Latika Takes: The Podcast

This week, Latika Takes: The Podcast is in Kyiv, Ukraine, marking the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Latika interviews ‘Bambi,’ a 20-year-old American who gave up his life in Georgia, US to fight for Ukraine. The pair sit down in Kyiv just hours before Bambi left to return to the Donbas, where he is fighting for Ukraine in the sensitive area of Pokrovsk, a city the Russians have all but taken, but at huge cost and after more than a year.Bambi discusses the futility of hashtagging beliefs and causes versus actions and his views on the global rules. He reveals what it’s like to live underground in a two-by-three metre hole for two straight months and hunt down Russians using drones. He discusses how he survives communicating with Ukrainians who don’t speak English, the ethics of killing using drones, and watching his fellow fighters die. Bambi has asked if I can include a PayPal link to donate to his unit. I am more than happy to do this. Ukraine suffers from not being able to mobilise as many men as Russia or pay them enough. Russia uses mercenaries, foreigners and pays huge sums to get men to the frontline where it outmasses Ukraine. Please consider donating to Bambi’s unit here.Latika Takes in Ukraine is entirely self-funded. Please consider contributing towards this work if you find it informative. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast is in the Black Sea city of Odesa, Ukraine. The city is covered in ice and snow, a sight not seen by locals for around a decade, reflecting the brutally cold war winter that Ukrainians have endured.In Kyiv, temperatures have dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, at the same time, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has deliberately attacked energy infrastructure.Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Latika M Bourke sits down with the high-profile opposition MP Oleksii Goncharenko, who is a prominent critic of Ukraine’s wartime President Volodmyr Zelenskyy.Mr Goncharenko discusses Ukraine’s exhaustion and the viability of continuing the war for another winter, the corruption scandals around Zelenskyy, and the security guarantees Europe and the US can provide Ukraine.This interview refers to a range of articles and ideas that Latika Takes has previously covered and discussed, which I’ve linked below for your ease:Thanks for reading Latika Takes! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast is at the Munich Security Conference in Bavaria, Germany.Latika interviews Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles about his debut appearance at Europe’s largest security and defence conference in Munich, Germany. Mr Marles discusses the future of the war in Ukraine, why rules still matter in the global order and China’s military build-up. He gives his reaction to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s address to the MSC and his views on the health of the transatlantic alliance.And he shares the details of the gift given to him by his new running mate, Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi.The panels discussed in this podcast can be found here.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast is in Washington DC and interviews the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Jim Townsend.Mr Townsend, now at the Centre of New American Security, completed more than two decades of work on European and NATO policy in the Pentagon, at NATO and at the Atlantic Council. His work spanned the Cold War, post-Cold War political reconstruction in Europe and Europe's new challenges including Russia and terrorism.Latika and Jim discuss US President Donald Trump’s approach towards NATO and the Alliance’s worst day after the threat to invade Greenland. He also discusses the activation of Article 5 and the effect of Trump’s traducing of Allied war dead in Afghanistan on future NATO and Allied military missions. Mr Townsend warns that Russia is poised to come back from its war in Ukraine stronger than ever and that Europe could return to its pre-World War state if NATO collapses because of a loss in US leadership.And he discusses whether NATO boss Mark Rutte is too fawning over Mr Trump. Jim Townsend also podcasts on the transatlantic alliance at Brussels Sprouts. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews ARSEN OSTROVSKY who was shot during the Bondi terror attack at Bondi Beach on December 14. An international human rights lawyer, Ostrovsky relocated back to Australia just 2.5 weeks before the attack, to take up a position as Head of Sydney Office of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, a leading Jewish communal advocacy organisation.In this interview, Arsen Ostrovsky discusses being shot in the Hannukah attack and the ten minutes between being hit and finding out this his wife and two young girls were safe.He took this photo to see his injuries and sent it to his wife not knowing if this would be his last message to her. Mr Ostrovsky is now among the many campaigners pushing for a federal Royal Commission into antisemitism, something the Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is resisting. He also discusses the fake images of him that went viral after the attack, which used AI to generate images of him depicting him having fake blood applied by make-up artists. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews former Liberal Treasurer and prominent Jewish figure Josh Frydenberg. Mr Frydenberg served as Treasurer between 2018 and 2022 but lost his Melbourne seat. He is widely tipped to return to politics and seek the leadership. Since leaving Parliament and October 7, he has been an avowed campaigner on antisemitism and produced a documentary on the surge in Australia. You can watch that here.He discusses why he blames Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the terror attack and the moments that led to his explosive speech at Bondi. You can watch that in full here.The Prime Minister said shortly after this interview was recorded when asked about the criticisms: ‘Of course, more could have always been done. Governments aren’t perfect. I’m not perfect.’Latika asks Frydenberg if the Bondi attacks have influenced his thinking about returning to politics, why Labor has not been as strong as it could have been on antisemitism and what he told his young children about the attacks.