The General & The Journalist

Trump’s Art of the Deal – from the man who advised him 17.06.2026 33Min.

H.R. McMaster served as Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser and saw firsthand how he makes decisions about war, peace and American power.As his former boss is tested by crises from Iran to Ukraine, China, NATO and Venezuela, he explains how the president really thinks. Does Trump have a grand strategy, or is he driven by instincts, deals and the search for a quick win? And will fragile US-Iran peace deal force a lasting peace or end in disaster?  Guest: LTG HR McMaster, former US National Security Advisor (2017-2018)Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnProducer: Julia WebsterExecutive producer: Priyanka Deladia Image: Dana Chan and GettyClips: PBS, WPLG, Reuters, GettyWhat are your thoughts on the US/Iran deal? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.ukHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump’s Cuba Playbook 10.06.2026 37Min.

Cuba is running out of power, fuel and patience. As blackouts spread and anger grows, Donald Trump is turning up the pressure on Havana, blaming the regime for the island’s collapse while Cuba points to decades of US sanctions. The historic US indictment of former president Raúl Castro has raised the stakes and a bigger question – is Trump trying to use his Venezuela playbook on Cuba? With US military power visible in the Caribbean, can Washington force change in Havana or would intervention in America’s Caribbean neighbour could end in catastrophe?Guest: Stephen Gibbs, Latin America correspondent for The Times & The Sunday TimesWilliam LeoGrande, professor of Government at American UniversityHosts: Tom Newton DunnProducer: Julia WebsterExecutive producer: Priyanka Deladia Image: Paul Brookbanks and GettyClip: USA TODAY, Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How AI drones are changing the war in Ukraine 03.06.2026 36Min.

Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine is trying to change the course of the war with drones, AI and battlefield innovation. What began as improvised technology has become central to Kyiv’s strategy, helping Ukraine defend the front line and strike deeper into Russia. But can drones really help Ukraine break the deadlock? And what does this mean for the future of war? Patrick and Tom speak to leading military analyst Dr Jack Watling about the reality on the front line, the rise of AI-enabled warfare and the ethical questions it raises.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Dr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services InstituteProducer: Shabnam Grewal and Julia WebsterExecutive producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Dinesh Mehta and GettyClip: CNNCan drones and AI help Ukraine break the deadlock or make the war more dangerous? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside the 8,000ft rescue jump onto Tristan da Cunha 27.05.2026 39Min.

Two weeks after British paratroopers landed on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands, the rescue team are finally heading home.Their mission was extraordinary – reach a critically ill Briton on a tiny British Overseas Territory with no runway, no quick route by sea, and no easy way in. Within hours, 16 Air Assault Brigade was mobilised, sending paratroopers, military medics and vital supplies into the South Atlantic.Brigadier Ed Cartwright, who planned the operation, tells General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn how the daring rescue unfolded and what it says about Britain’s duty to protect its citizens and remote territories. But could the UK really defend these far-flung outposts from disaster or attack?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Brigadier Ed Cartwright, Commander, 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat TeamProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who is really running Iran now? 20.05.2026 45Min.

Nearly three months after the Iran war began, there is a ceasefire, but no settlement. The Strait of Hormuz remains a global pressure point, Iran’s nuclear programme is unresolved, and Donald Trump is still demanding progress.But the biggest question may be inside Tehran. After war, assassinations and stalled diplomacy, power appears to be shifting away from the clerics and towards the Revolutionary Guards. Has the West weakened the Islamic Republic or helped make it harder to deal with?Patrick and Tom speak to Iran analyst Alex Vatanka about the rise of the IRGC, the myth of division inside Tehran, and what comes next.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow at the Middle East InstituteProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona Leach, Priyanka Deladia Image: GettyWho holds the upper hand in the Iran war? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Iran flipped the Xi-Trump balance of power? 13.05.2026 37Min.

As President Trump lands in Beijing for his summit with Xi, Patrick and Tom are joined by China analyst, Sam Olsen, to discuss whether Iran has flipped the balance of power between the rivals.Sam argues the war has degraded America's weapons stockpile, recast China as the reliable global partner, and given Beijing a ringside seat on the US military playbook - gifting China with the strategic edge.And, if Trump needs Xi's help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, will he be willing to sell-out Taiwan in return, with potentially even greater consequences for the balance of power?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Sam OlsenProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin ‘will flood Europe with criminals and fighters after the war’ 06.05.2026 29Min.

