500 episodes listed below
Europe’s crises, traced to their consequences.
Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes treats geopolitics as a chain of consequences, not a run of headlines. Recent episodes move from Iran and Ukraine to Hungary, India, energy security, NATO, and Europe’s room for maneuver.
PRESS PLAY
Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes is a foreign-policy interview show with Europe at the center of the frame and the wider system always in view. It does not treat a crisis as a single event. It asks what follows. Recent episodes return to Iran from several angles: ceasefire diplomacy, American war aims, Israeli and US strikes, Gulf calculations, the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices, natural gas, and the knock-on effects for Ukraine. The show is especially interested in how one conflict rearranges another. A war in the Middle East becomes a question about Russia’s revenue, European energy diversification, American military bandwidth, NATO credibility, and political division inside Europe. That is its natural terrain. Mark Leonard usually begins with a compressed account of the problem, then brings in a guest to separate the visible drama from the underlying machinery. The conversations are guided but not hurried. Guests are given space to explain military, economic, domestic, and diplomatic dimensions without forcing each answer into a slogan. The show’s Europeanness is practical rather than ceremonial. Spain, France, Poland, Germany, Italy, Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, Madrid, Sofia, New Delhi, Kyiv, Tehran, Washington, and the Gulf all appear as parts of one strategic landscape. It also keeps one eye on political change inside states, from Hungary after Viktor Orbán to India’s balancing between Russia, China, Europe, and the United States. The tone is analytical and grave when the subject requires it. It can be dry, but it is rarely casual. The show is strongest for listeners who want to understand how foreign-policy choices are constrained by alliances, energy dependence, domestic politics, military capacity, and institutional design. It is less interested in outrage than in leverage. It does not pretend that uncertainty can be solved neatly. Instead, it works through scenarios, asks who is exposed, and keeps returning to the question of what Europe can actually do next.
Made for: For listeners who follow international affairs closely and want European foreign-policy analysis with patience, context, and strategic detail. It suits people interested in war, diplomacy, energy, alliances, and political change more than daily-news compression.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its European vantage point combined with a wide geopolitical map: Iran leads to Ukraine, energy leads to Russia, and domestic politics leads back to alliances. It gives expert guests enough room to explain complexity without sanding off uncertainty.
Weekly podcast on the events, policies and ideas that will shape the world.World in 30 minutes is curated by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and features top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate and discuss Europe’s role in the world. It was awarded “Best podcasts on EU politics” by PolicyLab in 2019.Member of the EuroPod network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Mark Leonard tests geopolitical arguments against military limits, institutional power, and the practical consequences of strategic choices.
Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes turns geopolitical uncertainty into focused, probing conversation. Leonard moves quickly from the immediate crisis to the choices underneath it, asking what military commitments cost, how alliances absorb competing priorities, and whether…
Mark Leonard asks what 245,000 Ukrainian troops could actually deter; you get strategy past the slogan.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A steady war briefing that keeps escalation, leverage, and uncertainty tied together.
Mark Leonard treats the Middle East war as a widening strategic problem, not just another burst of violence. He follows the likely aims of the US and Israel after strikes on Iranian military and energy infrastructure, then pulls the thread out to the Strait of Hormuz, where…
India's role in a strained global order, framed through hedging, Europe, Russia, China, and the U.S.
This episode examines India's place in a tense global order, with New Delhi and the Raisina Dialogue setting the scene. It keeps its focus on practical questions: how India hedges, where trade fits, and what cooperation with Europe can still look like even when priorities do not…
A sober look at regime change, regional escalation, and the uncertain machinery of what comes next.
This emergency episode treats a fast-widening conflict with the gravity it needs. Mark Leonard and his guests trace the implications of US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, Isfahan and other major cities, the killing of Ali Khamenei and senior officials, and retaliation against US…
A measured look at how armed non-alignment could shape Ukraine's security after a ceasefire.
Ukraine's post-ceasefire security gets a clear, practical airing as Mark Leonard and Jennifer Kavanagh work through how the country might defend itself under an armed non-alignment model.
