This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Though Saddam Hussein tried to develop them and North Korea is accused of stockpiling them, biological weapons have been considered taboo for decades. Theoretically they’re banned. But intelligence agencies and military leaders are increasingly warning of wider clandestine programmes to develop deadly mass toxins, and A.I. is lowering the barriers to entry dramatically. As governments scramble to keep up and frontier tech runs out of control, are we about to enter a new age of bioweapons and bioterrorism? 

Gavin Esler talks to Dr Cassidy Nelson, director of biosecurity policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, about this rising threat and what we can do about it. 

Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact [email protected] to find out more.

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acts of sabotage and arson spreading across Europe are persistently connected to Russia. Gavin Esler is joined by Shaun Walker, the Guardian's central and eastern Europe correspondent, to discuss the Kremlin’s shadow warfare network and the chaos state-sponsored terror is causing across the continent. 

• Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact [email protected] to find out more.  

• Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.  

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.  
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The final episode of a four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… This time: International leaders cling to the idea that Trump’s violent overthrow of the world order and embrace of raw power will prove temporary. But what if it isn’t? What if we’ve entered a new age where might makes right? And after Iran and Venezuela, is there any coherent vision behind America’s new foreign policy – or is it just driven by anger and greed?

Dr Célia Belin of the European Council on Foreign Relations explains how Trump has set out to remake the world in his own cynical image. And Richard Haass, former President of the Council on Foreign Relations and advisor to President George HW Bush, describes how Trump’s aggressive, values-free foreign policy means that if countries like Britain don’t band together, they must choose between submitting to America or cutting a deal with their enemies. 

• We hope you enjoyed this miniseries. Get fresh insights into geopolitics early when you back us Patreon. 

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Get the complete series now when you support us on Patreon.

How will we cope with the end of the Pax Americana – and what comes next? 

This time: As Trump flips the table and walks away from America’s old international role, China want to take advantage. The People’s Republic is squaring up to the US on multiple fronts – economic, technological, cultural and potentially militarily. Sir Robin Niblett, author of The New Cold War, talks to Gavin Esler about whether China is as strong as it claims to be, the truth about the Sino-Russian relationship, and why this Cold War won’t be the same as the last one. And Ulrike Franke, German political analyst and fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, looks at what’s left of the old international order.  

• The final episode of America against the World is out on Monday 27 April. Get it right now when you support us on Patreon.

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Get the complete series now when you support us on Patreon.

How will we cope with the end of Pax Americana – and what comes next? Gavin Esler dives deep into a harsh new era of international relations. 

In this second episode, has Trump broken the trust-based world order – or just exposed it? Are we building a hostile world of fortresses? What would NATO look like without the US?

Ukrainian journalist and author Nataliya Gumenyuk explains how Trump risks making America irrelevant in the world. Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute describes how MAGA is actively driving democracies away from America. And Dr Rebecca Harding of the Centre for Economic Security argues that Trump’s tariffs and America’s attacks on the rule of law amount to a world economic war. 

• Episode 3 is out on Thursday 23 April. Follow us so you don’t miss it. 

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices