The General & The Journalist

North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of artillery rounds, thousands of troops and workers for its drone factories to support its war in Ukraine. In return, Russian money, food, energy and weapons are reviving Pyongyang’s economy, giving it military battlefield experience and potentially advancing Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and missile capabilities.

Dr Victor Cha, former White House national security official and one of America’s leading Korea experts, joins The General & The Journalist to explain how Russia has made an isolated regime richer and more dangerous. How powerful has North Korea become? Why have decades of denuclearisation diplomacy failed? And could talks with Washington loosen Kim’s alliance with Putin?

Should the West accept a nuclear North Korea? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

00:00 North Korea’s economic boom
08:31 Russia fuels Kim Jong Un
14:18 China, Russia and North Korea
18:32 North Korea’s nuclear threat
26:16 Why denuclearisation failed
33:46 Kim Jong Un’s successor and future

Guest: Dr Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Julia Webster
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Dana Chan, Getty
Clips: Reuters, Getty
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Mossad has spent decades building intelligence networks inside Iran, using spies, cyber operations and covert technology to penetrate the regime at the highest levels.

Yossi Cohen, former director of Mossad, joins The General & The Journalist to reveal how Israel’s spies recruit agents, operate behind enemy lines and target Iran’s leadership. How far is Mossad willing to go? And can Israel’s intelligence successes ultimately bring about regime change in Iran? And where does covert action cross the line?

The Sword of Freedom: Israel, Mossad, and the Secret War by Yossi Cohen is available at Harper Collins.

00:00 - Former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen on Israel’s Intelligence Strategy
03:01 - How Mossad Penetrated the Iranian Regime’s Deepest Secrets
09:24 - HUMINT vs. SIGINT: Why Human Spies Outperform Cyber Intelligence
14:16 - Exploding Pagers, Sabotage & The Ethics of Covert Operations
24:28 - The Future of Iran, Regime Change & Yossi Cohen’s Political Ambitions

Guest: Yossi Cohen, former director of Mossad
Host: Tom Newton Dunn
Producer: Julia Webster and Shabnam Grewal
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Clips: BBC
How should Andy Burnham approach the UK’s relationship with Israel? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Britain replace billion-pound warships with fleets of uncrewed vessels – and what happens when the technology fails?

In this bonus audio explainer, The Sunday Times’s Mark Urban examines Britain’s £5 billion bet on uncrewed warfare, shaped by the lethal lessons of Ukraine. Military planners hope networks of specialised drones and automated platforms can cut costs, protect personnel and transform the battlefield.

But with major conventional programmes still competing for funding, is Britain building the armed forces of the future or creating dangerous new vulnerabilities?

Producer: Stephanie Bosset
Image: Dana Chan, Getty
Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete Hegseth has turned the Pentagon into a stage for warrior bravado – renaming it the Department of War, ordering testosterone screening for troops over 30, and cheering on a US Navy jet's ultra-low flypast over a packed Florida beach.

Former RAF Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell joins Tom and Patrick to give his verdict on Hegseth's shake-up of the US armed forces and to ask whether a similar culture could take hold in the British military.

Chapters:
00:00 — Pete Hegseth and the dangerous flybys
08:50 — Who is Pete Hegseth?
10:55 — Fitness, testosterone and the “warrior ethos”
14:30 — Diversity, standards and the military beard debate
21:40 — Does machismo belong in the military?

Guest: Sean Bell, Former Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Air Force
Host: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Elle Scott & Julia Webster
Exec Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Clips: US Department of War.
Image: Shaun Parkinson, Getty
Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked his defence minister and army chief after a bitter struggle over Ukraine’s military strategy triggered widespread street protests.

Natia Seskuria of RUSI examines the clash between reformers and the old guard, and the consequences for Zelensky’s democratic reputation. Could this upheaval at the top change the course of the war with Russia?

Should Zelensky reinstate Mykhailo Fedorov as minister of defence? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

Chapters:
00:00 – Zelensky's Political Crisis
01:42 – Why Zelensky Fired Mykhailo Fedorov and Oleksandr Syrskyi
08:56 – Civilian Control vs. Military Command in Ukraine
14:37 – RUSI Expert Natia Seskuria on Kyiv's Power Struggle
32:13 – Listener Q&A: The Red Sea Crisis and China's Role in Djibouti

Guest: Natia Seskuria, Head of Russia and Eurasia Programme at RUSI
Hosts: General Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Julia Webster
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Kathia Mestanza, Getty
Clips: Getty, Reuters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.