Battle Lines

The Telegraph
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Battle Lines is The Telegraph’s defence, security and foreign affairs podcast. It offers expert analysis and on-the-ground reporting from around the world, everywhere from China and the United States to the Middle East and Europe. Three times a week, veteran foreign correspondents Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey bring you on-the-ground dispatches from the world’s most volatile regions and informed analysis from world-class experts. Every Wednesday on Battle Lines x Global Health Security they’re joined by Arthur Scott-Geddes to look at the intersection between health and security, from bioweapons to warzone diseases to frontline medicine. You can watch these episodes here. Whether it’s the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Gaza conflict, Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, tensions between India and Pakistan, or the civil war in Sudan, Battle Lines covers the world’s most critical flashpoints with depth and clarity. When will China invade Taiwan? Can Donald Trump bring peace to the Middle East? What should Europe do to help Ukraine beat Russia? Is Iran building a nuclear bomb? What is the point of NATO? Can the United Kingdom still defend itself?  Created by David Knowles, Battle Lines answers all these questions and more, bringing together the best of The Telegraph’s international, geopolitical, and conflict reporting in one place. Don’t forget to follow and leave a review to stay updated on the latest in global conflict and foreign affairs. Battle Lines: Global Health Security is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Project Vault: Trump's battle to break China’s critical mineral stranglehold

    21 HR AGO

    Project Vault: Trump's battle to break China’s critical mineral stranglehold

    Donald Trump has moved the war for critical minerals from the margins of policy to the heart of great power rivalry. In this episode of Battle Lines, we look at Project Vault, America's bid to take back control of the critical minerals and rare earths supply chain from China.  This bid to build a vast new stockpile and industrial strategy was unveiled at the inaugural US Critical Minerals Ministerial Summit last week. Supporters see it as a necessary first step to protect American industry and national security. Critics warn that for middle countries, it may simply shift dependencies rather than break them. Venetia talks to Sibylline Chief Analyst Sam Olsen to unpack what Project Vault really means, why processing matters more than mining, and how China has weaponised its dominance in ways OPEC never could.  Plus, a deep dive on how Greenland fits into the West's rare earths strategy. Greenland Energy, Business and Mineral Resources Minister Naaja Nathanielsen on that Trump deal, Chinese influence and the challenges of mining on the island.  Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min
  2. ‘UK's biggest post-war scandal' and the China-Russia threat: shadow defence sec James Cartlidge

    4 DAYS AGO

    ‘UK's biggest post-war scandal' and the China-Russia threat: shadow defence sec James Cartlidge

    Was Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US a national security risk? Should the US and UK bomb Iran to spark regime change? Will Nato survive Trump? And how should European countries deal with the threat of China? British shadow defence secretary and former procurement minister James Cartlidge joins Roland and Venetia to discuss the biggest news stories in British and global defence at the moment, from Russia's Yantar 'spy ship' to the 'poison chalice' and beleaguered Ajax tank program. We want to hear why you enjoy Battle Lines! Email us: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk Read Sophia Yan's story on how China is powering Putin’s deadly new Oreshnik missiles: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/28/china-helping-russia-build-nuclear-capable-missile/ Read Roland's analysis of the Army’s £6bn Ajax disaster: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/23/inside-army-ajax-disaster/ Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
  3. 'No limits': Russia, China and US enter new nuclear arms race

    6 DAYS AGO

    'No limits': Russia, China and US enter new nuclear arms race

    This week, the New START treaty expires, ending the last remaining major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. With no binding limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals and China rapidly expanding its own, many fear the start of a new and dangerous era of proliferation. On this episode of Battle Lines: Global Health Security, Arthur Scott-Geddes and Sophie O’Sullivan are joined by Darya Dolzikova of the Royal United Services Institute and Matthew Bunn of Harvard Kennedy School to unpack why Donald Trump wants to rebuild America's nuclear stockpile and whether an arms race is already underway. As the Doomsday Clock edges closer to midnight, how worried should we be? Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan Executive Producer: Louisa Wells Studio Operator: Meghan Searle ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey @ascottgeddes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
  4. Trump masses 'large armada' to force Iran into nuclear deal

    2 FEB

    Trump masses 'large armada' to force Iran into nuclear deal

    The United States appeared poised for a major military confrontation with Iran after Donald Trump ordered a powerful naval force into the region in response to the killing of thousands of Iranian protesters.  The expected strikes never came. Instead, Washington has shifted towards using military pressure as leverage for a renewed nuclear deal. Does this mark a genuine de-escalation? Or is it merely a pause before conflict? As diplomacy falters, tensions remain high and, inside Iran, the regime faces deepening political fractures as internet blackouts lift and grim details of last month’s massacres begin to emerge. Roland is joined by The Telegraph’s Akhtar Makoii and Sascha Bruchmann from the International Institute For Strategic Studies. Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  5. Nuclear secrets leak or paranoia? Why Xi really purged China’s top general

