New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy | Podcasts

The Here and Now of the Captagon Trade

Any day now, the U.S. government will release its interagency strategy to combat captagon, as mandated by the late-2022 Captagon Act. In this Contours episode, Host Carolyn Moorman discusses with Director Caroline Rose and Non-resident Senior Fellow Dr. Karam Shaar how this strategy can be expected to address the trade and its evolution in the midst of an environment where multiple Arab nations are taking steps toward normalization with the very regime that is producing the drug.

Will South Africa Arrest Putin?

Following an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for crimes committed in Ukraine, South Africa's government is facing a dilemma over whether it will arrest Putin when he visits Pretoria in August for a BRICS summit. Host Carolyn Moorman is joined by two globally recognized experts on Africa – New Lines Senior Director for Political Systems Analysis David Raikow and New Lines Magazine Africa Editor Kwangu Liwewe – to break down South Africa's obligations to the ICC as well as the geopolitical considerations South Africa is facing amid pressure from both the U.S. and Russia ahead of the summit.

Sudan on the Edge: Looming Regional Crisis

Fighting in Sudan has killed hundreds and driven hundreds of thousands of refugees into neighboring African nations. In the second part of this two-episode series of Contours, host Carolyn Moorman and New Lines Senior Analyst Riley Moeder discuss refugee inflows to North Africa and Europe and potential areas for the U.S. to augment its existing efforts to de-escalate the conflict and help stabilize the region.

Sudan on the Edge: Inside the Conflict

A month into the sustained fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the crisis has produced over 250,000 refugees and threatened regional stability. In part one of a two-episode series of Contours, host Carolyn Moorman and New Lines Institute Senior Director of Political Systems Analysis David Raikow discuss potential mediation roles for both the U.N. and the United States, the sustainability of the most recent cease-fire, and ways in which this crisis differs from others Raikow has experienced through his career serving in multiple U.N. field missions.

One Year of Russia’s War in Ukraine … and Beyond

This Newlines Institute Contours podcast reviews the geopolitical effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, assesses what might occur in that conflict in the year ahead, and seeks to answer the question of whether anything or anyone can convince Russia and Ukraine to halt the fighting. New Lines Senior Director Nicholas Heras is joined by two globally recognized experts on Russia, Ukraine, and the war’s geopolitical impact war – New Lines Senior Director Eugene Chausovsky and New Lines Nonresident Fellow Jeff Hawn – to further break down the intricate network of tactics the U.S. and its partners have engaged to isolate and punish Russia, the geopolitical strategy that Putin’s government has embarked on, and the prospects for an outright Ukrainian victory in the war.

Democracy, Security, and Elections in Nigeria and Zimbabwe

In this episode of Contours, host Minna Jaffery-Lindemulder speaks with Carolyn Moorman of the New Lines Institute and Kwangu Liwewe of New Lines Magazine about upcoming elections in Nigeria and Zimbabwe. They discuss key domestic security and economic challenges in each country, as well as threats to the elections and to democracy as a whole in the region. This conversation lays out the key players in each election, as well as their possible challenges ahead of Nigerian elections set for Feb. 25 and Zimbabwean elections over the summer.

The U.S. Drawdown Effort in Iraq

On this episode of Contours, Power Vacuums Program Head Caroline Rose sits down with New Lines Non-Resident Senior Fellow and former spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, Col. Myles B. Caggins III, to discuss the lingering effects of U.S. base transfers, personnel reductions, and transition to an advise-and-assist role in Iraq.

Are Russia and Belarus Planning a New Offensive?

On Oct. 10, Russia announced it was deploying troops to Belarus under a regional group of forces mechanism, mobilizing thousands of forces, fighter jets, tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment to Belarus. The move has raised valid questions about whether Russia and Belarus are planning a renewed offensive against Kyiv, reigniting fighting in Ukraine's northern front. In this episode, Senior Analyst Caroline Rose sits down with Sim Tack, geopolitical and military analyst at Force Analysis, to review the constraints, imperatives, and likelihood of a joint Russian-Belarusian assault on the Ukrainian capital, as well as space for action for the U.S. and its partners.

Instability and Displacement in Tunisia

Tunisia's recent reversal of democratic freedoms under the presidency of Kais Saied has raised concerns about the country's democracy and stability. The fragile political and economic situation has also unleashed a significant wave of displacement in the Mediterranean, as worsening Tunisian conditions have exacerbated migration waves from North Africa. In this Contours podcast, the Head of New Lines' Power Vacuums Program, Caroline Rose, sits down with former U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Gordon Gray and New Lines analyst Alice Hickson to break down the precarious situation.

The U.S- Venezuela Relationship: Promoting Democracy vs. Countering anti-U.S. Influence

In this episode of the New Lines Institute’s Contours podcast series, Strategy and Innovation Unit Director Nicolas Heras is joined by former Human Security Unit Research Intern Claudia Gago Ostos to discuss the U.S.’s foreign policy toward Venezuela and the Latin America region amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The discussion centers on the role the U.S. can play, alongside Venezuelan civil society organizations, in promoting democracy in Venezuela, despite the creeping influence of Iran, Russia, and China in the region.