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PODCAST

The Debate

FRANCE 24 English

A live debate on the topic of the day, with four guests. From Monday to Thursday at 7:10pm Paris time.

news & politics

All Episodes

00:37:54

Bully Pulpit: One year on, Trump tests limits of...

The Debate ·

2026/01/20

Back with a vengeance. On the first anniversary of his second inauguration, Donald Trump using all the levers at his disposal to enact retribution on his adversaries at home and the guardians of the old liberal order abroad. One year on, why did voters in the United States decide to overlook the attempt by his supporters to overturn by force the result of the 2020 elections and return to office the twice-impeached Donald Trump? This time, it's different, very different.The 79-year old president

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00:42:23

The end of appeasement? EU threatens Trump with...

The Debate ·

2026/01/19

So much for appeasement. The same Europeans who held their nose and swallowed their pride when the EU agreed to Donald Trump's tariffs last summer can no longer ignore the obvious – that there are limits with a president of the United States who tends to treat them as vassals, not allies, or even as adversaries for pushing back on its White nationalist brand of nativism. We ask how much pain citizens are willing to bear in the name of safeguarding the continent's security and sovereignty, and how

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00:42:31

Why Greenland? Trump ups pressure as Denmark...

The Debate ·

2026/01/14

No Oval Office made-for-TV drama as U-S vice president JD Vance joined U-S Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark. We'll ask about renewed pressure by the Trump administration on Copenhagen to hand over that Arctic dependency. How intent is the U-S on seizing Greenland? Even if it means the end the Atlantic Alliance that's safeguarded Europe's defense under U-S tutelage since the end of World War Two? It’s hard to see how NATO could survive coercive action

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00:43:40

Marine Le Pen's appeal: Will trial torpedo French...

The Debate ·

2026/01/13

A big stress test for the West's rules-based order, or will French judges take it all in their stride? It's the opening day of Marine Le Pen's appeal against a corruption conviction that for now bars the far-right frontrunner from the 2027 presidential race. With the verdict expected in July, that's getting awfully close to Election Day next spring. The National Rally politician and her supporters have branded the case lawfare – a political vendetta. Recently, Marine Le Pen voiced her support for

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00:44:22

Blackout over Iran: Can the regime keep a lid on the...

The Debate ·

2026/01/12

It's no longer just about the cost of living. Protests in Iran are entering their third week despite evidence of a ferocious crackdown and the shutting of the internet. Each time, the context differs but the under-sanctions Islamic Republic of Iran has always outlasted previous movements. Why should this one be any different? Among the variables, there's maximum pressure from the US that culminated in support for Israel's 12-day bombing campaign last summer and extends to fresh threats of

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00:43:11

How far will Iran's protests go? Defiance grows...

The Debate ·

2026/01/08

Iran's biggest protests since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement of 2022 are extending everywhere from Tehran's Grand Bazaar to remote villages throughout the country's 31 provinces. As usual, the regime is offering dialogue while employing deadly force, issuing menacing warnings and slowing or even shutting down the internet. Every time social movements arise in the under-sanctions, inflation-hit Islamic Republic, the regime outlasts its opponents. Why should this time be different? What are the

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00:43:30

Might is right? Trump's 'Donroe Doctrine' tests world...

The Debate ·

2026/01/07

It’s a tweet pinned to the top of the official account of the US State Department: "This is OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened." US diplomacy is making the capture of Venezuela’s president and the threats against Greenland about security. But it was first about drugs and immigration, and now oil and precious minerals. Read moreTaking over Greenland, a long-standing US obsession So what does drive this present-day version of the 19th-century Monroe

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00:43:54

'We're in charge': What's Trump's plan for Venezuela?

The Debate ·

2026/01/05

As Venezuela's deposed president faces his first US court date on drug trafficking charges, back in Caracas, Nicolas Maduro's regime remains intact. We ask how a US president who promised no more forever wars will deal with an entrenched system whose local militias have their fingers in drug trafficking, gold and also oil. Donald Trump has talked up oil, while the word democracy has yet to pass his lips since Saturday's raid. Why sideline Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado and the

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00:46:21

Why all the running? Sporting craze draws in record...

The Debate ·

2025/12/24

It's one of those New Year's resolutions often blurted out after a big family meal. "I'm going to run a marathon!" But like the cautionary saying "puppies aren't for Christmas, they're for life", one wonders how many realise the error of their ways when they're gasping for air during that first January training run. Or not. Not everyone will run a 41-kilometre race in 2026, but more and more will take up what's arguably the world's oldest sport. Why the trend? Is it a mere post-pandemic fad, or the

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00:45:31

What makes a hit song? How to keep it real in the age...

