Podcast

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Omar Mahmood, Crisis Group's Somalia expert, about the Somali army’s latest offensive, together with clan militias, against Al-Shabaab’s Islamist insurgency and challenges as the battle moves from central Somalia to Al-Shabaab’s southern strongholds.

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Julia Steers, Nairobi bureau chief and correspondent for VICE News, to discuss the Russian military contractor Wagner's operations in Africa, why African countries partner with the group and how Western governments are responding.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson are joined by Bert Koenders, former Dutch minister of foreign affairs and current Crisis Group trustee, to discuss how the war in Ukraine has changed Europe and what the EU can do to adapt.

War & Peace is a podcast series from the International Crisis Group, in which Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson interview experts about all things Europe and its neighbourhood, from Russia to Türkiye and beyond. Their guests shed new light on everything that helps or hinders prospects for peace. Episodes from past series of War & Peace can be found here: Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood is joined by Ali Vaez, Crisis Group’s Iran director, to discuss the China-brokered Saudi-Iranian deal, Iran's evolving foreign relations and its fast advancing nuclear program.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood is joined by Amanda Hsiao, Crisis Group's China expert, and Stephen Pomper, Crisis Group’s chief of policy, to discuss China's involvement in Ukraine, the U.S. downing of the Chinese spy balloon and risks of confrontation over Taiwan.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson are joined by Richard Gowan, Crisis Group’s UN director, and Brian Finucane, Crisis Group’s senior adviser for the U.S., to talk about the prospects of a crime of aggression tribunal for Ukraine.

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Crisis Group’s senior adviser to the African Union (AU), to discuss the 2023 AU Summit and the challenges and opportunities facing the continental union amid shifting geopolitics.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Olga Oliker, Crisis Group's Europe and Central Asia director, discuss the latest fighting in Ukraine, the mood in Kyiv, Moscow and Western capitals, and where the war might be headed a year into Russia’s full-scale invasion.

This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson are joined by Sam Sokol, reporter at Haaretz, to discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on the country's Jewish communities, accusations of anti-semitism in Ukraine and Russia and their relationship to the real thing, and Ukraine-Israel relations.