Danube Institute Podcast

We talked to Márton Ugrósdy, Deputy State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister's Political Director, about the political significance of Viktor Orbán's White House visit.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

We asked the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore about everything you always wanted to know about the geopolitics of the Pacific, but were afraid to ask.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

We asked Curtis Yarvin, political philosopher, entrepreneur, computerscientist, and CEO of Urban Tiger about the ideological causes and politicalconsequences of Charlie Kirk's assassination.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers,experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

We spoke with John Whittingdale, former Political Secretary to PM Margaret Thatcher, about the Iron Lady's life and legacy at the Danube Institute's Thatcher conference in Budapest.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

We asked Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, about Europe's bright or dark future at the Brain Bar festival in Budapest.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

We spoke with Robert Wilkie, Chairman of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute and former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs about Trump's three unresolved geopolitical games.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

What is Israel planning to do after the Western recognition of Palestine? Will there be a point when Washington doesn’t back Israel further? Why has the Hungarian government become a staunch pro-Israeli government?We spoke with the former Political Director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the fragile situation of the Jewish state.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

Is there a season to burn? And are we now in it? Vice President JD Vance guest-hosted the Charlie Kirk Show, in lieu of his assassinated friend. At the end of the webcast, Vance gave one of the most extraordinary closing monologues in TV history. Visibly upset, naming the Soros Foundation and the Ford Foundation as wealthy accomplices to violent left-wing radicalism, he promised little short of vengeance, a righteous fury that would purify America of the institutions and actors that have legitimised political violence.There can be no doubt that Vance spoke for tens of millions of Americans who are sick of the growing radicalism of the woke era. But how far will this vengeance go? Is the right now ready to take on the structures of power themselves?One man who might know is Curtis Yarvin. Yarvin is America’s foremost advocate for the proposition that democracy is outdated. He represents a more radical view from Charlie Kirk of what should be done. For him, to take power always means to reform its deepest structures -- and that requires a will to power that leaves little off the table.It’s time to talk about the limits of anger. To whom can vengeance belong, in a democracy? What does the present moment demand? Wrath and the future of the conservative movement: this time, on View From The Danube.View From The Danube is the video podcast of the Danube Institute, a conservative think tank based in Budapest. This month, it stars Curtis Yarvin, Zsófia Bódi-Rácz, and Calum Nicholson. It is hosted by Rod Dreher.

Will there ever be a Palestinian state?Do the Palestinians have a right to form a state? If there is a one-state solution, what will happen to the Palestinian population? Why is compromise impossible with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority?We asked the head of the Shomron Regional Council, the quasi-leader of the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria about the fading two-state solution.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

Is reliance on Russian energy a choice or a necessity?Has Hungary made efforts to diversify its energy resources since 2022? What alternative energy supply routes does Hungary have? What will Hungary do if Donald Trump asks it to stop buying Russian oil?We asked the Hungarian State Secretary for Energy about Hungary’s energy policy.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

What is the importance of Hungary in Europe? What is the significance of the upcoming election in Hungary? Why do European institutions continuously criticize the policies of Fidesz?We asked the head of the MCC School of Media about the changing political landscape in Hungary.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks its guests – decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians – about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

What are the ideological roots of this self-hating Western mentality? What did the ancient people know about the purpose of life that we do not? What are the symptoms of the decline of Western civilization?We asked Swedish-American author and philosopher Benedict Beckeld aboutour significant problem.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

Will Romania ever grant autonomy to Szeklerland? Why does Romania consider Russia an imminent threat to Europe’s security? Why do Hungary and Romania view Ukraine’s possible EU membership from different angles? We asked a Romanian foreign policy analyst and former presidential adviser about Hungarian-Romanian relations and the Russian threat.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

