Welcome to the first episode in this series, with your hosts, the ELN’s Jane Kinninmont and Edan Simpson. This episode kicks off by introducing the series, and the broad topic of existential risk in the feature “What’s the Problem?” speaking to Adam Thomson, Director of ELN. 

Edan’s panel discussion features the Rt. Hon. Lord Browne of Ladyton, Des Browne, and NEVER members Eva Siegmann and Arthur Duforest. They discuss what existential crises are, how they’re defined and how we recognise and classify them, and the impact of existential risks like nuclear war and climate change, whilst exploring interconnected solutions to these complex issues. 

In “Turn Back The Clock” we revisit one of the tensest periods in the Cold War - the Cuban Missile Crisis. Jane speaks to Dr Marion Messmer, senior research fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House and also Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IE RAS), who also happens to be the grandson of the former USSR’s foreign minister who was in office during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They dissect this critical historical event, putting the focus on the strategic “game of chess” between the superpowers, the initial successes of the Soviets in evading American detection, to the turning point brought about through careful diplomacy and mediated negotiation. 

And as always, we’ll end with “The Debrief”, to make sense of everything we’ve covered in this packed first episode. 

Listen now, and don’t forget to subscribe for future episodes. The next episode will focus on nuclear weapons and their role in the field of existential risk. 

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