The Foreign Desk
Presented by Andrew Mueller, Monocle’s flagship global-affairs show features expert guests and in-depth analysis of the big issues of the week. Nominated for ‘Best Current Affairs’ show and the ‘Spotlight Award’ in the 2022 British Podcast Awards.
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Foreign Desk publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Episodes (102)
Explainer 493: Trump vs the BBC
The Foreign Desk
Are the world’s Gen Z protests different?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 492: Why is Nigeria the US military’s latest target?
The Foreign Desk
Is Milei’s chainsaw cutting through?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 491: Trump’s third term?
The Foreign Desk
Eighty years on, is the United Nations a relevant institution?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 490: Who is Japan’s new prime minister, other than a woman?
The Foreign Desk
Donald Trump, the diplomat
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 489: Why have Gen Z protests spread to Madagascar?
The Foreign Desk
Two years on from 7 October: did it have to be like this?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 488: Why has Australia signed a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea?
The Foreign Desk
Why is Moldova’s election result so significant to its neighbours?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 487: India, Pakistan and a dearth of cricket diplomacy
The Foreign Desk
Is social media a threat to national security?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 486: Why recognise Palestine now?
The Foreign Desk
Above the law?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 485: The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder
The Foreign Desk
White House vs City Hall
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 484: Nepal’s war on social media
The Foreign Desk
Does the immigration debate have to be like this?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 483: Labour’s England flag frenzy
The Foreign Desk
Shadow boxing in the Caribbean: Why is the US cornering Venezuela?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 481: Why has Australia thrown out Iran’s ambassador?
The Foreign Desk
Who will run the world if the US doesn’t want to anymore?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 480: Myanmar and the perks of posing as a democracy
The Foreign Desk
Is a liberal Israel recoverable and might that be the key to peace?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 479: Who are the Balochistan Liberation Army and why have they suddenl...
The Foreign Desk
Is popularity in politics a thing of the past?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 478: Why does Trump care about Bolsonaro?
The Foreign Desk
The catastrophe in Gaza and the prospects of a Palestinian state
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 478: Why is Islamic State targeting the DRC?
The Foreign Desk
Cameroon’s forgotten crisis: Is reconciliation in the Anglo-Franco schism possib...
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 477: What is behind the violence in Syria?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 476: Lesotho’s one-man fight for South African land
The Foreign Desk
The future of warfare
The Foreign Desk
Dynastic democracies
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 475: Why has Russia recognised the Taliban?
The Foreign Desk
How to topple a tyrant
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 474: Tuvalu’s climate-change escape to Australia
The Foreign Desk
Has the ‘12-Day War’ settled anything?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 473: Cambodia, Thailand and phone-call warfare
The Foreign Desk
The view of Europe from Globsec Forum 2025
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 472: The furious funeral row over Zambia’s former president
The Foreign Desk
‘The Foreign Desk’ in Odesa: the international ripple effects of war in Ukraine
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 471: Who gets to be an Italian citizen?
The Foreign Desk
Odesa, the Black Sea, the front line and Ukraine’s future
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 470: The on-again, off-again US-Iran nuclear talks
The Foreign Desk
Are journalists safe?
The Foreign Desk
Explainer 469: Who are India’s Maoists?
The Foreign Desk
Why does Russia still have influence in eastern Europe?
The Foreign Desk