logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
33m 50s

The End of the Affair - Europe and Ameri...

DAVID MCWILLIAMS & JOHN DAVIS
About this episode

The world as we know it is over. The post-Cold War order, the American-led security umbrella, the assumption that Europe will always be protected has been shattered in real time. Trump’s America is walking away. Russia has played the long game and won. Ukraine is the new Ireland, abandoned by its supposed allies. Europe is like a deer in the headlights, unarmed, unprepared, and utterly exposed. From the Swiss Alps to the ghosts of the Flight of the Earls, this episode unpacks the seismic shift happening beneath our feet. Who holds power now? What happens when small nations, like Ireland, wake up to the reality that they’re on their own? And why are we sleepwalking into a world where the rules are being rewritten without us?

Buckle up, this is the moment history turns, and you don’t want to be left behind.


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

Up next
Nov 5
The AI Reckoning: When a Trillion-Dollar Bet Meets Rising Rates
The AI story has flipped from a technology story to a credit story, and that changes everything. Anthropic’s bonds have been downgraded to junk, Elon Musk says credit markets are closing to anything with “AI” attached, and half a trillion dollars was wiped off Alphabet in a singl ... Show More
35m 21s
Nov 3
Bibi or Tibi? Israel’s Deadlock and the Midterms the Ayatollah Could Decide
In Israel, Netanyahu has lost ground but still frames every choice as “Bibi or Tibi,” and liberal Israel faces a once-in-a-generation chance to oust him, if it can stomach governing with the Arab parties who took 18% of the Knesset. We talk to Daphna Maor of The Marker (Haaretz) ... Show More
36m 58s
Oct 29
The Five Scariest Numbers in the Global Economy (A Halloween Special)
For Halloween, we start with Ireland’s first witch trial: Alice Kyteler, the Kilkenny moneylender who buried four husbands and skipped town, leaving her servant to burn at the stake in 1324. For a real scare, we dive into the five numbers that should keep you up at night. The Shi ... Show More
35m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
The US-EU breakup—what does it mean for Ukraine, and for peace?
This week’s episode of EU Confidential comes to you from Thursday’s emergency meeting of EU leaders — the political equivalent of sobbing into your pillow on a sleepless night. The reason for those tears: America and Europe just broke up. POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt gives us a quick ... Show More
38m 55s
Feb 2025
Is Zelensky Finished? | A New World Order
<p>The lights are going out all over Europe.</p> <p>Little Napoleon, Macron, has called a summit. Europe's collective nervous breakdown. Starmer has declared war on Russia, Trump and the US. And EU's anti-US uprising is an uprising against peace! </p> <p>Palestinian journalist ... Show More
1h 27m
Feb 2025
The View From Europe
In the post-war world order, the United States and Europe have been among the closest of allies. What happens if President Donald Trump upends that equation? Jeanna Smialek, Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times, joins the show to break down the view from Europe. They take ... Show More
38m 46s
Feb 2025
The US and Europe’s Conscious Uncoupling
<p>Tommy and Ben discuss the increasing divide between the US and Europe on the issue of the war in Ukraine just as the world marks the three year anniversary, including a mineral reserves deal and America’s vote against a UN resolution calling for an end to Russian aggression. T ... Show More
1h 31m
Nov 2024
Parting Scholz: what next for Germany?
<p>At a time when Russia is making gains in Ukraine and Donald Trump has been re-elected as president, Europe needs strong leadership. Instead, <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/11/07/europe-needs-to-wake-up-and-look-after-itself?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.p ... Show More
23m 46s
Jul 2022
Why It Seems Like So Many Countries Are Falling Apart
The world is kind of a mess right now. There is a big, bloody, awful war between Russia and Ukraine, which has hugely disrupted global trade, especially in commodities like oil, wheat, and natural gas. Europe is on fire, and the euro is crashing. Boris Johnson is out as the U.K.’ ... Show More
53m 3s
Feb 2025
Putin’s Wildest Dreams Come True
Tommy and Ben discuss the seismic shift in US foreign policy that happened this past week after Trump announced that the US and Russia would directly negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine through talks that exclude Ukraine and Europe. They also explain how JD Vance’s first forei ... Show More
1h 35m
Mar 2025
Swamp Notes: Trump’s transatlantic divorce
<p>European leaders met twice this week to discuss a plan to protect Ukraine — without US leadership. The rift between Brussels and Washington has grown as US president Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine and stopped intelligence sharing. As Germany and the EU discuss a n ... Show More
12m 28s
Mar 2025
Can Europe stand alone?
As Trump freezes aid for Ukraine and Vance appears to call the UK or France a “random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years" – have we reached the end of the post-war world? And will the second coming of Trump result in the death of NATO? Peter Apps is the author of ... Show More
1h 7m