Podcast

This week, Richard speaks with Crisis Group experts Olga Oliker, Jean-Hervé Jezequel and Richard Gowan about Wagner’s mutiny in Russia, what it means for the Ukraine war and for places in Africa where Wagner operates – particularly Mali, where the government’s ties to Wagner have informed its recent demand that UN peacekeepers leave.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s China expert Amanda Hsiao about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China after months of deteriorating relations between Beijing and Washington.

This week on The Horn, Alan talks with Michael Wahid Hanna, Crisis Group’s U.S. Program director, about the role of Egypt in Sudan’s war and how it might shape future relations between the two neighbouring countries and Cairo’s regional diplomacy.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood talks with Richard Horsey, Crisis Group’s Myanmar expert, about the war in Myanmar and why such a grave crisis in the heart of Asia is getting so little attention.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker speaks with Marko Prelec, Crisis Group’s consulting senior Western Balkans analyst, about the latest flare-up of tensions in northern Kosovo, what it means for the prospect of normalisation between Belgrade and Pristina and the potential for further escalation.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Africa Deputy Director Pauline Bax and Sahel expert Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim about the southward drift of jihadists from the Sahel to coastal West Africa and what can be done in response.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker speaks with Crisis Group’s Türkiye Director Nigar Göksel about the Turkish elections and how President Erdoğan’s new term might shape the country’s domestic and foreign policy.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Libya expert Claudia Gazzini, to discuss the political standoff in Libya, the changing nature of foreign involvement in the country and potential links to fighting in Sudan.

Join Crisis Group Executive Vice President Richard Atwood as he dives deep into the conflicts that rage around the globe. He speaks with Crisis Group field analysts and special guests to get their unique, on-the-ground perspective. Episodes from past seasons of Hold Your Fire! can be found here: Season 1 and Season 2.

This week on The Horn, Alan talks with writer and researcher Reem Abbas about her flight from Sudan, the destruction of Khartoum and what the future holds for the country.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard talks with Abdulaziz Sager, Crisis Group’s Trustee and Founder and Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, about Riyadh’s foreign policy and diplomatic efforts seemingly aimed at mending ties in the region.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson talk with Janka Oertel, director of the Asia Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the fast-evolving EU-China relationship and Beijing’s role in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard talks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa Director Alan Boswell about the fighting in Sudan and whether Saudi-U.S. led mediation can bring relief to millions of Sudanese caught in the violence.

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Jerome Tubiana, a researcher, journalist and Crisis Group’s former senior Sudan analyst, to take a closer look at the origins of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and what’s behind their rivalry with the Sudanese armed forces.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Olga Oliker, Crisis Group’s Europe and Central Asia Program director, about the latest from the front lines in Ukraine, Kyiv’s long-awaited counteroffensive, what might change Moscow’s calculations and Western capitals’ stamina in supporting Ukraine.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Murithi Mutiga, Crisis Group’s Africa director, about the fighting in Sudan and whether mediation efforts to stop the country descending into all-out civil conflict might bear fruit.

This week on The Horn, Alan speaks with Dr. Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, a former assistant chief of staff for Sudan's prime minister and a long-time political activist, about the clashes in Sudan, the origins of the power struggle between the Sudanese Army and the RSF, and prospects for ending the fighting.

The Horn of Africa is in turmoil. From revolution in Sudan to civil war in Ethiopia, from Somalia’s political stalemate and the regional spread of jihadism to troubled East African democracies, the region’s pace and scale of change is difficult to keep up with. The Horn, a podcast series from the International Crisis Group, helps make sense of it all. Host Alan Boswell and guests dive deep behind the headlines as they analyse events, debate diplomacy, and discuss avenues towards peace. Produced by Maeve Frances. Episodes from past series of The Horn can be found here: Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell about the fighting in Sudan, the humanitarian disaster unfolding in urban areas and what can stop the slide into full-scale war.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker talks with historian and writer Dr. Ilana Bet-El about the ongoing protests in Israel, the surge of the far right in that country and parallel political developments in Europe and beyond.