Estonia's foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, says Putin will flood Europe with the criminals he recruited to fight in Ukraine once the war ends.With Russia unable to reintegrate thousands of 'psychologically crazy' ex-combatants, they will be used for Wagner-style sabotage operations on a scale European governments have yet to grapple with.In Patrick's words, 'the moment of maximum danger could be when the fighting ends.'Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Foreign Minister of Estonia, Margus TsahknaProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why America needs NATO - US's Supreme Allied Commander 29.04.2026 39Min.

General Christopher Cavoli was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) until July 2025. He was responsible for the defence and security of 981 million people across 32 countries. Ooph. While on a flying visit to London, he dropped into the General and the Journalist studio to see his old friend Patrick and get grilled by Tom on the UK's parlous defence expenditure.But, mostly, he was here to talk about NATO and why, as a proud and patriotic American, he sees the Alliance as critical to America's own defence and security. Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: General Christopher CavoliProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyClips: Fox newsGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Trump’s mistakes in Iran teach all of us 22.04.2026 39Min.

Dr Fiona Hill is a former deputy assistant to President Trump and served as director for Russian Affairs on the US National Security Council from 2017-19. She joins Tom and Patrick to chew over the lessons from the Iran war - that the US is no longer a reliable partner, other alliances must urgently be formed, and the world economy can be held to ransom at will. But it's in her capacity as one of the authors of last year's UK strategic defence review that Fiona's lessons from the Iran conflict most hit home.'It's time to level with the population that the UK is under siege, it just doesn't know it'. The Government must prepare now for attacks on critical infrastructure and supply lines, and ensure the NHS could respond to a mass casualty event.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Dr Fiona HillProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia’s nuclear bomb threat in space 15.04.2026 28Min.

From Russia's nuclear threat to satellites, the prospect of a permanent lunar station, and the hopes of Artemis, Patrick and Tom could barely contain their space-geek excitement at speaking with General Whiting, head of US Space Command.'There cannot be anybody on the planet who has more power in space than that man', gushed Patrick. And for good reason; war is now essentially a space domain, as the the American general explains, determining conflicts from Ukraine to Iran. And space, more than any other theatre, is where the cold war with China is most acutely felt. In a welcome note of optimism to close the conversation, General Whiting doubled-down on the benefits to both Europe and America of continued military cooperation, and paid fulsome tribute to his Nato allies.We hope you love this conversion half as much as Patrick and Tom did!Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: General Stephen Whiting, head of US Space CommandProducer: Micaela Arneson and Harry StottExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A rescue mission behind enemy lines, f-bomb tweets and 'a whole civilisation will die' 08.04.2026 35Min.

Having first demanded that Iran 'open the fucking strait', President Trump followed up with a post vowing 'an entire civilisation will die tonight' if it did not do so. But could any such order ever be legal, and would the American military even agree to carry it out?Patrick and Tom chew over these and other questions, including whether it's time for America's long-standing allies to bail on it, if bombing a country into submission ever works, and what the sacking of the head of the US army tells us about the state of the country's military and, perhaps, its constitution. But first up, in a week which saw possibly the finest rescue mission ever carried out, John Nichols recalls his experience in the first Gulf War of being shot down over enemy territory, attempting to evade capture, and waiting for the infantry to arrive. Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: John NicholProducer: Micaela ArnesonExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Q&A: From Xi's PLA purges to Trump's Nato threats, your biggest questions answered 01.04.2026 34Min.

For their Easter special, Tom and Patrick turn the entire show over to you. They answer as many listener questions as possible that have landed in the General & Journalist inbox since Christmas. Among them: whether Europe could defend itself in the events of an immediate Russian incursion, and whether the Iran war has changed Xi's calculus over taking Taiwan - and many more. Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn & General Sir Patrick SandersProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachGet in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fear and loathing in Moscow - ⁠Putin, Iran and a coup? 26.03.2026 29Min.

The Kremlin's treasury runneth-over with oil revenues, Moscow's military is being treated to a lesson in the latest US warfare in real time, and the world's eyes are averted from Ukraine. Trump's war with Iran has been a boon for President Putin. And yet rumours of paranoia, deserting elites, and strange defections abound. To decipher what exactly is going on in Moscow, Patrick and Tom are joined by Russia-watcher extraordinaire, Mark Galeotti. Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Mark GaleottiProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyListen here to Mark's podcast, In Moscow's Shadows Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'As big as the Berlin Wall and 9/11', Peter Frankopan on the Iran war 19.03.2026 37Min.