A focused look at who controls Bretton Woods institutions as geopolitical rivalry narrows room for cooperation.
The episode treats the future of the Bretton Woods institutions as a power question inside a more brittle international order. Mark Leonard sets the issue against great-power rivalry, weaponized interdependence, reduced room for cooperation, and Mark Carney's warning of a…
A rare on-the-record discussion of Trump administration defence thinking across NATO, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and Iran.
Mark Leonard sits down with Elbridge Colby at the Munich Security Conference for a focused look at American defence strategy, from NATO and Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific and Iran.
A steady look at ceasefire politics, Israel, and Hormuz as a contest over leverage.
Ceasefire in Iran treats a fragile diplomatic turn as a test of pressure, leverage, and restraint. Mark Leonard guides Asla Aydin-Tashbash through the moving parts: White House threats, Pakistan's role between Tehran and the American administration, and the strain those choices…
Muslim political thought for a burning world.
Dry politics for bad political weather.
Plain-language civics with historical teeth.
Capitalism through markets, power, and policy.
Hard conversations from the operational edge.
Russia, power, and narrative under pressure.
Mark Leonard opens from Washington, DC, after extraordinary White House pronouncements about the war in Iran.
At the Munich Security Conference, Mark Leonard speaks with Elbridge Colby about American defence strategy.
Mark Leonard opens with Netanyahu's September warning that Israel needs to become a 'super Sparta' with an autarkic economy, then uses it to frame Beth Oppenheim's ECFR web special 'The Ideas of Israel'.
This episode analyzes Hungary's recent electoral defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the implications for the country, the European Union, and global politics.
This episode analyzes the recent ceasefire developments in Iran, including White House pronouncements, a Pakistan-negotiated peace deal, and their implications for the Middle East, US foreign policy, Europe, and NATO under Trump.
This episode analyzes the energy implications for Europe of the war in Iran, focusing on rising prices, geopolitical shifts, and strategies for diversification.
This episode analyzes how the war in Iran impacts Ukraine across military, economic, and geopolitical dimensions, affecting global power dynamics and European unity.
This episode of The World in 30 Minutes features a roundtable discussion with European Council on Foreign Relations experts analyzing European reactions to the war in Iran, starting with Spain's distinct position under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Mark Leonard frames the war in the Middle East as a widening strategic crisis.
Mark Leonard records from New Delhi during the Raisina Dialogue.
Mark Leonard opens with the US-Israeli operation against Iran.
["Mark Leonard\u2019s World in 30 Minutes episode on Ukraine\u2019s post-ceasefire security centers on Jennifer Kavanagh\u2019s RAND report, \"An Armed Non-Alignment Model Framework for Ukraine's Post-war Security.\"", "Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defence Priorities, argues that NATO-style guarantees are not credible if Washington has not put troops on Ukraine\u2019s front lines.", "She separates non-alignment from neutrality and says Ukraine could still have EU ties, military training in Europe, peacetime weapons promises, and wartime surge aid.", "Her model calls for roughly 245,000 active-duty troops, 345,000 reserves, and about 41.5 billion dollars in Western assistance over five years, with air defense and munitions as the hardest parts."]
Mark Leonard opens by linking the future of the Bretton Woods institutions to great power competition, the weaponization of interdependence, and Donald J.
This special episode from the Munich Security Conference features an interview with Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of War, discussing US defence strategy, NATO, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and Iran.
This episode features an interview with Lea Ypi about her new book 'Indignity', exploring her family history and its connections to European politics and lessons from the 1920s for today's world.
This episode features an interview with Balázs Orbán discussing Hungary's role as a model for national conservatism and post-liberal politics in Europe.
This episode explores the new politics on the right, examining how Donald Trump's election symbolizes a post-liberal revolution with global implications, featuring an interview with leading thinker Yoram Hazony.
This episode introduces a series exploring the new politics on the right, analyzing how Donald Trump's election symbolizes a broader post-liberal revolution and its impact beyond the United States.