This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

As a follower of This Is Not A Drill, we thought you might like to try our brand new, not-entirely-dissimilar podcast CRIME SCENE. Every week ex-Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and former Mirror editor Alison Phillips lift the lid on how criminal investigations really work. In our debut episode: The horrific shooting of an innocent nine-year-old girl in Dalston in 2024 laid bare bitter rivalries between London’s armed gangs. Are police they fighting a losing battle against guns in the Capital? Want to know more? Hear the full episode here and subscribe for new episodes every Thursday. Presented by Bernard Hogan-Howe and Alison Phillips. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Simon Williams. Produced by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis and Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Executive Producer: Martin Bojtos. Thanks to Helen Purvis at Knight Ayton Management. CRIME SCENE is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The US/Israeli war with Iran has led to a wave of conflict across the Middle East. In Lebanon, missile attacks on Israel from Hezbollah militants have been met with an Israeli assault – which has led to hundreds of deaths and more than 750,000 displaced from their homes.  Reporting from Beirut, Oz Katerji talks to Lebanese political writer and organiser Karim Safieddine. They discuss the future for a Lebanese population which has endured years of conflict, now yet again dragged into regional warfare.  • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Oz Katerji. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iran has retaliated against US and Israeli attacks, widening the conflict across the Middle East. As the crisis deepens, is Donald Trump risking the kind of endless war he campaigned against? And for Iran, how long can its regime last in the face of the assault, and what does its retaliation risk?  Gavin Esler is joined by Dr Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East security at RUSI. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s stunning surprise attack on Iran could be the most consequential world event since 9/11. Will the President’s goal of smooth regime change work when it failed every other time, or trigger a regional conflagration? Iran’s hated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead but the Islamic Republic is showing no sign of collapsing. And now Hezbollah has attacked other Arab states as well as British and US military targets. How will the war play out? How resilient is the Islamic Republic? Does Israel want regime change or regime destruction? Does Iran have any potential leaders that the US could tolerate? And has anyone planned for running a country of 90 million people which is now in chaos? Live from Beirut our guest Paul Salem, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, speaks to Gavin Esler.  • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a difference a year makes - or does it? The 2025 Munich Security Conference was shocked by divisive words from the US Vice President JD Vance. But at this year’s gathering, Marco Rubio represented America and struck a more conciliatory tone. What does this mean for Europe? Gavin Esler is joined by Dr. Liana Fix, senior fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss.  Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more.  • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.  Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role in all our daily lives – and handing over power to AI comes with many risks. From misinformation and disruption to autonomous war technology, can we handle the dangers? Gavin Esler talks to Alex Hern, AI writer at The Economist. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As temperatures plummet in Ukraine, Putin’s military is continuing to target the country’s power supply, leaving civilians suffering as the war continues toward a fifth year. With the diplomatic crises and international flashpoints of recent months dragging attention away from Ukraine, what are the prospects for the coming year, both on the battlefield and in the stalled peace process? Gavin Esler discusses the latest with This Is Not A Drill presenter and Kyiv-based conflict reporter Oz Katerji.  • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Advertisers - want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years Xi Jinping has mapped out a strategy for the rise of China as a superpower. How will this ambition shape the world’s future? In the latest episode of This Is Not A Drill, Gavin Esler talks to Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove senior fellow the Hoover Institution, about China’s plans in a series of ‘frontier domains’, from the bottom of the sea to outer space. Read Elizabeth Economy’s article ‘How China Wins the Future’ in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs here. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A wave of protests has swept Iran and been met by a brutal crackdown. Could this mark the end of the ruling regime? Thousands have been killed and the government faces a continuing backlash, growing economic crisis and Trump’s threats to take military action against the nation.   Gavin Esler is joined by Professor Ali Ansari, founding director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, and author of The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So far in 2026, self-described peacemaker Donald Trump has captured Nicolas Maduro in a Special Forces raid in Venezuela and now has his eyes on Greenland. To discuss the realities of the Trump administration’s foreign policy and US politics in the year of the midterm elections, Gavin Esler is joined by Bill Kristol, editor at large of the Bulwark and former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s New Year attack on Venezuela and the capturing of President Maduro shocked the world. In the first of a series of episodes assessing the biggest security issues in 2026, Gavin Esler talks to former UK national security adviser Peter Ricketts about the year to come, the consequences of Trump’s Venezuela raid and the risks of a new era of great powers carving up the globe. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The geopolitical shocks of 2025 have the potential to reverberate for decades to come. Trump’s America first agenda and the new US national security strategy risk European unity, security and the rise of far right politics; Trump's trade wars have served to increase the pressure on states looking to balance relations with the US, China and also a rising India, and Israel’s assaults in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon have changed the balance of power in the Middle East.  In the final episode of the year, Gavin Esler talks to Mark Leonard, co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, to examine how the geopolitical balance has shifted in 2025. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the world pivots from fossil fuels and demand for electricity rises, who will control the new levers of power? The critical minerals and rare earths that tech depends on are the ultimate resources in a new “Great Game” between China, the US, Europe and Russia. What does the race to control the supply of these minerals mean for the future of the environment, security and global competition? To unpack the geopolitics of future energy supply and rare earths, Emma Beals is joined by Dr Patrick Schröder, senior research fellow at the Environment and Society Centre, Chatham House. • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Emma Beals. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s push for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine looks as far away as ever after failed talks this week – can anyone move Putin closer to a realistic agreement?   To  make sense of the US-led peace process so far and how a potential deal might realistically be achieved, Gavin Esler is  joined by Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine, an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, and the author of The Eagle and the Trident: U.S.-Ukraine Relations in Turbulent Times. • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump claims a record of peace agreements spanning from Asia to the Americas. Do these claims hold up?  What can we learn about Trump’s efforts to resolve conflicts, and can his deals hold and achieve lasting peace? And what does his transactional approach mean for global security and America’s role in the world? Emma Beals talks to Richard Haass, former advisor to both Bush administrations and President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Samir Puri, director of the Global Governance and Security Centre at Chatham House. • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Emma Beals. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As conflicts and tariff wars disrupt the global order, is political division preventing urgent action to protect the planet?A decade ago world leaders gathered at COP 21 in Paris to discuss the climate crisis - 194 countries signing a breakthrough agreement to limit global warming. By this year, as COP 30 meets in Brazil, the 1.5 degree target on global warming has been breached. Joining Gavin Esler to discuss the future for climate action and whether countries can find consensus to meet the biggest challenges of our time, is Nick Mabey, founding director and CEO of independent climate change think tank E3G - and also the founder of London Climate Action Week.  • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The European Union has some hard choices to make. It’s faced with an aggressive Russia on its borders, a US administration with limited enthusiasm for the NATO alliance and political divisions in its member states. Behind all this lies deep uncertainty about the coherence of the Union and its economic future in a world economy increasingly dominated by the US and China. What can be done to protect the European way of life and secure unity on the continent?  Gavin Esler talks to leading economic thinker and political commentator David Marsh, author of the recent book Can Europe Survive?    • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan.    • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.    Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more    Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A series airspace violations by Russian jets and drones have increased tensions over European skies – could a new ‘drone wall’ now protect Europe’s Eastern flank? With plans announced for a new aerial defence system to protect Eastern borders, how would a drone wall work, and can the EU and NATO deliver on promises to improve Europe’s defences? In today’s episode, Oz Katerji talks to Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Airpower & Technology at RUSI. • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Oz Katerji. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What will happen when dictators realise just how useful big tech and the data it gathers could be for them? How is this already happening – and how could it expand, as A.I. ramps up the way draconian governments can use tech? Bruce Schneier, a renowned cyber security expert, best-selling author and co-author of Rewiring Democracy How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship joins Gavin Esler to discuss.   • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan.      • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this.     Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more      Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rise of right-wing populism has changed politics across the world.  From the proliferation of CPAC conferences across the globe to attacks on institutions and political rivals, does a populist playbook pose a threat to democracy? And how can we resist the rise to power of authoritarian leaders worldwide? In today’s episode, Gavin Esler is joined by Catherine Fieschi, fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University in Florence. • This episode of This Is Not A Drill is supported by Incogni the service that keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being sold. There’s a special offer for This Is Not A Drill listeners – go to https://incogni.com/notadrill  to get an exclusive 60% off your annual plan. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices