The Briefing Room

It’s four years this week since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. And by this summer the conflict will have gone on for longer than the First World War. Casualties run into the hundreds of thousands. Peace talks brokered by the US have been off and on for the past few months, with President Putin demanding that Ukraine gives Russia full control of the eastern Donbas region, including the part it does not occupy. President Zelensky refuses. Meanwhile, Ukraine has experiened one of its harshest winters as its cities and energy infrastructure have been pounded by Russian drones and missiles. Still both sides fight on in a war which has become dominated by advanced drone technology. David Aaronovitch asks his guests whether anyone is winning and when and how this war might end.
Guests:
Mark Galeotti, head of Mayak Intelligence and author of "Forged in War: a military history of Russia from its beginnings to today."
Dr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute and author of "The Arms of the Future: Technology and Close Combat in the Twenty First Century."
Rebecca Lissner, Senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and lecturer at the Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University.
Christopher Miller, Chief Ukraine Correspondent, The Financial Times and author of "The war came to us: life and death in Ukraine."
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon

Pressure is building in the UK for a ban on social media use for young people as countries across the world watch Australia, which introduced its own ban for under 16s last December. Meanwhile, the government here is launching a public consultation on children’s use of social media which will look at a range of options, including a ban. It also said this week that it wants to create new legal powers so it can take action quickly. David Aaronovitch asks what the evidence so far tells us about social media and harm to young people and what else could be done about it short of an outright ban.
Guests:
Katy Watson, Sydney Correspondent
Luke Tryl, Director More in Common
Professor Amy Orben, Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
Professor Sonia Livingstone, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics
Pete Etchells, Professor of Psychology and Science Communication, Bath Spa University
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon

In early January street protests in Iran turned deadly - thousands were killed by Iranian forces. What started as a demonstration about economic conditions had turned into demands for regime change. President Trump said he would come to the aid of protesters. But so far he hasn’t. He’s amassed a US armada in the Gulf. And last Friday talks were held in Oman between American and Iranian officials about reducing Iran’s nuclear capacity. There’s been no agreement yet but more talks are expected. David Aaronovitch asks his guests what could happen next ? And how vulnerable the Iranian regime is, both inside the country and to a potential US attack?
Guests:
Kasra Naji,Special Correspondent, BBC Persian
Arash Azizi, Writer and lecturer, Yale University
Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security at the Royal United Services Institute
Dr Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East programme, Chatham House
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Emma Close
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon

Following the dramatic capture of the President of Venezuela and his wife by US special forces on January 3rd, The Briefing Room asks what’s next for Venezuela? Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores have been indicted on drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court while in Venezuela the deputy president, Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as the country’s interim president. Meanwhile Donald Trump says he is in charge of Venezuela. David Aaronovitch and a panel of Latin American experts discuss who will actually govern Venezuela, what’s going to happen with the oil industry and what the implications are for the rest of the region.
GUESTS
Hal Hodson, Americas editor, The Economist
Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House
Vanda Felbab-Brown Senior Fellow Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon

As both the year and the current series of The Briefing Room draw to a close, Europe and much of the world have been digesting a lengthy document outlining the Trump administration’s view of foreign policy. The National Security Strategy covers much of the globe but extra special vitriol was reserved for Europe with dire warnings that the continent is facing “civilisational erasure” partly due to immigration. At the same time the growing influence of “patriotic European parties” (those on the far right) is welcomed. But there’s more - the US wants to dominate the “Western Hemisphere” - the Americas and countries on its doorstep. It wants more trade with Asia and China, as well as the Middle East. But there are notable absences -there's no talk of a significant threat from either Russia or China. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss what all this means and ask how worried we, in Europe, should be about the current US view of the world?
Guests:
Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent
Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist
Rebecca Lissner, Senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and lecturer, Jackson School of Global Affair, Yale University.
Dr Christoph Heusgen, Former Chairman Munich Security Conference and former German Ambassador to United Nations
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor Richard Vadon