The TWP Community Podcast

Episode 18: Interview with Liam O'Shea on the Politics of Security Sector Reform 27.03.2026 46min

In this conversation, Dr Liam O’Shea examines one of the most overlooked challenges in security sector reform: the collusion between security forces, organised crime, and political elites. Drawing on research from Colombia, Georgia, and South Africa, the discussion explores why these dynamics persist, what has enabled reform in some contexts, and what this means for international support. The conversation highlights the need to move beyond technical fixes and confront the political realities at the heart of reform.

Episode 17: Winning with Women Project_Global Partners Governance 16.12.2025 44min

We speak to Moataz Ghaddar and Hannah Johnson from Global Partners Governance about their research and the Winning with Women project which supports women candidates in Lebanon. The conversation explores how the project combines monitoring and capacity-building for women with deliberate engagement of male allies i.e. influential family, community and political figures who can help open doors, mobilise networks and challenge norms that keep politics male-dominated. The discussion highlighted why addressing power, gatekeeping and social norms is essential for creating more inclusive local governance, offering useful lessons for the TWP community.

Episode 16: Interview with Rachel Beatty Riedl 24.09.2025 27min

Rachel shares her thoughts on the current state of democratic politics around the world and shares ideas about how to respond to democratic backsliding in different contexts

Episode 15: Interview with Micol Martini - Senior Expert and Technical Lead on Governance at WWF International 02.06.2025 34min

Drawing on over a decade of work as an adviser working on conflict and governance with FCDO and her current role as the Senior Expert and Technical Lead on Environmental Governance and Conflict with WWF International, Micol Martini shares her trajectory on using TWP in her work, including some of the opportunities and challenges of instilling a politically aware lens in conservation work and conflict affected contexts.

Episode 14: Interview with Ronnie Ojwang, Country Director - NIMD Kenya 09.04.2025 40min

In our featured interview, we speak with Ronnie Ojwang, Country Director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) in Kenya, who shares with us some of the work that NIMD and partners are doing to encourage young people to participate more fully in the Kenyan political system, especially at a time of heightened tensions and growing disillusionment with how democracy is working.

Episode 13: Interview with Marta Ruedas - UN 26.11.2024 43min

In our featured interview, we speak to Marta Ruedas, who served over 30 years in the United Nations, gaining extensive experience in coordinating United Nations development and humanitarian work in conflict and post-conflict countries, as well as supporting peacebuilding transitions. Marta shares her experiences in thinking and working politically over the years.

Episode 13: Interview with Marta Ruedas 22.11.2024 43min

In our featured interview, we speak to Marta Ruedas, who served over 30 years in the United Nations, gaining extensive experience in coordinating United Nations development and humanitarian work in conflict and post-conflict countries, as well as supporting peacebuilding transitions. Marta shares her experiences in thinking and working politically over the years.

Episode 12: A conversation with Judith Kent and Kate Whyte 29.09.2024 39min

Judith Kent and Kate Whyte, who were both at FCDO until very recently, share their insights and wisdom as fellow travellers in the TWP journey, drawing on their 5+ decades of collective experience working on foreign affairs, conflict and international development.

Episode 11: A conversation with Dr Ashely Jackson from the Centre on Armed Groups 25.06.2024 24min

Ashley is the co-founder and co-director of the Centre on Armed Groups, an organisation that supports research on and engagement with armed groups. In this conversation, she tells us about her experiences and challenges in working in contexts under the control of armed groups. Ashley highlights how the Centre finds politically smart pathways to engagement in order to understand the perspectives the different players within these challenging contexts.

Episode 10: Interview with Greg Power on his new book, Inside The Political Mind: The Human Side of Politics and How it Shapes Development 23.04.2024 21min

In this conversation, Alina chats to Greg Power’s about his recent book, Inside the Political Mind: The Human side of Politics, and How it Shapes Development which explores how social norms, public expectations and the personal interests of Members of Parliament influence the path of political development. The book draws on Greg’s experience of working with political leaders in more than sixty countries.

Episode 9: A conversation with Martha Maya and Maria José Daza Bohórquez from the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), Colombia. 20.02.2024 51min

Alina Rocha Menocal has a conversation with Martha Maya and Maria José Daza Bohórquez from the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), about their work on encouraging dialogue and collaboration in the Colombian Congress across party lines within a highly polarised political context.

Episode 8: Interview with Dr Nicola Nixon, Sumaya Saluja and Mohammad Sadat Sadruddin Shibli, The Asia Foundation 30.11.2023 42min

Alina Rocha Menocal interviews Dr Nicola Nixon, Sumaya Saluja and Sadat Shibli on The Asia Foundation’s experience fostering coalition-building, featuring examples from Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste

Episode 7: Gareth Williams interviews Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad and Sunny Kulutuye on their experience of applying a TWP approach to policy and programming in Nigeria 24.03.2023 25min

This interview recorded on the eve of Nigeria’s Presidential election in February 2023 discusses the importance of a TWP approach for understanding Nigeria’s political economy context and designing/implementing effective development projects. The interview with two Associates of The Policy Practice, Dr Suwaiba Ahmad and Sunny Kulutuye, reflects on the two speakers’ professional experience of applying a TWP approach to policy and programming problems in this context.

Episode 6: Conversation with CAFOD’s Dadirai Chikwengo on her TWP journey 30.01.2023 32min

Dadirai is the Lead Governance Advisor for CAFOD. In the last 7 years Dadirai has been at the forefront of advocating for robust context analysis (PEA) to anchor programming decisions - developing an internal guidance and providing ongoing accompaniment of staff through the analysis. In this podcast, she tells us how she arrived to TWP, how she developed her context analysis guidance, and her experience of landing PEA and TWP principles with partners on the ground in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Episode 5: Heather Marquette on TWP and findings from the Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme 28.11.2022 24min

In this interview, Professor Heather Marquette tells us what lessons are emerging for 'Thinking and Working Politically' from research from the SOCACE programme. She talks about how SOCACE research offers new insights on what it means to TWP, how we can find different ways to work on SOC, illicit finance and corruption that are better able to meet the needs that emerge when working in different contexts and how TWP opens a space for identifying potential tensions and unintended consequences.

Episode 4: Interview with Duncan Green on the GELI programme ’Influencing for Senior Leaders’ 27.09.2022 17min

In this episode, Alina Rocha Menocal interviews Duncan Green who tells us about the Global Executive Leadership Initiative (or GELI) training programme on influencing for senior leaders, and why it is all about TWP.

Episode 3: Lessons learned from the MUVA programme in Mozambique 01.08.2022 23min

In this interview, Kerry Selvester and Sam Sharp tell us about what is innovative in MUVA's approach to adaptive programming, and the factors which enabled and constrained this approach.

Episode 2: Interview with Idayat Hassan on what is needed for greater democracy support. 01.08.2022 15min

Alina Rocha Menocal interviews Idayat Hassan, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja, Nigeria, on what is needed for greater democracy support.

Episode 1: Interview with Wilfred Mwamba on his thinking and working politically journey 01.08.2022 28min

TWP specialist Wilfred Mwamba gives great insights into how he uses TWP in practice.