that…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe history of Syria, from the Pharaohs to the Pharaonic
I spoke to the brilliant historian James Barr about the history of Syria from the Pharaohs to the present day. You can find James on Bluesky…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellGeorgia: fighting to be European
With bewildering events unfolding all over the place, I wanted to give some coverage to the Republic of Georgia, where the pro-Western political movement is…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellEMERGENCY EPISODE: The Fall of Aleppo
The extraordinary turn of events in Syria in recent days saw the city of Aleppo, once Syria's largest and a key part of the earlier story of Syria's…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellOut of the shadows: MI6 Russia expert Christopher Steele on Trump and the new world order
Christopher Steele needs almost no introduction. But if you are interested in learning more about him you can buy his new book, Unredacted, here…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWhat's going on in Iran
Charlie Gammell is a historian and Iran expert. His latest article on Iran can be found here…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe age of bilateralism
Dr Jonathan Terra is an American academic and analyst who has been based in Prague for 30+ years. We spoke about the impact of a Trump presidency on Eastern…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe New World Order
I spoke to Mike Martin, military expert, writer, former soldier and now Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells about the new world…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellConspiracies and campaigns - Jason Pack on the 2024 election
In this episode I spoke to Jason Pack of the excellent Disorder podcast (https://x.com/DisorderShow) about conspiracy theories and how they are affecting the…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellRussia's dirty money: the Nordic connection
I spoke to the Swedish journalist Axel Gordh Humlesjö about his work investigating Russian dirty money in Sweden, especially in relation to Swedbank, Sweden's…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellDigital war - from Ukraine, to the Sahel
In the chaotic world we inhabit, the smartphone has become a key element of warfare, even in societies where we might imagine that connectivity is limited by…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellSPECIAL UKRAINE EPISODE #VPDFO 1
A special episode in support of the Vladimir Putin Do F*ck Off - #VPDFO - festival. This event, held in Kyiv earlier in October brought together soldiers…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Red Emperor
Veteran China correspondent Michael Sheridan has published a biography of Xi Jinping, China's leader, entitled The Red Emperor, published by Headline. You can…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellIran - where are they headed?
Charlie Gammell is an Iran expert, former British diplomat and historian. I spoke to him about the latest developments with Iran and the war now sweeping…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Bangladesh Spring with David Bergman
In July this year, the well entrenched autocratic regime that ruled Bangladesh, a country of nearly 200 million people, was toppled entirely unexpectedly by a…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWhat's the point of the UN?
With the UN General Assembly taking place in New York I spoke to the International Crisis Group's UN Director Richard Gowan about the the organisation, its…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellEMERGENCY EPISODE: EXPLOSIVE CRISIS IN LEBANON
I spoke to Charlie Gammell, author, former diplomat and Iran expert on the unfolding crisis in Lebanon after the explosions of Hizbullah communications…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellRogue Agent - the life of ROBERT BRUCE LOCKHART
I spoke to Professor James Crossland about the extraordinary life of diplomat, secret agent and journalist Robert Bruce Lockhart. You can find James's book on…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellMBS - Saudi Arabia's ruthless ruler
Veteran foreign correspondent Jonathan Rugman is the author of The Killing in the Consulate about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. More recently…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWestlessness with Samir Puri
Have we entered a post-Western world? What does that mean and how does it look from the other side of the world? Singapore based academic and former British…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Battle for Soul of Islam
James Dorsey is a writer and journalist and author of the new book The Battle for the Soul of Islam - Defining the Muslim Faith in the 21st Century, published…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Caucasus: Europe's troubled border
In September last year, an established community in a European country of hundreds of thousands of people was removed in its entirety after a devastating…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellBack to Ukraine - Away from summitry, what is happening on the ground?
Away from NATO's glitzy summit 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC, the war in Ukraine drags on. Ian Bond, a former British ambassador and now Deputy…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe British Elections - an Outsider's perspective with Annette Dittert
In this episode I speak to Annette Dittert, London correspondent of German TV channel ARD since 2008. She has lived here since 2008, but she remains someone…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellWhat have they go to show for fourteen years of power? With Nick Cohen
I spoke to Nick Cohen, veteran political journalist and author of the Writing from London substack https://nickcohen.substack.com/ about the record of the past…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellEMERGENCY EPISODE: Jason Pack on Biden's debate disaster
I spoke to Jason Pack about the fallout from President Joseph Biden's poor debate performance on 27 June. Jason has written about this in his substack and also…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellFrance's election with Peter Ricketts
President Macron did something truly unexpected when he called a snap election in the aftermath of the European parliamentary elections. It now looks very…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe Meg-election: Modi gets a shock from India's voters
I was delighted to speak to Akanksha Narain, Indian political analyst and consultant about the unexpected election results in India where Modi's BJP party fell…
Behind The Lines with Arthur SnellThe 'Other' Election: Europe Goes to the Polls
I spoke to Christina Keßler of the Centre for European Reform (CER) about the current EU elections and the possibility of Europe taking a turn to the right…