One Decision

War with Iran, record diesel prices, and a global bond sell-off: how much more can the world economy take?

Mohamed El-Erian (Wharton, Allianz, former CEO of PIMCO) joins Sir Richard Dearlove (former head of MI6) and John Raine to explain what's driving the bond market sell-off, why the US is exporting instability to the UK, France, and Japan, and why AI is "80% asset, 20% liability." Plus: how PIMCO really navigated Lehman's collapse, and the one decision he's watching.

In this episode:
(00:00) Intro
(03:07) Why this crisis is different
(04:04) Permacrisis and "minilateralism"
(05:46) What's driving the global bond sell-off
(07:32) The hit to US households: mortgages, car loans, the K-shaped economy
(10:10) "Our yields, your problem": UK, France and Japan
(13:05) France, Mélenchon and Europe's leadership vacuum
(17:59) AI: 80% asset, 20% liability
(20:35) US-China AI Race
(31:30) Did PIMCO predict Lehman Brothers collapse?
(35:58) Who wins in today’s economy?
(44:51) Can finance ministers fix what politicians can't?
(46:32) How important are AI companies to the economy?

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and John Raine (International Institute for Strategic Studies).
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Between cheap-to-produce drones and artificial intelligence, the future of warfare may already be here. Paul Scharre, former US Army Ranger and executive vice president of the Center for a New American Strategy, joins former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove and co-host John Raine to discuss how drones and AI are reshaping military conflict and militaries themselves. Scharre explains why cheap drones are beating expensive armies, how the cost asymmetry between offense and defense is reshaping the battlefield, and why the US may be losing its technological edge faster than it realizes. He also assesses Ukraine's drone revolution, the race between the US and China to adopt military AI, and why keeping humans in the loop may matter more than any weapon system.

In this episode:

(00:00) Cost Equation of Modern Warfare

(02:39) Defining the Present State of Warfare

(04:18) How Militaries Are Dealing with AI

(06:24) Technology Reshaping US Military Education

(09:11) Evolution of Drone Technology

(14:45) Cost of Countermeasures

(18:06) Likelihood of Protracted Warfare

(20:38) Redefining Victory in Modern Warfare

(22:20) Adversarial Distillation

(25:15) Strategic Balance Between US and China

(27:32) Culture of Superior Firepower

(29:55) AI and the Ukraine War

(33:06) How Drones Change Ground Combat

(39:28) Outlook For Expensive Tech

(43:00) Keeping Humans in the Loop

(44:44) Drone Swarms

(46:55) AI and Naval Warfare

(48:52) Drones and Non-State Actors

(54:32) One Decision: Xi-Trump Summit and AI

(56:36) Takeaways and Wrap Up

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and co-host John Raine (International Institute for Strategic Studies)

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Israel and the US may have extraordinary intelligence on Iran. But intelligence isn't the same as comprehension, according to nuclear physicist and 2015 Iran deal negotiator Ali Vaez.

Vaez joins John Raine and Sir Richard Dearlove to break down what Iran's nuclear capabilities really look like after the 12-day war. Plus, how Iran's Supreme National Security Council stays united under duress, how the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps maintains primacy over the regular army, and why sanctions now at "nine out of ten" still won't force collapse. Iran doesn't need to win this standoff. It just needs not to lose.

In this episode:

(00:00) Ali Vaez on wartime Iran

(02:39) Is Iran's leadership a monolith or divided?

(03:55) Power centers: the SNSC, the Basij, and the IRGC

(10:09) The mystery of Mojtaba Khamenei

(12:00) Economic and military pressure on Iran

(15:00) A forever war? Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis

(27:47) What does the Iranian public actually think?

(32:33) Iran's nuclear program: what do we really know?

(42:18) Israeli intelligence, diplomacy, and the Ahmadinejad theory

(52:19) The decision only Donald Trump can make

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and co-host John Raine (International Institute for Strategic Studies).
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Debora Cahn, the writer behind The Diplomat, Homeland, The West Wing, and Grey's Anatomy, joins Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove to talk about writing political drama in an era when reality keeps outpacing fiction. Debora explains how "spy camp" research trips with real diplomats, spies, and generals shape her scripts, why she resists making her stories too close to current events, and what she learned about the strange double life of foreign service officers: the loneliness of constant relocation, the jockeying for a seat in the room, and the quiet patriotism that keeps them showing up. Sir Richard, a former head of MI6, adds his own view from the other side of the table, including a story about deliberately keeping a British ambassador out of the room in Washington.

In this episode:

00:00 Cold Open

02:58 Russia Story Rewritten

04:11 Borgen Inspiration

06:15 Spy Camp Research

08:22 Diplomacy In The Dirt

09:35 Ambassadors Real And Fake

18:39 CIA And Embassy Dynamics

21:24 From West Wing To Diplomat

23:14 No Evil Characters

24:29 MI6 Reality Check

29:59 Demystifying Government Work

31:12 Female President Choice

33:51 Future Of Ambassadors

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio).
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Part Two of our two-part series marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 reunites former leaders of the US and UK intelligence services, both of whom were in high office on September 11, 2001. Former deputy director of the CIA John McLaughlin joins former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove and co-host Kate McCann to give the insider’s perspective on the intelligence world’s response to the attacks. McLaughlin details what the CIA knew beforehand, the immediate aftermath inside CIA headquarters, and the rapid attribution to al-Qaeda. He also discusses the power of the US-UK "special relationship," the surge in CIA resources after 9/11, the Bush administration's push toward the Iraq War, the effects of the global war on terror on American civil liberties, and why the war in Ukraine is the single most important geopolitical issue today.

In this episode:
(00:00) Emotion is a Luxury in Intelligence
(01:53) John McLaughlin Introduction
(03:03) Pre-9/11 Threats
(07:17) Why Was 9/11 A Surprise?
(14:13) Considering the "What Ifs"
(15:52) M16 Rushes to DC
(22:46) CIA on 9/11
(25:12) Post-9/11 Intelligence Overhaul
(34:16) Origins of the Iraq Focus
(47:17) Legacy of 9/11 in America
(57:42) One Decision: Importance of the Ukraine Conflict
(01:03:00) Takeaways and Wrap Up

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and co-host Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio).
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