Back in January I spoke to Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, about what the Trump era would portend. Her views proved remarkably prescient and I thought it would be of further interest now. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump deal for Gaza, announced with great pomp and ceremony appeared to lead very quickly to a resumption of hostilities. Has Trump or even his administration got a plan for seeing this through, or was this just a quick deal to get the hostages out? I discussed this with regular guest, Middle East expert Michael Stephens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Emma Briant is a prolific and important researcher on disinformation and information warfare, some of the most things in our age. She has frequent been asked to give evidence to parliaments about the issue including recent evidence to the UK parliament here https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/138542/pdf/ and to the New Zealand parliament here She can be found online at https://bsky.app/profile/emmalbriant.bsky.social as well as in all the other relevant places. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two years on from the devastating events of October 7, 2023, Gaza lies in ruins and numerous hostages are still held by Hamas. The destruction and losses, both in human terms and to the idea of peace as a possibility has been devastating. Whilst there are glimmers of hope in the latest ceasefire negotiations, it still feels too early to try to answer huge questions about the future of Israel and Palestine. So, on this difficult anniversary I have chosen to showcase the work of Mya Guarnieri, an American-Israeli writer and academic who married a Palestinian and wrote an account of her life across the lines in a moving book. Thank you for listening to this episode of Behind the Lines. Please subscribe to avoid missing any episodes and please subscribe to my substack here: https://arthursnell.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As countries all over the world, but particularly liberal democracies in the West, turn themselves inside out over the issue of migration and in the process empowering the far right, it was my great pleasure to speak to one of the few people who actually is willing to give calm, clear facts on this subject. Zoe Gardner is rightly a prominent figure in media and public debates on migration, but is almost the only person willing to stand up and be counted with some humane, calm and utterly essential facts on the matter. It was such a privilege to get her on the podcast and I hope you get as much from the conversation as I did. You can find Zoe's work online in all the usual places including https://bsky.app/profile/zoejardiniere.bsky.social Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check out Olena's work at https://ukrainesarmsmonitor.substack.com/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I speak to Jan Pospisil of Coventry University about the war in Sudan, its roots and its current trajectory. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan Kaszeta is the author of two books on the Baltic States, as well as being world renowned expert on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. He talked to me about the Baltic States in the twentieth century and the risks to them today from a rampantly aggressive Russia. You can find Dan's books here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/dan-kaszeta/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Christina Pagel is responsible for the excellent website https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/? in addition to her work in public health and public policy. Here, she explains how she is tracking increasing authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies in the Trump administration. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joint Episode with Disorder and RUSI, Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Tim Willasey-Wilsey is author of The Spy and the Devil. We spoke about the remarkable subject of his book, Baron Bill de Ropp and the story of Britain's secret operations against Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

with Jade McGlynnCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Michael StephensCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

with Charlie GammellCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, happening as part of direct orders and thousands of times. You can find the original report here https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/07/04/nederlandse-inlichtingendiensten-russen-zetten-in-oekraine-op-grote-schaal-chemische-wapens-in-a4899319 Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 episode I discussed the creeping authoritarianism in the United States with Jonathan Terra, a US political scientist based in Central Europe. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Jason attempt to untangle the latest: from the Iranian attack on the US airbase in Qatar to Trump’s declaration of forever peace to end what he is cleverly calling the 12 Day War. Arthur and Jason rally in violent unity for Mega Ordering -- whether you advocated for Obama’s ‘Iran Deal’ or supported Trump’s tearing it to shreds, whether you love Benjamin Netanyahu or think he is an evil genius, whether you supported Trump’s Beautiful Bunker Busting against Fordow or see it as an illegal and reckless gamble, all sane centrists must now advocate for Western unity in ending the wars in Gaza and Iran. The power balance of the Middle East has been fundamentally reconfigured. It is uniquely favourable for peace. As Arthur and Jason try to Order the Disorder, they discuss if the Europeans can help get us there and why Bibi appears hellbent on spoiling his own achievements. Producer: George McDonagh Subscribe to our Substack - https://natoandtheged.substack.com/ Disorder on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow  Show Notes Links: Iran fires missiles at US base in Qatar, Trump calls for peace: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-weighs-retaliation-against-us-strikes-nuclear-sites-2025-06-23/ Watch How The Iran Israel War Could End - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fymBJbsBDfI  Arthur’s excellent substack Time to learn about Iran's separatist movements: https://substack.com/home/post/p-166505834   And our Substack, Were the Iranians forewarned? why are the markets so placid? What happens if Hormuz is closed? https://natoandtheged.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/166535764?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fhome   Alia Brahimi on the questionable legality of the strikes https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/23/iran-war-israel-us-trump-preventive/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 European security and the wider political ramifications. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 putting pressure on the Europeans to up their spending to 5% of GDP. But with the Americans wavering on the alliance as a whole, and these unrealistic spending targets: Can NATO survive? To find out, Arthur Snell speaks with Sten Rynning, professor and director of the Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, and author of ‘NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, a History of the World’s Most Powerful Alliance’.  The duo discuss the origins and evolution of NATO, the significance of Article 5, NATO’s complex relationship with France, and the challenges faced during the Afghanistan mission. Plus: the contentious issue of NATO's eastward expansion in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Alliance's role in maintaining Order in the Post-War era. And as they conclude the discussion, they explore the future of European security architecture, the importance of America's role in NATO, and – to Order the Disorder – the need for a cohesive European defense strategy. Producer: George McDonagh Subscribe to our Substack - https://natoandtheged.substack.com/ Disorder on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow  Show Notes Links: Get Sten Rynning’s book, NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, a History of the World’s Most Powerful Alliance - https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/nato-from-cold-war-to-ukraine-a-history-of-the-world-s-most-powerful-alliance-sten-rynning  Watch The Paradox of the Anti-Semitic Boulder attack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7zAO_5CtfE  Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices