The Debate

Mar 06 2025 23 ep. 43 mins 963
The Debate Podcast artwork

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

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Race to rearm: Can Europe deter Russia on its own?

Mar 06 2025 43 mins  
Ukraine’s allies have plenty of troops and hardware. But how battle ready are they? And is it enough to deter Putin’s Russia? Brussels is hosting an emergency summit with Volodymyr Zelensky attending as the Trump administration halts support for Ukraine. The sense of urgency is also illustrated by Germany reaching a deal to revise its constitution so it can ensure its security

The end of shared values? Europe grapples with Trump's America

Mar 05 2025 44 mins  
Can Europeans and Americans still speak of shared values? The longest-ever speech by a US president to a joint session of Congress doubling down on an America First vision of foreign policy that's heavy on the sticks, light on the carrots. In the past, critics of the US dismissed talks of exporting democracy by pointing to Vietnam, Latin America and Iraq, but the US has also put it

Erdogan's gambit: Could Turkey's president make peace with PKK?

Mar 04 2025 41 mins  
It’s a volatile world these days. While Europe wonders if it’s just lost its US security umbrella, while a Gaza ceasefire hangs by a thread, while Syria figures out how to hold it together after the fall of Assad, major regional player Turkey looks to get its own house in order with the announced dissolution of a 40-year-old Kurdish insurgency. Why did Recep Tayyip Erdogan and

Can Europe go it alone? Future of NATO in doubt as Trump turns on Ukraine

Mar 03 2025 45 mins  
The image of King Charles III welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky to Sandringham evokes memories of his grandfather, George VI, standing firm as Britain held the line before the United States entered the war. Since then, Europe has relied on Washington's security umbrella. But that era may be coming to an end. Last Friday, Ukraine's president was caught off guard on live television, confr

Starmer's turn: What can old allies do to convince Trump on Ukraine?

Feb 27 2025 46 mins  
Whispering in Donald Trump's ear is no easy task: just ask Emmanuel Macron. Despite Monday's "broshakes", flattery and mild reproaches, the US still sided with Russia and North Korea on Ukraine at the UN. Maybe one meeting wasn’t enough. Now it's Keir Starmer's turn, and his job might be even tougher. Trump prefers presidents and kings, and post-Brexit Britain is in a tighter fin

Syria's promise: Will new masters of Damascus deliver unity and justice?

Feb 26 2025 42 mins  
Can Syria keep its promises? After the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December, the new rulers of Damascus are convening a one-day national dialogue conference. On paper, the outcomes sound promising: transitional justice, inclusive democracy and the disarmament of the country’s numerous militias in favour of a unified national army. In practice, it’s far more complicated. The US

Which direction for the Church? Pope's hospitalisation puts prelates on stand-by

Feb 25 2025 44 mins  
Amid armed conflicts, a climate emergency and the disruptions of the digital age, now comes another layer of uncertainty to worry about. Since Monday, nightly rosary prayers have been taking place in Saint Peter's Square as pilgrims pray for an 88-year old pope who's in hospital for the fourth time. We ask about Francis's health and what change at the top would mean inside the worl

Turning point for European defence? Germany's next leader embraces security independence

Feb 24 2025 42 mins  
There's no hitting the snooze button on this wake-up call. Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting is savouring victory in Sunday’s federal elections while taking stock of what he faces: with the Putin and Trump-backed far right finishing a strong second, Friedrich Merz is stating that his country and continent can no longer rely on the United States for their defence.

Germany's crunch elections: Can mainstream parties blunt surging far right?

Feb 20 2025 42 mins  
Sunday's crunch elections in Germany are coming at perhaps the most pivotal moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Back then, it was about making a success of reunification. Now comes a reckoning over the German model that ensued. Under threat is the kind of global free trade that powers Germany's export-driven economy. Instead we're seeing Donald Trump's tariffs, a Russian aggr

Rule by decree? Trump's executive orders and the future of US democracy

Feb 19 2025 43 mins  
Does the United States already face a constitutional crisis? At what point does a president’s "rule by decree" manner of governing take a centuries-old democracy into unchartered territory?