Marcel Dirsus

At a minimum, this should open up the spigots of US support to Ukraine so Russia loses the war it caused.

Thanks! I'll take a look

I hadn't! But thanks for sharing. And really fascinating topic. I'll try to get an Iran expert on the podcast and we can figure it out together

After a harsh winter, spring finally seems to be taking hold for the Ukrainian electricity system.

greendealukraina.org/gd-tracker/s...

Can't wait to read the inevitable Telegraph column about this: WE didn't endure THE BLITZ to CAPITULATE to Germans for some DEUTSCHE MARK! Churchill would be turning in his grave! Something about the UNION JACK, football, European dictatorship! The Queen.

Last but not least if you know a billionaire who might be interested in giving me money so I can give it to a YouTube editor, I will accept the cash unless he's a Russian oligarch or running Palantir. Or Tesla, actually. Email me

Now that I think of it we've had a shameful lack of Europeans on the podcast so far. We're upping the numbers for Germany (and Austria) so perhaps we should also get someone from France involved. Maybe to explain Macron's nuclear ideas? Can't just talk to Americans

Got it! Thanks

Close! Liana Fix and @drfranksauer.bsky.social. Topic we agreed to is "große Runde Nukes"

My big ambition for the year is to do a longer series on dictators. Invite the best experts I can find and then talk Stalin, Idi Amin, Gaddafi, Putin, Mao, Ali Khamenei, Pinochet, Kim Jong Un etc. Would you guys be into that? I think it would be so interesting

So yeah if you always wanted to listen to a real nerd talk about, I don't know, the Houthis or something along those lines let me know and I'll try to find someone who can enlighten us. Maybe the rebellion in Myanmar? Already emailed someone to discuss Iranian regime survival

If any of you ever have ideas for topics, please do let me know. I've got a long list of things that interest me, but there's always room for more. And there's no production company or editor or anyone else involved, so we can pretty much do whatever we want

Thanks for watching/listening!

Confirmed, but not yet scheduled: Tracking down Assad's henchmen, the threat of German re-armament, nuclear proliferation and the logic of deterrence, Chinese control over critical minerals. Also, a thousand more ideas for guests. We're not going to run out of things to discuss anytime soon

No podcast this week! Sorry, I have to finish this book proposal. But the next three guests are already scheduled, so we'll be back soon. Topics: NATO-Russia War, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump's popularity. Or lack thereof, rather. 🙏

Are any of Iran's neighbours not angry at Tehran? Or have they actually succeeded at annoying literally everyone

Please enable polls @bsky.app. We need the wisdom of the crowds

I see Putin is once again threatening us with a good time. Do it! Cut the gas. The sooner we stop sending money to Moscow the better

Genuinely asking: If you're Tehran and the biggest threat is war with the United States, why build these huge expensive ships? Why not take that money and buy 1,000 boats to at least wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz? They must have some reason. What is it?

Are we 100% sure the regime itself actually wants the regime to survive? This seems idiotic

Submarine attack on Iranian ship off Sri Lanka leaves at least 101 people missing, sources say It was unclear who attacked the ship, which the sources said has now sunk.

Wow: "A submarine attack on an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka has left at least ​101 people missing, one dead and 78 injured, sources ‌in Sri Lanka's navy and defence ministry told Reuters on Wednesday."

www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

How Europe Can Defend Itself Without America | Max Bergmann YouTube video by Marcel Dirsus | Geopolitics

Pretty much, yes. Had a longer conversation about that recently if you're interested:

youtu.be/5ALdXlatcCs

Yes that's a fair point

And by that point the world is likely a nuclear wasteland anyway so it's not like another 500 tanks would make much of a difference. So yeah, Spain is in a vastly different situation than the Baltics or Finland or Poland or Germany. It's just how it is

I mean if I'm Spanish, am I really going to even push for increased defence spending? Maybe? I don't know, maybe not. Because again, why do you even need all that kit? If the Russians want to march to Madrid they have to make it through Poland, Germany and France before they reach the Pyrenees

On the flip side, nobody in Germany cares about Morocco. It just doesn't matter to Berlin. But it's very important to Madrid! And that's not going to change. So of course it's easier for Madrid than Berlin to antagonise Washington. The relationship just isn't as important

If NATO ceases to exist tomorrow, Spaniards will be just fine. Who is going to attack them? Nobody. But Estonia might be attacked. Lithuania might be attacked. Poland might be attacked. And that matters a great deal more for Germany than it does for Spain

This also demonstrates why it'll be incredibly difficult for Europeans to ever agree on foreign policy. The world doesn't look the same from Berlin as it does from Madrid and it never will. For starters, there's simply no credible military threat to Spain or any of its neighbours

good thread. Too much of European diplomacy is viewed through the prism of American politics.

The better criticism of Merz in my opinion would be not defending Spain. Whether it would've actually helped or not I don't know (probably not), but unlike Iran this actually matters to Germany. If we let Washington divide us, we'll all lose