The Debate ·

2025/12/23

There's nothing more innately human than humming a tune. Especially when it's made by humans. But don't bother trying to see The Velvet Sundown in concert: the band doesn't exist. The sounds are produced with artificial intelligence. Watch moreThe Velvet Sundown: This band blowing up on Spotify is 100% AI-generated Worse, most listeners can't tell the difference from the real thing. With computers borrowing from real musicians for their inspiration, we weigh the implications. If humans are going to

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00:46:37

Off the scales? Work-life balance in the digital age

The Debate ·

2025/12/23

It's the word of the year in Japan with a literal take on the Rihanna song "Work". Japan's first female prime minister Takaichi Sanae announced she would "abandon the idea of a work-life balance" when she was elected as the head of Liberal Democratic Party back in October. The 64-year old Takaichi may espouse "work, work, work, work and work", but how about those entering the labour market? Watch more'Work, work, work!' Japan's new PM under fire for asking staff to come in at 3am In the age of the

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00:43:41

Decision time in Brussels: Will EU ignore threats and...

The Debate ·

2025/12/18

Some brand it "the most crucial EU summit" since the financial crisis of 2008; a last chance to stave off bankruptcy for a Ukrainian government that might run out of money by the end of spring. But where will the money come from? With Vladimir Putin insisting that it's not "European pigs" that will stop Russia from liberating its "historic lands", and with the US actively supporting pro-Moscow parties that continue to surge in polling across the continent, leaders of the 27-member bloc must now

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00:43:20

FIFA goes MAGA? The World Cup, Trump and the future...

The Debate ·

2025/12/18

As 2025 draws to a close, all year long one question has dogged the most plugged-in of football fanatics: what's up with Gianni Infantino? Why all the cameos by the head of an international sports body at the US president's inauguration, a Middle East peace signing and another for DR Congo and Rwanda? Read moreUS President Donald Trump named first winner of FIFA Peace Prize Why create a peace prize for the said leader of the host nation of next summer's World Cup final? Is it the initiative of one

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00:43:26

The battle for Marseille: How to win back streets as...

The Debate ·

2025/12/16

One month after the stunning assassination of the brother of an anti-gangland activist, French President Emmanuel Macron is returning to the Mediterranean port for an update on the government's plan to win back the streets and offer hope to fed-up citizens of France's second-largest city. The whole reason Amine Kessaci became an activist was the earlier murder of his older half-brother, who got mixed up with the wrong crowd. The unsolved murder of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci – who was training to

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00:42:37

Terror at Bondi Beach: What response to Australia's...

The Debate ·

2025/12/15

It was the worst of humanity, and the best of humanity. What kind of a father-son duo decides to go shooting at a gathering that's come together to celebrate the Jewish festival of light? We ask about the motives and circumstances of the Bondi Beach terror attack, and the heroism of a Syrian-born street vendor who took bullets to the shoulder while disarming one of the gunmen. Read more'Genuine hero': Bystander tackles alleged gunman during Bondi Beach mass shooting The amateur video of the incident

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00:44:04

Europe according to Trump: What response to claim of...

The Debate ·

2025/12/10

Europe is weighing its words after Washington's publication of an official policy paper that warns the Old Continent is under threat of "civilisational erasure", with fading powers overrun by migrants. It’s the logical follow-up to Vice President JD Vance's admonishments back in February at the Munich Security Conference, one that goes far beyond the unexplained absence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at last week's NATO foreign ministers' meeting. Read more'They're decaying': Trump recycles

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00:43:12

A new Syria? One year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad

The Debate ·

2025/12/08

It was exactly one year ago that a lightning offensive reached its ultimate conclusion. Syria saw the fall of Bashar al-Assad, ending over five decades of his family's dictatorial regime in a blitz that stunned the world. In Damascus, celebrations erupted in Umayyad Square, as Syrians emerged from 13 years of brutal civil war, marking a moment of both relief and disbelief. In the chaos that followed, Assad fled to Moscow and former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa, now the interim president, took the reins

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00:44:30

Licence to kill?

The Debate ·

2025/12/03

When should a soldier disobey an order? The US president and his Pentagon chief doubling down on operations to sink without summation alleged drug boats in the Carribean and the Pacific, the pair pushing back on a Washington Post report asserting that back in September, Pete Hegseth's orders led to a follow-up strike on a vessel, killing all remaining survivors. Among the issues whether interested parties could face war crimes charges. US War Department footage can make this look like a video game

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00:43:45

Back to the Kremlin: Will Witkoff plan seal Ukraine's...

The Debate ·

2025/12/02

A peace plan allegedly made in Moscow, a week of furious scrambling to dial it back by Ukraine and its European allies and now it's back to the Kremlin for Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, flanked only by the US president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and an interpreter. Have negotiations in Florida moved the needle back in Kyiv's favor? How hard – or soft – can the bargaining be? Is Witkoff Putin's puppet, as suggested last week by French newspaper Libération? Beyond last week's leaks that had the

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00:43:39

Nigeria's wave of kidnappings: Why the spike in...

The Debate ·

2025/12/01

Why is Nigeria in the throes of a kidnapping epidemic? Sometimes depicted as terrorists, other times as bandits, attackers have targeted three schools inside of a week, leading some to compare the abductions with the 2014 Chibok attacks by the jihadists of Boko Haram. We do our comparison and revisit the same question as a decade ago – why would any human being abduct children; in some cases nursery school children? It's an ordeal for the victims and their families, and bad timing for Africa's most

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