The Global Gambit
by Pyotr S. Kurzin
The Old West Is Dead. Europe Must Decide What Comes Next | Mark…
About this podcast
Geopolitics, war and the global economy, decoded by an insider. The Global Gambit is the podcast on Russia, Ukraine, China, Iran, the US, sanctions and foreign policy that tells you what’s really happening: who is winning, who is bluffing, and what comes next, before it hits the headlines.
Hosted by geostrategist and economist Pyotr Kurzin, The Global Gambit now pulls in more than 10 million views a month across YouTube, podcasts and Substack. It’s where generals, spy chiefs, senators and the world’s sharpest minds come to say what they can’t say on the evening news. Guests have included General David Petraeus, General Ben Hodges, General H.R. McMaster, Sir Lawrence Freedman, Senator Mark Kelly, Ken Roth and G. John Ikenberry.
Pyotr doesn’t analyse the world from a desk. Anglo-Russian and fluent in Russian, he has worked inside the UN, the World Bank and International Crisis Group, briefed diplomats, interviewed rebels, and done fieldwork from African conflict zones to the former Soviet Union. He holds an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS and is a regular voice on the BBC, Sky News and France 24. That insider view is what you get here, every week.
Wars, sanctions, superpower rivalry and the money behind them shape your future whether you follow them or not. Follow now so you never miss an episode. And if you want the full, uncut interviews, early access and analysis that never goes public, join on Substack or Patreon.
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Episodes
The newest 20 of 98 episodes
- The Old West Is Dead. Europe Must Decide What Comes Next | Mark Leonard · 39 min“The old West is dead.” Mark Leonard argues that Europe must prepare for a lasting change in its relationship with America — and recognise that it has more power to shape its…
- Israel Has Been Trying to Bait Iran Back into War | Trita Parsi · 42 minSaudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials have arrived in Tehran together, and the symbolism is hard to ignore. As the war between Riyadh and the Houthis spills onto Saudi soil…
- Trump’s Fight for Survival Is Becoming America’s Greatest Danger | Robert Pape · 58 minDonald Trump’s war with Iran is colliding with a growing political struggle at home. With the midterms approaching, the prospect of electoral defeat could increase the temptation…
- Trump’s Ego Is Putin’s Strongest Asset | Tina Fordham · 54 minWeeks after signing a sweeping sanctions law against Russia’s energy revenues, Donald Trump has struck a deal to buy Russian diesel, announced while his envoys sat down with…
- Putin Has Trapped Himself in a War He Cannot Win | Lawrence Freedman · 41 minUkraine has transformed Russia’s vast geography from a source of strategic depth into a growing vulnerability. Its long-range drones are striking oil refineries, supply lines and…
- Turkey Could Be Entering the Nuclear Arms Race | Gönül Tol · 39 minRussia’s war in Ukraine has done more than redraw Europe’s security map. It has exposed the limits of military alliances—and triggered a potentially dangerous chain reaction far…
- Putin Is Already at War With Europe | General Ben Hodges · 38 minGeneral Ben Hodges says Russia is already at war with Europe. Not with missiles striking NATO cities, but through drones, sabotage and attacks designed to frighten populations…
- Iran and Ukraine Have Changed Everything We Know About War | David Petraeus · 54 minIran has been militarily devastated — and yet, six months on, it may be winning. General David Petraeus argues that Tehran's control of the Strait of Hormuz has become a "weapon…
- Secrets, Mysteries, and Spies: A Former CIA Officer on Predicting Russia · 37 minDescription: Intelligence failures make headlines. Intelligence successes rarely do — which is exactly the problem when trying to understand how the West actually predicted…
- Trump's Iran War Was Meant to Break the Regime. It Broke America's Middle East Instead · 43 minSummary Iran's regime survives. The Strait of Hormuz is under threat. Gulf allies are furious. And the United States, further from its goals than when the war began, has spent…
- Will China Annex Siberia? General H.R. McMaster on the Real Threat to Russia · 46 minDescription: Former US National Security Advisor Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster joins The Global Gambit to examine why China, Russia and Iran have become the defining…
- What Everyone Gets Wrong About NATO, Ukraine & European Defence · 32 minIn this episode, Pyotr Kurzin hosts Dr. Bence Nemeth to explore Europe's strategic autonomy, defense capabilities, and the evolving landscape of NATO and EU military cooperation…
- The Real Reason Trump's Iran Deal Feels So Strange | Ian Bremmer · 25 minTrump says he has secured a major breakthrough with Iran, but is the deal even worse than many are already claiming? And are details taking so long to release? Joining me today…
- Something Big is Happening Over Crimea | Mark Kelly · 29 minSenator Mark Kelly just returned from Odessa. His verdict: Ukraine has effectively shut down the Russian Navy in the Black Sea — Russia can't operate there anymore. Crimea is…
- Why the Ukraine War Won't End the Way You Think · 37 minUkraine just struck Putin's hometown during the St Petersburg Economic Forum. Is this a genuine shift in momentum or another false dawn in a war that keeps defying predictions?…
- America Doesn't Know What It Is Anymore | Tom Nichols · 1 h 1 minAmerica is in a moment of self-inflicted crisis — and the man responsible may not be able to find a way out. Trump has started a war he promised he wouldn't, fractured his own…
- What Everyone Gets Wrong About Iran's Negotiating Strategy · 38 minThe ceasefire may have slowed the fighting - but according to former JCPOA adviser Alan Eyre, the underlying dynamics between the United States, Iran, and Israel have barely…
- General Mick Ryan on What Trump's Iran War Tells Us About America’s Future · 21 minDonald Trump's war with Iran is the reflection of something much bigger, perhaps much worse, happening with the USA, its foreign policy and its standing in the evolving world…
- The Real Hormuz Crisis Is Still Coming · 43 minThe US-Iran ceasefire may still technically be holding — but experts worry and warn that it is already beginning to rot. In this conversation, we break down why Iran is targeting…
- Something Huge is Happening to Global Democracy · 44 minGlobal democracy is changing and Hungary’s election may signal more than just a political shift — it could mark the beginning of a broader democratic rebound. In this episode, I…