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Ukraine’s former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba joins Latika Takes: The Podcast. In this wide-ranging and candid interview, Mr Kuleba reveals Kyiv’s strategic mistakes, including how his attempts to cultivate Jared Kushner as a contact for Ukraine were blocked by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s now-resigned but then-all-powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. He discusses how Russia gained the advantage over Ukraine, which fell into the trap of believing its own spin after early battlefield wins. He also discusses whether Ukraine needs or wants the Coalition of the Willing and his belief that Vladimir Putin will attack a NATO ally within years, if the US and Europe stay on their current course. Finally, Mr Kuleba reveals his thoughts on a Presidential run. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the woman widely regarded as having won Belarus's elections in 2022, who now lives in exile in Lithuania. Tsikhanouskaya, a mother of two, discusses being an opposition activist, inspiring other exiled movements, a woman political leader in a patriarchal society. She discusses on the work with the Trump Administration in freeing political prisoners and the contrast between Belarusians and Russians in their perceptions of Western sanctions imposed as a result of the war in Ukraine. She reflects on the fatigue factor involving the war in Ukraine and how that is affecting populist politics across Europe. Finally, she addresses the statement released by her husband, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, after he accused her political office of withholding from him their joint Magnitsky Human Rights Award that they won at this month’s awards ceremony in London. Thanks for reading Latika Takes! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week, US Ambassador John Bolton joins Latika Takes: The Podcast to discuss US national security and global security under the second Trump Administration. Ambassador Bolton served as one of Donald Trump’s national security advisers in the US President’s first term. His memoir of that chaotic time, The Room Where It Happened, details Trump’s incoherent approach to foreign policy and China. Ambassador Bolton discusses how the Quad could be expanded to include South Korea, what US isolationism beyond Trump means for Taiwan and the need to clean up the infiltration of Russian narratives from the Republican party and MAGA movement. Ambassador Bolton, a major critic of Trump’s, is being pursued in the courts by the Trump Administration, and also discusses why he’s choosing to keep talking, instead of falling silent like so many of Trump’s critics on the right of US politics.Thanks for listening to Latika Takes: The Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week, Australian-Chinese writer and journalist Cheng Lei joins Latika Takes: The Podcast from London, where she appeared at PEN International’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer. In this emotional and heartfelt discussion, Lei and Latika are moved to tears as Lei details her journey as a Chinese-born Australian, who heads back to Beijing in the 2000s when the mood about China’s entry into the global system is positive and welcoming. But Lei’s life goes sour when she is caught in the middle of a geopolitical storm as China’s relations with Australia head south after the then centre-right government calls for an inquiry into the origins of the pandemic. Lei was detained for three years and two months on bogus charges before finally being freed after delicate negotiations between the CCP and the then-new Labor government in Australia. Her recently-released memoir is a vivid account of her detention, the pain of being separated from her children and the cruelty of the CCP’s opaque justice system.In this discussion, Lei and Latika discuss the CCP’s more aggressive direction, he naive and misplaced belief in the Chinese system, life in detention, finding happiness in prison, freedom, the relationship with her children and Australia’s relationship with China. Lei also discusses how the Chinese diaspora in Australia has treated her since her release and how to deal with the CCP. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast is in in Washington DC and meets Alex Butterworth and chef Bart Hutchins, a former staffer to US President Barack Obama. Alex Butterworth at one point attempted to run for the West Australian federal seat of Pearce for the Liberal Party. He moved to the US to work for Uber Eats as an attorney.He became frustrated with the quality of restaurants in Washington DC and dreamed of setting up a Melbourne-style supper club. Due to one of his investors, Raheem Kassam, formerly of Breitbart News London, Butterworths quickly became loved by MAGA identities and high-profile figures from the Trump Administration are frequent diners. In this episode, Alex and Bart discuss how they created the menu, the difficulty in executing a pavlova and how they balance being known as the MAGA hotspot in a town that is firmly anti the Trump Administration and is now often targeted by protestors. Latika asks if Trump’s National Guard move made any difference to business or not and what they’d serve the President and First Lady when and if they make their visit.Alex discusses the state of the Liberal Party in Australia, his view of Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Australian Coalition and what they should be learning from the populist movements in the US and UK. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews General David Petraeus, the leading military analyst of the war in Ukraine. General Petraeus discusses how the war in Ukraine has evolved, what the future of combat looks like and how much training of the West Ukraine now needs to do. He discusses whether the innovations in drone warfare make AUKUS obsolete or not, as well as the implications of the war for China’s calculus in Taiwan. He also discusses whether Indo-Pacific countries should lift their defence spending to NATO’s new spending threshold. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

