Two years on from the devastating events of October 7, 2023, Gaza lies in ruins and numerous hostages are still held by Hamas. The destruction and losses, both in human terms and to the idea of peace as a possibility has been devastating. Whilst there are glimmers of hope in the latest ceasefire negotiations, it still feels too early to try to answer huge questions about the future of Israel and Palestine. So, on this difficult anniversary I have chosen to showcase the work of Mya Guarnieri, an American-Israeli writer and academic who married a Palestinian and wrote an account of her life across the lines in a moving book. Thank you for listening to this episode of Behind the Lines. Please subscribe to avoid missing any episodes and please subscribe to my substack here: https://arthursnell.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As countries all over the world, but particularly liberal democracies in the West, turn themselves inside out over the issue of migration and in the process empowering the far right, it was my great pleasure to speak to one of the few people who actually is willing to give calm, clear facts on this subject. Zoe Gardner is rightly a prominent figure in media and public debates on migration, but is almost the only person willing to stand up and be counted with some humane, calm and utterly essential facts on the matter. It was such a privilege to get her on the podcast and I hope you get as much from the conversation as I did. You can find Zoe's work online in all the usual places including https://bsky.app/profile/zoejardiniere.bsky.social Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Check out Olena's work at https://ukrainesarmsmonitor.substack.com/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I speak to Jan Pospisil of Coventry University about the war in Sudan, its roots and its current trajectory. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dan Kaszeta is the author of two books on the Baltic States, as well as being world renowned expert on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. He talked to me about the Baltic States in the twentieth century and the risks to them today from a rampantly aggressive Russia. You can find Dan's books here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/dan-kaszeta/ Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Professor Christina Pagel is responsible for the excellent website https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/? in addition to her work in public health and public policy. Here, she explains how she is tracking increasing authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies in the Trump administration. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Joint Episode with Disorder and RUSI, Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Professor Tim Willasey-Wilsey is author of The Spy and the Devil. We spoke about the remarkable subject of his book, Baron Bill de Ropp and the story of Britain's secret operations against Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
with Jade McGlynnCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Michael StephensCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
with Charlie GammellCheck out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I spoke to Dutch defence journalist and Russia expert Steven Derix about an important new revelation of Russia's use of chemical weapons in the war in Ukraine, happening as part of direct orders and thousands of times. You can find the original report here https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/07/04/nederlandse-inlichtingendiensten-russen-zetten-in-oekraine-op-grote-schaal-chemische-wapens-in-a4899319 Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I spoke to Dr Mike Martin, MP for Tunbridge Wells and former soldier about the Strategic Defence Review. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I spoke to Iran expert Charlie Gammell in the light of the recent developments in the Iran nuclear negotiations. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza descends to unimaginable levels, and the war of words between Benjamin Netanyahu and the West escalates, I spoke to Michael Stephens of RAND Europe and RUSI about the situation. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this episode I discuss recent allegations of war crimes committed by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan. These featured in a recent BBC Panorama episode which can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ykkf/panorama-special-forces-i-saw-war-crimes My guest on this episode is Professor Matthew Ford, a military expert based at the Swedish Defence University. We covered these allegations, wider questions of counter-insurgency and what it means for modern warfare as the western alliance faces existential challenges. You can find Matthew Ford here https://bsky.app/profile/warmatters.bsky.social You can find me here https://arthursnell.substack.com You can find our new Bookshop.org affiliate shop here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this episode I speak to Iona Craig, the veteran Yemen expert and journalist about recent events, including the UK's decision to join the US in carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis. Iona mentioned an earlier episode of this podcast with Laura Cretney, which is worth listening to if you are interested in Yemen. You can find it here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/behind-the-lines-with-arthur-snell/id1704344656?i=1000643933101 Please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I spoke to Romeo Kokriatski, presenter of the Ukraine without the Hype podcast about recent events in his country, including the Trump betrayal. We mentioned Operation Sky Shield, a plan which you can read about here. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What does the climate crisis mean for sovereignty in a world where certain countries face existential risk? I spoke to Taukiei Kitara, a native of Tuvalu, about the case of low-lying Pacific Islands, including his native Tuvalu. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site behindthelines and please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and/or follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Julian Hay
Arthur, you stated that Ed Shev was Georgia's first post USSR president but this was surely Zviad Gamsakurdia who was ousted in a coup after a few months. I'm intrigued as to why this individual seems almost written out of history or, at most, regarded by Georgians I've met with something like embarrassment? I know Sakashvili tried to rehabilitate his memory but still ...
Marty
Another fascinating podcast; I really appreciate this podcast, it's a must for anyone looking for an intelligent podcast covering international political stories.
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Excellent thought provoking episode again.
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John Sweeney can tell it like it is. He should be all over the national news nightly, wakey wakey. Well done Arthur another learning curve of an episode. Forewarned etc.