    30 JAN

    Nuclear secrets leak or paranoia? Why Xi really purged China’s top general

    Xi Jinping is purging again. Generals once seen as untouchable are gone, rivals erased, loyalty enforced through fear. Is this the move of a leader under real threat or the paranoia of a man who has ruled too long and trusts no one? To find out more, Venetia talks to Oriana Skylar Mastro, director of the Indo-Pacific Policy Lab at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been to Beijing, the first British leader to do so in eight years, talking trade, visas and whisky tariffs while security concerns barely made the script. We hear from The Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith, behind the smiles come burner phones, burner laptops, fears of honey traps and even planes being bugged. Economic opportunity versus national security. Values versus power.  Meanwhile Britain faces its own reckoning. Spies in Parliament. Phones hacked inside Downing Street. A vast Chinese mega embassy rising in central London amid warnings from MI5. Venetia is joined in the studio by The Telegraph’s Gareth Corfield and Rozina Sabur to discuss the extent of the national security threat posed by China. Read Rozina Sabur's hacking scoop: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/26/china-hacked-downing-street-phones-for-years/ Read Gareth Corfield's embassy scoop: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/12/revealed-china-embassy-secret-plans-spy-basement/ Read Colin Freeman's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/27/general-zhang-youxia-chinas-nuclear-secrets/ Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min
  6. Trump's Board of Peace signals a new world order. Gaza is its first test

    28 JAN

    Trump's Board of Peace signals a new world order. Gaza is its first test

    Gaza has entered the next phase of the peace process but is the ceasefire actually bringing peace? This week, Venetia Rainey and Arthur Scott-Geddes speak to Tess Ingram, UNICEF spokesperson who has just returned from four months on the ground. She outlines the humanitarian situation following the ceasefire, from winter shelters and malnutrition to unexploded ordnance, orphaned children, and the daily challenges facing civilians. Plus, The Telegraph’s Global Health Security Editor Paul Nuki examines Donald Trump’s controversial Board of Peace: how it works, why it has divided international allies, and what it could mean for disarming Hamas and the future of the conflict. Read Paul's article on how Northern Ireland can provide a roadmap for Gaza: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/23/how-northern-irelands-peace-can-provide-a-roadmap-for-gaza/ Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan Executive Producer: Louisa Wells Studio Operator: Meghan Searle ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey @ascottgeddes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    34 min
  7. America's Kurdish betrayal: has ISIS been given a second chance?

    26 JAN

    America's Kurdish betrayal: has ISIS been given a second chance?

    For more than a decade, Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria were America's most trusted ally, spearheading the war against Isis, taking responsibility for guarding thousands of jihadi prisoners of war, and in the process carving out an autonomous statelet that seemed poised to realise the dream of Kurdish independence. Over the past few weeks, that dream as has been crushed. In a sudden offensive, Ahmed Al Sharaa's transitional Syrian government has evicted the Kurds from vast territories including the country's biggest oilfield. Abandoned by their American allies, the Kurds have been forced to cede ground including the sprawling Isis prison camps. What now for the Kurds, for Syria, and for the jihadists Isis veterans? To answer this and more, Roland is joined by The Telegraph's senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan and Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Security, Dr Burcu Ozcelik from RUSI. Read Dr Burcu's research paper on northern Syria: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27342855  Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    41 min
  8. 'The old world order is dead': Trump, Canada and the battle for the West

    23 JAN

    'The old world order is dead': Trump, Canada and the battle for the West

    Donald Trump has abruptly backed down over the US takeover of Greenland. From the icy streets of Nuuk our correspondent James Rothwell reports from the centre of an unusual geopolitical spotlight as Greenlanders try to make sense of their island’s sudden importance and the anxiety of being discussed by faraway powers. Greenland itself emerges not as a prize but as a place with its own history identity and quiet resilience. James paints a picture of a small Arctic capital balancing fishing tourism and everyday life while navigating long memories of colonial rule and new questions about sovereignty security and self determination. Back in the studio Venetia and Roland are joined by Chief Foreign Commentator David Blair to unpack what Trump’s partial retreat really means and to explore the wider implications of Mark Carney’s striking Davos speech. Carney argues we are living through a rupture not a transition and urges middle powers to face reality and work together in a world where power politics is once again shaping events. Read James Rothwell's Greenland dispatch: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/24/trump-provokes-a-rare-emotion-in-greenland-blind-rage/ Read David Blair's analysis of the Greenland deal: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/22/predicted-greenland-deal-not-good-one/ Read Roland Oliphant on Trump's Board of Peace: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/22/monarchs-and-pariahs-join-trumps-board-of-peace-parade/ Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producer: Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
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About

Battle Lines is The Telegraph’s defence, security and foreign affairs podcast. It offers expert analysis and on-the-ground reporting from around the world, everywhere from China and the United States to the Middle East and Europe. Three times a week, veteran foreign correspondents Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey bring you on-the-ground dispatches from the world’s most volatile regions and informed analysis from world-class experts. Every Wednesday on Battle Lines x Global Health Security they’re joined by Arthur Scott-Geddes to look at the intersection between health and security, from bioweapons to warzone diseases to frontline medicine. You can watch these episodes here. Whether it’s the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Gaza conflict, Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, tensions between India and Pakistan, or the civil war in Sudan, Battle Lines covers the world’s most critical flashpoints with depth and clarity. When will China invade Taiwan? Can Donald Trump bring peace to the Middle East? What should Europe do to help Ukraine beat Russia? Is Iran building a nuclear bomb? What is the point of NATO? Can the United Kingdom still defend itself?  Created by David Knowles, Battle Lines answers all these questions and more, bringing together the best of The Telegraph’s international, geopolitical, and conflict reporting in one place. Don’t forget to follow and leave a review to stay updated on the latest in global conflict and foreign affairs. Battle Lines: Global Health Security is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Channel
    The Telegraph
  • Creator
    The Telegraph
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    248
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Battle Lines
  • Provider
    Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited

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