Episode notes
Japan's significant intelligence reforms reveal how the country's approach to security is becoming more self-reliant and autonomous. But what is being proposed, and why now? In this edition of Global Security Briefing, host Philip Shetler-Jones, Senior Research Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security at RUSI is joined by Ken Kotani, Professor at Nihon University, Japan and James DJ Brown, Professor of Political Science at Temple University, Japan Campus, to reflect on how Japan is rebuilding its national intelligence capability. They explore the following core questions: Why is this important in terms…
Global Security Briefing
by The Royal United Services Institute · English · News
Global Security Briefing provides regular insights from leading international experts to help you make sense of the far-reaching changes affecting international security around the globe. Hosted by analysts from RUSI's International Security Studies team, the podcast looks at how the UK can best sha
More from Global Security Briefing
-
E128 · 9 Sep 2026 · 24 min
The Future of War: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping Conflict
General David Petraeus discusses autonomous warfare, drone technology and the military transformation driven by Ukraine. Ukraine offers the clearest evidence that warfare is changing in revolutionary ways. Unmanned systems now account for nearly 90% of Russia's killed and wounded on the front line, with around eight million drones produced by Ukraine every year. Software is updated weekly and hardware every few weeks, a pace no Western procurement system matches. Traditional armoured manoeuvre has effectively stopped, replaced by a dense zone of surveillance and strike drones along the…
-
E127 · 26 Aug 2026 · 32 min
Great Power Diplomacy: How to Prevent a Third World War
In this episode, Tobias Ellwood sets out why he believes we are drifting towards global conflict, and what can still be done to stop it. The order that has held since 1945 is coming apart. War in Ukraine, confrontation between the US and Iran, unresolved conflict in the Middle East and an intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing have produced the most dangerous strategic environment in a generation. Recorded during a live RUSI members webinar on 19 August 2026, this special episode features RUSI Distinguished Fellow, The Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood, discussing his new book: Ten Steps to…
-
E126 · 12 Aug 2026 · 46 min
Energy on the Frontline of European Security
Energy is no longer the preserve of the business pages and is central to questions of European Security. Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has left European gas prices far above where they sat at the start of 2026 and reserves are lower than where they need to be for winter. Jet and diesel markets are tighter than at any point since 2022. And, across the North Sea, unexplained drones and loitering vessels have become a routine feature of offshore operations. In this episode, Andrew Gee, Director, International Security at RUSI, is joined by Amund Vik, senior advisor at…
-
E124 · 10 Jul 2026 · 46 min
After Ankara: First Reflections on the 2026 NATO Summit
The 2026 NATO Summit convened at a moment of fragile unity for the alliance. What did it deliver? What did it leave unresolved? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus is joined by three colleagues, each bringing with them a different perspective on the alliance: Natia Seskuria, Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Security, Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security, and Oana Lungescu, Former NATO Spokesperson and RUSI Distinguished Fellow. Burcu and Oana join the recording from Ankara and offer their reflections on…
-
E123 · 1 Jul 2026 · 39 min
Geopolitics, Statecraft and the Changing Face of Organised Crime
Organised crime no longer operates outside international politics. Criminal networks are increasingly present in spaces once associated with intelligence services, foreign policy and national security. In this edition of Global Security Briefing hosted by Cathy Heanlein, Director of Organised Crime and Policing at RUSI, we look at the blurring of boundaries between crime, statecraft and geopolitics. The discussion coincides with a new special issue of RUSI's flagship Journal on 'the Changing Face of Organised Crime'. The issue brings together leading experts to examine how crime is evolving…
-
E122 · 17 Jun 2026 · 38 min
Inside Russia's Wartime Economy
What does the Russian wartime economy look like beneath the official data – and what are the implications for regime stability? In early June, President Putin took to the stage at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum – Russia's flagship annual showcase for investors and international media – and delivered a characteristically assured account of an economy not just surviving but adapting. Sanctions, he suggested, had been absorbed. Western predictions of collapse had amounted to little more than wishful thinking. But if we look more closely at the current state of the Russian…
-
S1 · E130 · 7 Oct 2026 · 40 minNew
Radioactive Russian Drones - A Conversation with Vitaly Shevchenko
Vitaly Shevchenko of BBC Monitoring joins Natia Seskuria to explore the implications of a radiation warning found on a downed Russian drone. In April 2026, Ukrainian air defences shot down a modified Russian Geran-2 strike drone near Chernihiv, and investigators found a radiation warning label on the warhead, recording gamma readings far above natural background levels. Within hours the story spread internationally, often described as Russia deploying radioactive weapons or a dirty bomb. Ukrainian investigators say the drone was carrying an R-60 air-to-air missile fitted with a depleted…
-
S1 · E129 · 23 Sep 2026 · 54 min
Updating How We Think About Korean Peninsula Security
Philip Shetler-Jones is joined by Sanghun Seok and Dr Edward Howell to ask whether 'unification' and 'denuclearisation' are still the lenses through which we should view security on the Korean Peninsula. For decades, Korean Peninsula security discussions have been framed by North-South relations and nuclear proliferation considerations. But North Korea has dropped the goal of unification and refuses to discuss denuclearisation, while both Koreas have become more prominent players in security dynamics far beyond North-East Asia. This prominence ranges from North Korean troops fighting in…
-
S1 · E121 · 3 Jun 2026 · 42 min
No Easy Off-Ramp: Iran, the US and the Search for a Deal
Are we seeing the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp in the latest phase of the Iran crisis, or just another pause in a much longer confrontation? The broad picture at the beginning of June 2026 is that the US and Iran appear to be trying to move from immediate crisis management to a more structured negotiation, but the process remains extremely fragile. A reported 60-day ceasefire extension would, in theory, create space for talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing some economic pressure on Iran, and eventually addressing nuclear concerns. But the hardest issues remain unresolved:…
-
S1 · E120 · 21 May 2026 · 49 min
President Trump in Beijing: The Future of US-China Relations
Dr Olivia Cheung and Lyle Morris join Philip Shetler-Jones to assess President Trump's Beijing visit and the future of US-China relations. President Trump's visit to Beijing comes at a pivotal moment in US-China relations, with strategic rivalry, economic tensions, and regional security concerns continuing to shape the world's most consequential bilateral relationship. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Philip Shetler-Jones is joined by Dr Olivia Cheung, Lecturer in Politics, King's College London and Lyle Morris, Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy and National Security at Asia…
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
