The General & the Journalist

If Germany is 'the bank' of Europe, then Poland is now surely the 'arsenal' of the continent.Beginning with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, but accelerated by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has super-charged its military to become the third largest in Nato, behind only Turkey and the US.It spends more on defence as a proportion of national wealth than even America and is soon to have more large tanks than the UK, Germany and France combined.So how did this happen, what are the implications, and are there lessons to be learned for the UK? Host:Tom Newton DunnGuests: Oliver Moody and Bartosz KielakProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the UK is to present a credible deterrence to any adversary, its armed forces need to be sufficiently large. They are not. And the fastest, most economical, way of plugging the gap is by growing the reserves. The Chief of the defence staff recently called for an 'all in mentality', urging civilians to step up to the very real threat posed by Russia. Not 'weekend warriors', but people from high-tech industries and professions, skills the regular army lacks. He meant all of us. So, who could join the reserves, how quickly, and what would they get out of it?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuests: Elisabeth Braw and Peter AppsProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the space race and the arms race, only a human could determine an outcome. But what happens in war when AI, and not a human, takes the decision to pull the trigger? If AI can equal human capabilities, Artificial 'superintelligence' is smarter, potentially putting ASI beyond human control.Jon Wolfsthal worked in the Obama White House on nuclear non-proliferation. He, like scores of others in defence, diplomacy and AI, has signed a petition calling for a ban on superintelligence, unless and until it can be controlled. He joined Patrick and Tom from New York to spell out exactly why we must stop our nuclear and biological weapons being run by machines.But, don't worry, it gets lighter. Jon is a massive fan of sci-fi. Turns out, so are Patrick and Tom. The three of them swap film and book faves, from Prometheus to Frankenstein, Alien to Terminator, and talk about how they all foreshadowed this artificial intelligence moment.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Jon WolfsthalProducer: Sophie McNultyClip: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Photo: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our colleagues at The Times this week launched an American edition of their superb UK politics pod, The State of It. We thought you might want to hear the fabulous first episode. Welcome to the first ever episode of The State of It: USA. An attack on Iran looks imminent: we reveal what senior military and political figures are saying about it.Also, is Donald Trump taking a softer line on immigration after the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis?And get ready for Melania, the movie.Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday TimesGerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street JournalProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessEmail us: thestateofit@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Xi Jinping has effectively removed his last remaining rival power-base in Beijing. Until last weekend, Zhang Youxia was the highest ranking general in the Chinese armed forces and second only to Xi in the military's hierarchy. But having now carried out an almost-total purge of the PLA's leadership, has Xi consolidated his power or, ultimately, undermined it? And what does it mean for a prospective move on Taiwan? Patrick and Tom are joined from Taipei by RUSI's Philip Shetler-Jones, to talk about rumours of a coup and chew over what's left of the PLA's command and control structures.Watching events in Beijing closely will be Japan, which has recently ditched its post-war pacificism to rearm at breakneck speed. Recognising the reality of Xi's ambition to 'reunite' with Taiwan, and mindful of an increasingly unpredictable America, Tokyo has come off the fence and declared that any attack on Taiwan would automatically draw it into a war with China. But is it too late to deter Xi?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive producer: Fiona LeachClips: Al Arabiya EnglishPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a week that's marked an inflection point in European history and transatlantic relations, Tom and Patrick discuss whether the two continents' world views are, finally, irreconcilable. And, were America to walk away from Nato, what are the military gaps that Europe would rapidly have to fill? Could it do so, and how fast? Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnProducer: Shabnam GrewalClips: CNN, Irish MirrorPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While President Trump ponders when, whether and how to take action against Tehran, Tom and Patrick discuss the options available to him, ranging from cyber attacks to assassinations, and ask whether any would improve the lot of ordinary Iranians or simply make a bad situation worse. Joining them is the author and journalist, Hooman Majd, to explain why the absence of any viable opposition raises the spectre of civil war, should the regime collapse.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnGuest: Hooman MajdProducer: Shabnam GrewalClips: CBS News, Deutsche Welle and Al Jazeera EnglishPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Maduro gone and Venezuela seemingly bending to Trump’s will, the world is now asking who will be next and where will it stop? General Jack Keane knows the President well and has his ear. In a wide-ranging conversation, Tom and Jack discuss the Latin American countries the US now wants to bring to heel, and talk about the likelihood of Trump following through on his threat to take Greenland, by force if necessary. Host: Tom Newton Dunn Guest: General Jack KeaneClip: Fox NewsPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this New Year edition of The General and the Journalist, Tom and Patrick explore the idea of a looming 'polycrisis', a convergence of geopolitical, economic and technological shocks that could peak around 2027. Joined by intelligence expert and China specialist Sam Olsen, they unpack what a simultaneous crisis involving China, Russia, and potentially North Korea and Iran could mean for the West. The conversation moves from worst-case scenarios to practical mitigations, asking whether governments, businesses and citizens truly grasp the scale of the challenge ahead. Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnGuest: Sam OlsenPhoto: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For their Christmas special, Tom and Patrick turn the entire show over to you. They answer as many listener questions as possible that have landed in the General & Journalist inbox since May. Among them: what to do about wayward NATO members who still help Russia, and the state of Britain’s fighting power, and plenty more. Vote for The General & the Journalist for People's Choice at the 2026 Political Podcast Awards.Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we heard two strikingly blunt speeches from the UK’s most senior defence and intelligence chiefs, both aimed at recalibrating how Britain thinks about the threat from Russia. The Chief of the Defence Staff warns that the country is no longer safely distant from conflict, while the new head of MI6 breaks with tradition in her first speech to focus squarely on Putin’s Russia, the “grey zone” between peace and war, and the corrosive impact of technology on truth and power. Tom and Patrick explore what’s changed, why the tone is tougher, and whether this marks a genuine turning point in how the UK talks about war, resilience and national security.Vote for The General & the Journalist for People's Choice at the 2026 Political Podcast Awards.Host: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnClips: The Mirror & DailymotionPhoto: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe is rearming at a pace not seen in decades, from the Baltics to France, where President Macron has called for a new era of “mobilisation,” short of conscription but aimed at readying the nation for darker horizons. This week, Tom and Patrick ask what the UK should do in response, and whether our volunteer army can meet the moment. They’re joined by Oliver Moody, The Times’s Berlin correspondent and author of Baltic: The Future of Europe, to explore how frontline states are preparing their populations for potential conflict. From Finland’s “Total Defence” model to France’s new voluntary service for teenagers, they break down the shifts already underway, and the uncomfortable questions they raise for Britain. Vote for The General & the Journalist for People's Choice at the 2026 Political Podcast Awards.Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersGuest: Oliver MoodyClip: EuronewsPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cyber warfare is played out in the shadows, never declared and never attributed. But, as the General in charge of Nato's cyber operations tells Tom, the west is fighting what amounts to a war on a daily basis. Patrick agrees, recalling his time as Commander of UK Cyber operations, an experience he likens to living under a 'digital Blitz.' Host: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnGuest: Turkish Brigadier General Ümit ErsoyPhoto: NATO Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The largest deployment of US naval assets since the Cold War has been sent steaming across the Atlantic to the Venezuelan coast. The CIA has reportedly been given the green light to operate inside the country. And now the Cartel de los Soles has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, potentially paving the way for strikes against the man the US claims to be its leader, President Nicolas Maduro himself. But what really sits behind Trump's determination to see him off, and how might he do it?Host: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton DunnGuest: Ryan BergClips: Associated Press, The Sun, PBS News HourPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The former chief of MI6, Sir Alex Younger, tells Tom that this is the moment Europe needs to “regain its relationship with hard power”, having been caught on the back foot by an American peace plan widely regarded to have been made in Moscow. As we recorded this bonus episode, Ukraine had just accepted America's modified plan, but Moscow had yet to respond. Sir Alex believes that “Ukraine is still in the game.” But for how long? Guest: Sir Alex YoungerHost: Tom Newton DunnPicture: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Annie Jacobsen joins Tom to discuss her bestselling and harrowing book Nuclear War: A Scenario, which maps out in minute-by-minute detail what would happen if a single nuclear missile were launched at the United States. Drawing on rare on-the-record interviews with senior nuclear experts, she reveals how little time a president has to respond, how unreliable missile defenses truly are, and why even a lone strike could trigger global annihilation. Tom and Annie explore the catastrophic aftermath and the grim reality that no nation, however distant, would be spared. With nuclear tensions rising and key treaties expiring, the episode confronts an urgent question: whether nuclear war is becoming inevitable, and what humanity can still do to prevent it.Host: Tom Newton DunnGuest: Annie JacobsenPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch:  generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.ukFurther listening: A new age of nuclear weapons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's warfare or lawfare, but it can't be both. Patrick and Tom chat with General Sir Nick Parker, Patrick's friend and mentor of old, to talk about a letter they and six other four-star Generals signed, calling for an immediate end to retrospective legal cases being brought against former servicemen and women.The cases are not only undermining the very basis of the compact between soldier and state, but it's also jeopardising operations in the field, a fact Patrick and Nick confirm when they discuss the departure of a "significant" number of Special Forces officers who've handed in their weapons rather than risk being dragged before the courts on some as yet unknown charge.Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersGuest: General Sir Nick ParkerPhoto: Getty ImagesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.ukFurther reading: "Ongoing lawfare risks everything" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the space of only three days, President Putin announced the arrival of two new super weapons. Both powered by nuclear reactors, they have no equal in the west. Burevestnik, or Skyfall by its Nato codename, is a low-flying cruise missile with unlimited range and the ability to travel undetected by US defence systems. Poseidon is a torpedo capable of carrying a nuclear payload which, if detonated, could inundate entire US coastal cities with a radioactive tsunami. In response, President Trump called for the immediate resumption of nuclear warhead testing after a three-decade moratorium. Tom and Patrick discuss whether Skyfall and Poseidon actually work or could ever be usefully deployed. But despite the doubts, they agree their arrival poses a serious threat to nuclear arms reduction. And, while the US may take some comfort from the potential limitations of Skyfall and Poseidon, both Russia and China have pulled ahead where it matters most, hypersonic warfare. Tom and Patrick explain how the west got left behind and why it urgently needs to catch up.Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersPhoto: Getty ImagesClips: 60 MinutesGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.ukFurther listening: China's power: The PLA vs the USA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three and a half years, BBC correspondent James Waterhouse was the face of the Ukraine war, reporting nightly from Kyiv through air raids, blackouts, and breaking news. In this episode, he joins Tom and Patrick to reflect on the mental and emotional toll of years on the frontline, the strange adjustment to life back home, and the addictive intensity of war. From the first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion to the blurred battle lines of today, he offers a rare insider’s view of a conflict that continues to redefine modern combat. A gripping conversation about technology, trauma, and the personal cost of telling one of the world’s hardest stories.Guest: James WaterhouseHosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersPhoto: Courtesy of James WaterhouseClips: BBCGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.ukFurther listening: "Whose wars do we care about and why, with war reporter Anthony Loyd" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While trade wars hog the headlines ahead of next week's historic meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, it's the potential of a real, kinetic war over Taiwan that's occupying the minds of military analysts the world over. Xi has called the reunification of Taiwan and China 'inevitable' and necessary for the realisation of his 'China Dream.' But America has a historic obligation to come to Taiwan's aid if it were attacked militarily. So what would happen if an unstoppable force were to meet an immovable object, some say as soon as 2027? Who would win, and how would it play out? Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro is one of the west's leading analysts of China and author of Upstart: How China Became a Great Power. She also advises the Pentagon, though she's talking to Tom and Patrick in a personal capacity. Further listening: China’s power: The PLA vs the USA (Part 1)China’s power: How Xi is running rings around the West (Part 2)Host: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersGuest: Oriana Skylar MastroPhoto: Getty ImagesClips: ReutersGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.