Frontlines and Backrooms

Vladimir Bobetic
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Frontlines & Backrooms is a long-form interview podcast from the independent publication of the same name, covering geopolitics, international security, diplomacy and the decisions behind global events. Hosted by journalist Vladimir Bobetić, it brings historians, scholars, diplomats and decision-makers into serious conversations about war, international law, nuclear weapons and political power. Guests are challenged on their arguments, evidence and the consequences of the policies they advocate. Disagreement is part of the conversation. You deserve to be informed, not played for clicks.

  1. Oct 22

    Roger Higginson | Europe’s Gamble: A War of Misconceptions

    Europe keeps promising to stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. Roger Higginson says it is time to tell Kyiv something else. The former British diplomat calls for direct engagement with Moscow and an end to support for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia. But what would his alternative demand of Ukraine, and what would Russia have to concede? From Britain’s hostility towards Russia to the risk of an Israeli clash with Türkiye, a conversation about the choices governments make when diplomacy gives way to war. If you're tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating and shaping the world we live in.

    Roger Higginson | Europe’s Gamble: A War of Misconceptions

  2. Oct 20

    Kobi Michael | Occupy Gaza. Then What?

    What comes after full military occupation of Gaza? Professor Kobi Michael makes the case for Israeli control of the entire territory to dismantle Hamas, while acknowledging that military force cannot defeat an ideology. We discuss civilian deaths, the UN commission’s finding of genocide, the future Israel offers Palestinians and the erosion of international support. What would constitute victory, and who would govern Gaza afterwards? Kobi Michael is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv and the Misgav Institute, and a visiting professor at the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales. You deserve to be informed, not played for clicks. If you're tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating and shaping the world we live in.

    Kobi Michael | Occupy Gaza. Then What?

  3. Oct 8

    Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam | Selling the AI Nightmare

    The people building AI warn that it could destroy us. Why does that warning make us listen to them more closely? Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam joins Vladimir Bobetic to discuss fear as a sales pitch, the promise of “good AI”, and the human responsibility behind machines built for war. This episode is produced in cooperation with Manchester University Press. Further reading: The Myth of Good AI: A Manifesto for Critical Artificial Intelligencehttps://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526189509/ AI Futures book serieshttps://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/series/ai-futures/ Is Artificial Intelligence Racist?https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/is-artificial-intelligence-racist-9781350374423/ For more on AI, geopolitics and history, visit Manchester University Press:https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/ If you're tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating and shaping the world we live in. https://frontlinesbackrooms.substack.com

    Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam | Selling the AI Nightmare

  4. Oct 1

    Joe Cirincione | The Gulf Quagmire

    Donald Trump says he has won the war with Iran. Joe Cirincione says America has lost it, and the damage goes far beyond the battlefield. What does Trump do when he cannot win, but refuses to accept defeat? We discuss the war’s consequences for American power, Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions, and the Pentagon’s push to give the president more nuclear options. Smaller bombs come with a promise: use one, keep the war limited. But the other side gets a vote. Joe Cirincione is a nuclear policy expert, author and vice chair of the board at the Center for International Policy. For more from Joe, here are three recent pieces well worth your time: • On the Iraq Warhttps://joecirincione.substack.com/p/we-warned-you-the-iraq-war-was-a • Donald Trump Will Soon Have New Ways to Start a Nuclear Warhttps://joecirincione.substack.com/p/donald-trump-will-soon-have-new-ways • The Madman Comethhttps://joecirincione.substack.com/p/the-madman-cometh You deserve to be informed, not played for clicks. If you're tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating and shaping the world we live in.

    Joe Cirincione | The Gulf Quagmire

  5. Sep 23

    Alex Wellerstein | Who Controls the Bomb?

    A president can order a nuclear strike. Controlling what happens next is another matter. Nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein joins Vladimir Bobetic to talk about what Truman really knew before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how military planners shape presidential choices, and why a smaller nuclear bomb offers no guarantee of control. We also talk about NUKEMAP, his tool for showing what a nuclear explosion would do to places we know. Wellerstein is an associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and the author of The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age. Get the book:HarperCollins | Amazon Try NUKEMAP:https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

    Alex Wellerstein | Who Controls the Bomb?

  6. Sep 17

    Elke Schwarz | War on AI Autopilot

    AI is already helping militaries identify targets, rank them and act at machine speed. Professor Elke Schwarz explains why the “human in the loop” may be little more than a fig leaf when operators have only seconds to approve a system’s recommendation. We discuss Palantir’s Maven, Claude, targeting in Iran and Gaza, private technology companies inside the kill chain, autonomous weapons and the danger of AI agents entering nuclear command. Elke Schwarz is Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London and author of Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies. If you're tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating, and shaping the worldwe live in.

    Elke Schwarz | War on AI Autopilot

  7. Sep 11

    Ankit Panda | Managed Armageddon

    The world is entering a nuclear era with more players, fewer restraints, and a dangerous new confidence that escalation can be controlled. In the opening episode of Season 3, Vladimir Bobetic speaks with Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon. Can nuclear war begin by mistake? Does the nuclear taboo truly exist if nuclear states plan for nuclear war all the time? Why do US planners still believe such a war can be won, and why might North Korea pose a more immediate danger than countries with much larger arsenals? The conversation also examines China’s nuclear expansion, the collapse of arms control, possible proliferation among US allies, and the risk that autonomous AI systems could become catalysts for a nuclear crisis.

    Ankit Panda | Managed Armageddon

  8. Jul 22

    Dina Matar | Western Media as a Propaganda Tool for Israel

    Recorded in December 2025, this conversation remains painfully current. Dina Matar, Professor of Political Communication and Arab Media at SOAS University of London, speaks about the role Western media has played in shaping how Gaza is understood: the erasure of Palestinian history, the reduction of victims to statistics, the use of “both sides” language in a deeply unequal conflict, and the silencing of Palestinian journalists and voices. She describes this as epistemic violence — violence against who is allowed to produce knowledge, whose testimony is trusted, and whose suffering is recognized as human. If you’re tired of noise, outrage and five-minute opinions, subscribe to Frontlines & Backrooms. Every week, we sit down with the people who have spent decades researching, negotiating and shaping the world we live in.

    Dina Matar | Western Media as a Propaganda Tool for Israel
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Trailers

About

Frontlines & Backrooms is a long-form interview podcast from the independent publication of the same name, covering geopolitics, international security, diplomacy and the decisions behind global events. Hosted by journalist Vladimir Bobetić, it brings historians, scholars, diplomats and decision-makers into serious conversations about war, international law, nuclear weapons and political power. Guests are challenged on their arguments, evidence and the consequences of the policies they advocate. Disagreement is part of the conversation. You deserve to be informed, not played for clicks.

Information

  • Creator
    Vladimir Bobetic
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    68
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Vladimir Bobetic
  • Show Website
    Frontlines and Backrooms

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