In this episode of Latika Takes: The Podcast, Latika dropped by a Superhumans pop-up in New York City’s Ukrainian quarter to interview Virgin co-founder Richard Branson. Superhumans is an NGO that specialises in prosthetics and rehabilitation for veterans and wounded civilians, to interview Virgin co-founder Richard Branson.The pop-up had a video booth, in which participants were invited to imagine they had stepped on a landmine and had three seconds left of their life. The idea of the three seconds is that that’s about our attention span these days, given social media.What would your last words be in this instance? Richard asked me to record mine, and if you are interested, this is what immediately came to my mind.I left this interview feeling that Mr Branson was more informed on Ukraine than most politicians I speak to about the war. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. Please, if you like my podcast, consider rating and reviewing it on your podcast platform and sharing it with people who yearn for a little de-polarisation in their lives.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika is back in Kyiv attending the Yalta European Strategy (YES) Conference and interviews Kurt Volker, former US diplomat, including NATO Ambassador and Donald Trump’s former Special Representative to Ukraine.Latika quizzes Mr Volker on the Trump Administration’s positions on Ukraine, why Donald Trump fails to use force against Russian President Vladimir Putin and whether the Coalition of the Willing should deploy now rather than wait for a ceasefire. Mr Volker discusses the recent Russian incursion into Polish airspace and what NATO should be doing to defend member states against Russian greyzoning.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews Jan Lipavský, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic.Mr Lipavský was the keynote speaker at the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Gala Dinner at the Prague Defence Summit.Mr Lipavsky discusses the upcoming Czech elections, which the government is projected to lose, the prospects for peace in Ukraine, why Donald Trump wasn’t wrong to host Vladimir Putin, his country’s staunch support of Israel, despite growing international condemnation and why he didn’t choose to eject the Chinese Ambassador after a potentially dangerous plot against the visiting Taiwanese Vice-President was uncovered.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast speaks to Doug Sosnik, who served as political director to former US President Bill Clinton.Sosnik is steeped in the party, advising more than 50 U.S. senators and governors and working on several Democratic presidential bids.Latika and Doug discuss whether Donald Trump is showing fascist tendencies and why the Democrats and the rest of the country have failed to respond.Latika asks if California Governor Gavin Newsom’s nascent attacks are the way forward for the Dems.Sosnik outlines why populism is the new orthodoxy in US politics, whether on the right or left.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Articles referenced in this discussion: Doug Sosnik in Politico: Which Side of the Barricades are you on? Latika M Bourke: Finally, signs of life in the Democrats This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes: The Podcast interviews Richard Tice, Reform’s Deputy Leader and Foreign Affairs Spokesman. With Reform leading in the polls and speculation the party could even lead a government at the next election, Latika questions Mr Tice on how Reform would approach China policy, NATO, Ukraine, Russia and the party’s views on Vladimir Putin. Mr Tice says the party wants to re-industrialise Britain, raise defence spending, possibly earlier than the NATO target but rules out NATO for Ukraine. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

This week Latika Takes is in Kyiv, Ukraine and interviews Jeffrey Hartman, founder of Ukrainian Action, a charity that delivers pick-up trucks from London to Ukrainians. In July, Latika became the first journalist to volunteer to join a Ukranian Action convoy into Ukraine. She took part in a five-truck convoy that began in London and travelled across the Channel, through France, Belgium, Germany and Poland and into Kyiv across four days.Mr Hartman shares his story about how he first moved to Ukraine as a member of the US Peace Corps, how he developed his charity after experiencing helplessness watching his friends become soldiers overnight, and how the vehicles he delivers are used on the frontline. He also reflects on the changing Ukraine he has seen since he first arrived in the early post-Soviet days. As you will hear in this episode, as part of volunteering to drive these trucks to Ukraine, Latika is required to fundraise the £1500 needed to cover the costs of the journey.All contributions would be gratefully received. You will be supporting a great charity and cause and helping save Ukrainian lives. The link to donate is here.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

🇺🇦 This week Latika Takes: The Podcast is in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her guest is Oleksandr Merezhko, Chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He discusses why he nominated and then revoked Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and China’s accomplice role in killing Ukrainians. Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe

In this episode, Jim Stokes, NATO’s Director of Nuclear Policy, joins Latika Bourke from the recent GLOBSEC Forum security conference in Prague.They discuss how NATO is strengthening the nuclear deterrent, how it would be used in the event of a war, China’s nuclear build-up and if US President Donald Trump is undermining Article 5. Latika Bourke quizzes Jim Stokes about whether more nuclear-armed states are on the way and what non-NATO but partner countries like Australia should do as China builds up its nuclear arsenal.Latika Takes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latikambourke.com/subscribe