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PODCAST

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Exploring threats to global stability from Ukraine to China to the Middle East with host Gavin Esler – former BBC News presenter, Washington correspondent and host of Newsnight – plus Ukraine-based war reporter Oz Katerji and independent conflict analyst Emma Beals. This Is Not A Drill dives deep into the dangers, corruption, conflicts, disinformation, rivalries and ruthless realpolitik that are making our world ever more dangerous. Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon from just £3 per month to

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All Episodes

50:08

The Israel/Hamas War: Netanyahu’s crisis, Iran’s...

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/11/22

The Hamas atrocities of 7th October and Israel’s overwhelming retaliation have plunged the region into its worst chaos in 50 years. How deeply involved was Iran in the Hamas attacks? Did Netanyahu’s political desperation and strategic bungling really open the door to the most anguished day in Israel’s history? And is there a way to end the carnage before it spreads? Gavin Esler looks for answers with author and journalist Kim Ghattas who is based in Beirut – a Hamas stronghold – and Guardian

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48:10

New Series: Twelve months to save American democracy?

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/11/15

Welcome to This Is Not A Drill – the new name for Doomsday Watch, with new host Gavin Esler. In our first episode: It’s one year to the US Presidential election. If Donald Trump is the victor he will be unbound by any fear of legal or democratic restraint. What will Trump do to get there? And what will he do if he wins? Gavin Esler talks to Bill Kristol, editor-at-large of conservative magazine The Bulwark, who has broken with the Republicans in revulsion at the party’s surrender to the MAGA ideal;

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1:25

This Is Not A Drill – the new name for Doomsday Watch

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/11/13

Welcome to This Is Not A Drill, the brand new weekly show about geopolitical threats, where they come from and how to fight them. We’re building on the legacy of Doomsday Watch to look even more widely about the dangers, corruption, conflicts, disinformation, rivalries and ruthless realpolitik that are making our world ever-more dangerous. And we’ve got a brand-new host: Gavin Esler, former BBC News presenter, Washington correspondent and host of Newsnight. Gavin will be talking to highly

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57:30

On the Edge At the NATO Summit

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/07/13

This week, for the second time since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, world leaders met to discuss the challenges facing the NATO security alliance. With two previously isolationist nations, Finland and Sweden, newly joined or about to join - this week’s Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania spoke of a newly energised organisation. But perhaps predictably in an age of war in Europe - there remain tensions and very big questions. The biggest of all - what to do about Ukraine? To discuss what it means

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43:11

Chaos in the Kremlin

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/06/30

After an astonishing seven days in Russia, Doomsday Watch is back to answer some of the biggest questions following the aborted Wagner rebellion. How will Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived insurrection affect Russia and its war of aggression on Ukraine? Few understand the machinations and manoeuvres of Russian politics like Christopher Steele - former head of the Russia desk at MI6 and the man behind the famous Trump dossier in 2016, which investigated Russia’s links to US politics. The director of

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38:16

Emergency Bulletin - Götterdämmerung: Wagner’s Coup

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/06/24

The slow-motion breakdown of relations between Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin and Russia’s military has now accelerated into a fast-forward coup. Wagner mercenaries have taken control of Rostov - a Russian city which houses the headquarters of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. And now they are marching on Moscow. A worried Putin has made a national TV address and may even be onboard his special plane fleeing the country. Host Arthur Snell spoke to Doomsday Watch favourite Dr Mike Martin,

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68:45

The Ukraine War Ep. 8: The World At War

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/06/14

The finale of our history of the Ukraine war – for now. As Ukraine’s 2023 counter-offensive begins and Putin responds with mere nihilistic destruction, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Now Arthur Snell takes stock of the war so far. Ukraine’s fight for freedom could preserves the security of Europe’s hinterlands, and Russia’s failures have shown how NOT to fight a war. But history tells us that the fall of great powers puts global peace in grave peril. How can we prevent chaos in Russia spilling out

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54:42

The Ukraine War Ep. 7: New World Disorder

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/06/07

How Putin’s war has reshaped the world. In Ep.7: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered the rules-based international order. Now the strongmen are scrambling to take advantage. Arthur Snell looks at vast powerplays of Russian information warfare and Chinese influence across Africa and the developing world. Will China see financing Putin’s faltering Forever War as a good bet? And what is in store for Putin now that there are Russian resistance units active inside Russia itself? Hear the finale of

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65:28

The Ukraine War Ep. 6: Defiance

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/05/31

Telling the history of the war that’s reshaping the world. In Ep.6: How Ukrainian bravery and steadfastness amazed the world. These are the human stories of how a country much smaller than Russia was able to stand together under Putin’s astonishing onslaught – why a shovel is a soldier’s best friend – and how Ukrainian civilians who never thought of themselves as fighters found themselves rushing towards the front line. Hear next week’s edition of Doomsday Watch: The Ukraine War immediately when you

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57:00

The Ukraine War Ep. 5: Russia Humiliated

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/05/24

Telling the history of the war that’s reshaping the world. In Ep.5: As Putin’s assault falters and his army degenerates into retreat and atrocity, Russia’s self-image as a bulwark against fascism falls into tatters. Arthur Snell looks at the incompetence, factionalism, corruption and failure to plan which created this debacle – how Russia remains obsessed with the Great Patriotic War – how Chechnya and Georgia provided dry runs for Ukraine — and the cocktail of self-destructive impulses, self-pity

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55:12

The Ukraine War Ep. 4: Europe in Shock

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/05/17

Telling the history of the war that’s reshaping the world. In Ep.4: Putin planned to break Europe’s resolve under the twin effects of his assault on Ukraine and his energy war. Instead he bound NATO and the EU together more tightly than ever. This is the story of how Putin’s recklessness created the ‘Zeitenwende’, the turning point in European history where German illusions about Russian cooperation faded away… and Ukraine became a new bulwark of freedom. Hear next week’s edition of Doomsday Watch:

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63:44

The Ukraine War Ep. 3: War Crimes

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/05/10

Warning: The episode contains distressing material. In Ep.3 of our history of Putin’s war: As the Russian assault stalls, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol becomes a source of humiliation for Putin. He resolves to obliterate it and its people. War crimes on the scale of WWII ensue. Arthur Snell talks to journalists, eyewitnesses and campaigners to reveal the enormity of Russian atrocities across Ukraine – the targeting of hospitals and children – and the forced disappearances and murders of Ukrainian

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49:15

The Ukraine War Ep. 2: Invasion

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/05/03

Telling the history of a war that’s reshaping the world. In Ep.2: Russia thought they’d take Kyiv in three days. Instead Putin’s invasion has gone down as one of the most infamous fiascos in military history – while Ukraine’s courage and fighting skill has stunned the world. How did Putin get it so wrong? And how did Zelenskyy’s defiance transform the conflict? Arthur Snell talks to military analysts and historians to unearth the truth about the pivotal first weeks of the war: catastrophe for

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68:11

The Ukraine War Ep. 1: The Eve of the War

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/04/26

Telling the history of a war that’s reshaping the world. In Ep.1: How Russia’s febrile history, Putin’s paranoid resentment and Western complacency led to an historic crime against a peaceful nation, the destruction of the rules-based international order, the largest European land action since the Second World War… and a conflict of unprecedented brutality. In weekly episodes Arthur Snell talks to soldiers, civilians, analysts and journalists to tell the story of the war and capture the enormity of

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37:20

SPECIAL: Who is the real Zelenskyy?

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/01/27

Special edition: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embodies the courage of his nation, and his charisma and determination have made him a hero to the free world. But what this former actor-comedian turned war leader tick? Arthur Snell talks to Steven Derix, co-author of Zelensky*: Ukraine's President and His Country with Marina Shelkunova, about the astonishing story of an actor who played a president on TV before being thrust into the role of real-life wartime leader. (Yes, there are two ways

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33:36

BONUS: What have we learned? Arthur Snell Q&A on...

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/01/20

Special bonus edition. Our latest series was a whirlwind tour of the apocalypse, from Ukraine to the Arctic to cyberspace and beyond. What did Arthur Snell learn? Our presenter sits down with Andrew Harrison for the big takeaways. Has Putin already lost the Ukraine War? Can a paranoid Republican Party really govern? Could there be a nuclear conflict after all? Plus questions from our splendid Patreon backers. We’re already hard at work on a new and very different series of Doomsday Watch. Support us

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15:41

A taster of JAM TOMORROW with Ros Taylor – our new...

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/01/20

A special taster of our new series. Search for Jam Tomorrow in your favourite podcast app or visit https://kite.link/JTS1 Episode One: Every Day Is Like D-Day. How did Britain’s dreams of a new postwar world go unfulfilled? And what does that mean for us today? In the first of a new documentary series from the makers of Oh God, What Now?, Ros Taylor looks at the legacy of the War itself. Ιdeals of the Blitz Spirit and dreams of wartime heroism still shape everything from pop culture and

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42:07

SPECIAL: Who's burning Russia? Secrets of a covert...

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2023/01/12

Why do key military sites in Russia have an unfortunate habit of bursting into flames? Journalist and former US special forces operative Jack Murphy pulls back the curtain on an audacious campaign of sleeper agent sabotage on Russian soil. This is the astonishing story of how the CIA works with the spy service of one NATO-friendly country to bring the Ukraine War home to Putin. Read Jack Murphy’s story here: https://jackmurphywrites.com/169/the-cias-sabotage-campaign-inside-russia/ Support Doomsday

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68:20

Season finale: Will Ukraine save the world?

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2022/12/28

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped the world, but not the way Putin wanted. With little to show for its 100,000 dead, Russia is exposed as weak and militarily inadequate. Now Russian interference in Western democracy and dirty oligarch money are under greater scrutiny than ever before. With Western democracies shocked into unity, does the Ukraine War provide an opportunity to make a new, more secure free world? In our season finale, Arthur Snell looks forward to a world after Ukraine and

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62:44

The Next Pandemic

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler ·

2022/12/21

COVID tested world health systems to near-destruction and killed more than 6.6 million people. Now new infectious diseases are emerging and the antibiotics we depend on no longer work the way they used to. Arthur Snell meets doctors, epidemiologists, evolutionary biologists and veterans of the Coronavirus battles to discover the mounting threat of new zoonotic diseases which leap from animal to human, how COVID conspiracism is undermining our efforts against future pandemics… and how ill-prepared we

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