Inflation is a game we play with ourselves – and we always lose it. In a fiat money environment, for the system to work long term – then money has to keep the value it had when we earned and saved it. If its value declines, then we end up in a world of hard-to-notice theft. Savers are robbed. Asset owners rewarded more than their fair share. Banks lose the trust of their customers – and vice versa.Treasuries finance their deficits by kicking the can down the road, by borrowing more rather than either cutting spending or raising taxes, and eventually by borrowing in order to increase government spending still further. And inflation is not just an economic problem for finance ministers to solve. It’s a moral problem for ordinary citizens too. It impoverishes the poor, the old, and those on fixed incomes with particular severity. It enriches the better-off who have assets that rise in value as their prices rise. It encourages companies to hike prices covertly – by cutting the number of potato crisps in a bag or the amount of beer in a glass. And as for workers who win higher pay through collective bargaining–inflation reduces their take-home pay while they’re still walking home. And if they strike for still more money next year to recoup their losses from inflation, that will only add another twist to the inflationary spiral. The 1980s generation of politicians who took on runaway inflation, often did so clothed in the language of morality. They were right to do so. After all, tackling inflation requires us to make the sacrifice at the heart of morality. It’s short term pain for long term gain. But why do we never learn our lessons–that inflation is a mug’s game. That restoring price stability is hard and means a loss of income, jobs, and growthBrian Griffiths was Dean of the City of London University’s business school, before he became Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit in 1985. He later served as vice-president of Goldman SachsHe chaired the Griffiths Commission on Personal Debt in 2004, and for his services, was created Baron Griffiths of Fforestfach in the House of Lords. He is also a committed Christian. It is with all of these priors in mind that he came to his latest book, titled: Inflation Is About More Than Money: Economics, Politics and the Social Fabric. Brian will be joined in discussion by Philip Pilkington. Philip is a Danube Fellow, and the author of his own new book – The Collapse of Global Liberalism and the Emergence of the Post Liberal World Order. Philip is also a talented and unorthodox economist. Both of them see economics through a moral lens. And both of them believe our institutions should be more than just score-keepers. In this episode of Danube Economics, the duo discuss their perspectives on the proper relationship between inflation and morality with the Danube Institute’s President, John O’Sullivan.

Will Russia listen to Donald Trump's 50-day ultimatum? What burdens transatlantic relations? Are the Hungarian government's arguments on Ukraine reasonable? What's the current political landscape in Poland?We asked Liliana Śmiech, Director General for International Affairs at the University of Public Service, Hungary, about the geopolitical challenges of Europe.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

What comes after the decline of the rule-based world order? What is the geopolitical weight of Europe? Is there any role for Christianity left in modern politics? We asked Timothy W. Burns, a professor of political science at Baylor University, about the crisis of Western civilization and the intellectual legacy of the West. The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

John O’Sullivan, the President of the Danube Institute, our leading thinkers and guest expert Michael Doran — Director and Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East — discuss the prospects for lasting peace in the Middle East. The panel explores the region’s shifting alliances, the impact of Trump-era policies, and whether U.S. intervention can reshape the current conflict.Michael Doran offers critical insights into the strategic dimensions of American involvement and the broader geopolitical stakes.In Danube Special we discuss the most significant events shaping the fate of our world, together with our leading experts.

Is there a chance that Israeli casus belli (Iran was close to building nuclear weapons) was false? What's the purpose of military action: eliminating the nuclear threat or toppling the ayatollah regime? Is creating a peaceful Middle East a realistic idea? We spoke with Maya Kadosh, the Israeli Ambassador to Hungary, about the Israeli-Iranian war.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the Institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas. Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been at the forefront of trans-exclusionary women's rights for a decade. She is the founder of Let Women Speak, and, in 2018, began a poster campaign involving the slogan “Adult Human Female”. The seemingly innocuous definition of ‘a woman’ became a flashpoint for transgenderist activists in the UK. In 2021, she began a hugely controversial speaking tour of the Antipodes, which resulted in her being denounced by government ministers in Australia, and, in New Zealand, attacked by a mob of activists. On this special edition of Danube Politics, Danube Institute President John O’Sullivan talks to her about her recent victory in the UK Supreme Court — clarifying existing equalities legislation to agree with the ‘adult human female’ definition. And takes a broader sweep of a life of courage. Has the tide finally turned on women’s sex-based rights? And what of relations between the sexes? Is her brand of feminism the answer? Or is it only in a temporary alliance with the broader trunk of conservative thought? Danube Politics is the current affairs strand of the Danube Institute’s podcast output, committed to bringing Hungarian Conservatism to the English-speaking world and beyond.

Can India become a similar global player to China one day? Can it be a power for counterbalancing China? In which sectors is India already a leading power? And is its neutrality on world conflicts and its political parallelism sustainable?We spoke with Dr. Saroj Bishoyi, a Senior Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation, who delivered a lecture at the MCC Budapest Summit on Technology and Society.The Danube Lectures is a video podcast of the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based conservative think tank that asks the Institute's guests, decision-makers, experts, academics, and politicians about their unique ideas.Host: Tamás Maráczi, a journalist at the Danube Institute.