World-renowned historian Peter Frankopan joins Tom and Patrick to dissect the escalating conflict in Iran through the lens of ancient history and shifting civilisations. The Silk Roads author argues the war is less a standalone event and more the continuation of a century-long struggle for control over the "spine of the world" and its vital resources, namely oil.Upending international law, decades-long alliances, and the norms of democracy, Frankopan posits that the war has buried multilateralism for good, and is as consequential for geopolitics as either the fall of the Berlin Wall or 9/11. Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Peter FrankopanProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is Trump's off-ramp for Iran? 12.03.2026 36Min.

We are in the second week of a war that was supposed to be over by now. Yet the world is facing soaring oil prices, rising inflation and a regime which doesn't seem ready to capitulate.  While President Trump continues to threaten Iran, he faces the limits of what air power, alone, can achieve and increasing pressure at home. Recording on Day 12 of the conflict, Patrick and Tom are joined by Sir Simon Gass, former Ambassador to Tehran and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, to dissect the rise of a new Iranian dynasty and the high-stakes search for an off-ramp that no one seems able to find.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Sir Simon GassProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyClips: War.gov Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does America win a war with Iran? 05.03.2026 41Min.

President Trump has given numerous reasons for America's war on Iran. But if a clear objective cannot be defined, can that war be won?Admiral James 'Sandy' Winnefeld is a former vice-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Until last year he headed the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, overseeing planning for American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.He joins Tom and Patrick to talk US tactics, Iranian response and a possible end-game.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Admiral James 'Sandy' WinnefeldProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: GettyClips: Whitehouse.gov, Reuters, USA Today, @WION. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘War with Russia in three years’, UK defence minister and ex-marine 25.02.2026 35Min.

Two years ago, Al Carns was a colonel in the Royal Marines and, though he can never confirm or deny it, had also commanded the Special Boat Service. He pivoted to politics when he realised that the country's military leadership did not fully grasp the seismic shift in warfare brought about by drones and AI - but he did.Having risen at breakneck speed to become armed forces minister, Al talks candidly to Patrick and Tom about the need for the country to prepare for war with Russia in "three to five years."Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Al Carns DSO OBE MC MPProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachImage: courtesy of Al Carns Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Poland is becoming Europe's new superpower 19.02.2026 34Min.

Beginning with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, but accelerated by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has super-charged its military to become the third largest in Nato, behind only Turkey and the US.It spends more on defence as a proportion of national wealth than even America and is soon to have more large tanks than the UK, Germany and France combined.So how did this happen, what are the implications, and are there lessons to be learned for the UK? Host:Tom Newton DunnGuests: Oliver Moody and Bartosz KielakProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reservists: your country needs YOU! 12.02.2026 36Min.

If the UK is to present a credible deterrence to any adversary, its armed forces need to be sufficiently large. They are not. And the fastest, most economical, way of plugging the gap is by growing the reserves. The Chief of the defence staff recently called for an 'all in mentality', urging civilians to step up to the very real threat posed by Russia. Not 'weekend warriors', but people from high-tech industries and professions, skills the regular army lacks. He meant all of us. So, who could join the reserves, how quickly, and what would they get out of it?Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuests: Elisabeth Braw and Peter AppsProducer: Shabnam GrewalExecutive producer: Fiona LeachPhoto: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do wars change when AI takes over? 05.02.2026 53Min.

In the space race and the arms race, only a human could determine an outcome. But what happens in war when AI, and not a human, takes the decision to pull the trigger? If AI can equal human capabilities, Artificial 'superintelligence' is smarter, potentially putting ASI beyond human control.Jon Wolfsthal worked in the Obama White House on nuclear non-proliferation. He, like scores of others in defence, diplomacy and AI, has signed a petition calling for a ban on superintelligence, unless and until it can be controlled. He joined Patrick and Tom from New York to spell out exactly why we must stop our nuclear and biological weapons being run by machines.But, don't worry, it gets lighter. Jon is a massive fan of sci-fi. Turns out, so are Patrick and Tom. The three of them swap film and book faves, from Prometheus to Frankenstein, Alien to Terminator, and talk about how they all foreshadowed this artificial intelligence moment.Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton DunnGuest: Jon WolfsthalProducer: Sophie McNultyClip: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Photo: Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.