logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2014
52m 41s

#88 - Is Russia A Marginal Power?

Open to Debate
About this episode
Disarming Syria. Asylum for Edward Snowden. Arming Iran. Deploying troops to Crimea. Is Vladimir Putin flexing his muscles, while our own president fades into the background of world politics, or is it all a global game of smoke and mirrors? Russia is one of the world’s largest oil producers and has the power of veto on the U.N. Security Council, but it rema ... Show More
Up next
Aug 21
Can Humans Adapt to Climate Change? (Encore)
The dangers of climate change are “no longer over the horizon.” Humanity may soon pass the “point of no return.” These are the phrases U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used to describe what he called an “utterly inadequate” global response to rising temperatures. But if we ... Show More
53m 15s
Aug 14
Is Death Final? (Encore)
Near-death experiences have long challenged our understanding of consciousness and mortality. Some who come close to death report leaving their bodies, encountering vivid visions, or feeling profound peace. Are these experiences evidence that consciousness can survive death — or ... Show More
54m 32s
Aug 7
Are Primary Elections Ruining Democracy? (Encore)
The midterms are coming up this fall, and right now we are in the middle of a contentious primary season, with a lot of new faces challenging incumbents—and many winning. It’s in this context that we revisit our debate from 2022: Are Primary Elections Ruining Democracy? Arguing Y ... Show More
53m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Spies isn’t everything: Putin’s global-chaos machine
<p>Aggression, election-meddling, “psychological destabilisation”: Russia’s leader is sowing chaos <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2024/10/13/vladimir-putins-spies-are-plotting-global-chaos?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence& ... Show More
24m 30s
Apr 2022
Sergei Guriev: Is Moscow outmanoeuvring the West's sanctions?
What will it take to end the war Vladimir Putin has initiated in Ukraine? In military terms, Russia now seems intent on a grim campaign of attrition in the east and south - a strategy which is already taking a terrible human toll. Could economic isolation inflict enough pain to f ... Show More
22m 58s
Jun 2022
Putin’s energy power play
<p>Russia’s global power has rested in large part on its oil and gas reserves. Will Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and Europe’s decision to seek alternative supplies shrink this power irreparably? Gideon talks to the American expert Dan Yergin about the role played b ... Show More
26m 4s
Jan 2022
What’s it good for? Putin’s Ukraine calculus
More Russian troops <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/01/22/momentum-is-building-for-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel ... Show More
22m 36s
Mar 2022
Russia as International Scapegoat - A Neighbor's Choice
Is Russia being scapegoated on the international stage? Is the West in any position to preach democracy to the world? Why has Putin managed to rile up the western powers against him? Join David Gornoski as he answers these critical questions for our time while dissecting the vict ... Show More
42m 47s
Aug 2024
The Beginning Of The End For Putin?
<p>How do people like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin really hold onto power? The Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author of 'Autocracy Inc', Anne Applebaum, gives her take on how dictators like the Russian president prop themselves up, and the approaching inflection point in ... Show More
45m 34s
Feb 2022
On the brinkmanship: a special episode on Ukraine and Russia
<p>We unpick the week’s torrent of headlines; an invasion may yet come but either way President Vladimir Putin has already harmed Russia. The country’s digital self-isolation project is quietly forging ahead; we examine its home-grown “tech stack” with everything from chips up to ... Show More
26m 29s
May 2021
Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s Ambassador to the EU
Russia’s relations with the West have been poor for some time but now they have reached a new level of hostility. Since the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, new sanctions have been imposed by both the US and EU. The Ukraine conflict, allegations of cyber ... Show More
23m 24s
Oct 2019
Putin's Russia
Gideon Rachman goes to Moscow to talk to Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs and regarded as close to Vladimir Putin. Mr Lukyanov offers some fascinating insights into the Russian president’s drive to re-establish Russia as a global power — an ... Show More
24m 47s