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. Frog poison, tear gas and Novichok: Inside Russia’s chemical weapons programme

    17 HR AGO

    Frog poison, tear gas and Novichok: Inside Russia’s chemical weapons programme

    Two years ago, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Siberian penal colony. There was an outcry and many suspected foul play, but nothing could be proved.  That is until last weekend, when five European countries including the UK announced that they had made a startling discovery: Navalny had been killed with a rare frog poison. How was the poison was identified, how were the samples smuggled out of Russia, and why does the evidence point directly to Moscow? Venetia and Arthur speak to former commanding officer of the UK’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment and Telegraph columnist, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, and Dr Gemma Bowsher, Senior Research Associate for the Centre for Conflict and Health Research at Kings College London. 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
  2. North Korea 'names' 13-year-old nuclear heiress & inside Europe’s race to rearm

    2 DAYS AGO

    North Korea 'names' 13-year-old nuclear heiress & inside Europe’s race to rearm

    North Korea’s dynasty dictatorship has taken on a new leather clad, second-in-command. Reports from South Korea have suggested that Kim Jong Un’s daughter Kim Ju-ae is now the heir apparent in the totalitarian state. Could she one day be the youngest person to command a nuclear arsenal? Roland chats to The Telegraph’s Lily Shanagher and from the University of Oxford, North Korea watcher, Dr Edward Howell, to unpack what we know from the shadows. Plus, after the Munich Security Conference at the weekend, Europe is facing a new future without Washington’s steadying hand and will have to be less reliant on the Stars and Stripes. But is European defence manufacturing scaling up in line with these new demands? Roland speaks to Philip Lockwood from defence startup Stark to find out just how quickly the ambitions are being realised.  Read Lily's article on Kim Ju-ae: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/16/kim-opens-neighbourhood-families-soldiers-killed-ukraine/ Pic credit: KCNA via Reuters 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.

    31 min
  3. Vance’s ‘Enemy Within’: How the US shocked Europe into rearmament

    5 DAYS AGO

    Vance’s ‘Enemy Within’: How the US shocked Europe into rearmament

    A year ago, JD Vance gave an explosive speech at the Munich Security Conference. It marked a fundamental shift in the relationship between the US and its European allies that have since been cemented through tariff wars, a new National Security Strategy and threats to take Greenland.   So has Europe risen to the challenge laid down by Donald Trump's administration and started to take care of its own security? Is there any trust left in the trans-Atlantic relationship? And will there be another attack on Europe at this weekend's Munich conference?  Venetia and Roland chat to David Blair, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, and Joe Barnes, Brussels Correspondent to find out.  Read Joe Barnes's story on how Europe ‘must become military superpower’ to survive without US: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/11/europe-must-be-military-superpower-to-survive-without-us/ Read David Blair's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/da-de/david-blair/ Pic credit: Matthias Schrader/AP 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.

    40 min
  4. Trump’s 9 million death gamble: One year since he axed USAID

    11 FEB

    Trump’s 9 million death gamble: One year since he axed USAID

    Nearly a year after Donald Trump shuttered USAID, the world is still reckoning with the consequences. But what really happened next? Venetia Rainey examines the fallout and what it means for global health, security, and stability. Joined by Global Health Security Editor, Paul Nuki, she explores how the abrupt withdrawal of America’s largest aid agency sent shockwaves through the global aid system, disrupted lifesaving programmes, and potentially contributed to millions of preventable deaths. They are joined by Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Kevin Melton, a former USAID official and now CEO of PAX Strategies, offering insider perspectives on what was lost and what may be emerging in its place. 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 Pic credit: Simon Townsley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  5. Project Vault: Trump's battle to break China’s critical mineral stranglehold

    9 FEB

    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
  6. 'Copy Ukraine's defence model and reduce China dependency to survive'

    6 FEB

    'Copy Ukraine's defence model and reduce China dependency to survive'

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

    4 FEB

    '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
  8. 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
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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
    252
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Battle Lines
  • Provider
    Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited

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