The deep back-stories behind the most consequential events in the world right now.
Radio 4,·18 episodes
Trailer
Tristan Redman and guests trace the fall of the post-Cold War world order
22 Jul 2026,·3 mins
1. The Responsibility to Protect
Tristan Redman and guests discuss the first decade after the end of the Cold War.
27 Jul 2026,·35 mins
2. The View from Beijing
The decade in which China reshaped its relationship with the international system.
03 Aug 2026,·32 mins
3. Russia goes its own way
From 9/11 to Iraq, assassinations and the invasion of Georgia in 2008
10 Aug 2026,·34 mins
4: This Sucker Could Go Down
The Beijing Olympics, the financial crash and the Arab Spring reshape the world.
17 Aug 2026,·34 mins
5: Bonfire of the Agreements
Obama's peace prize, populism's rise, and America walks away from its own order.
24 Aug 2026,·34 mins
6: A Multipolar World
Where next for the rules-based order?
31 Aug 2026,·35 mins
Jonny Dymond and guests explore the complicated back-story of the Middle East conflict
04 Feb 2026,·2 mins
1: From Earliest Times to the Romans
09 Feb 2026,·28 mins
2: From the Muslim Conquest to the Nineteenth Century
Jonny Dymond and guests explore the complicated back-story of the Middle East conflict.
16 Feb 2026,·28 mins
3: From the Nineteenth Century to the First World War
23 Feb 2026,·28 mins
4: The Balfour Declaration to the Arab Revolt
02 Mar 2026,·28 mins
5. From WWII to the First Arab-Israeli war
09 Mar 2026,·28 mins
6: From Israel’s Early Years to the Six Day War
16 Mar 2026,·28 mins
7: From the Six Day War to the Lebanon War
23 Mar 2026,·28 mins
8: From the First Intifada to the Camp David Summit
30 Mar 2026,·29 mins
9: From the Second Intifada to Netanyahu’s Re-election
06 Apr 2026,·28 mins
10: From 2010 to the present day
13 Apr 2026,·28 mins
