The Debate

Episodes

• 
  The 28th state? Carney's Canada draws closer to European Union 16.09.2026 42m

  US president Donald Trump has previously talked about making Canada the 51st state, Now, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Europe, and the president of the European Commission has proposed the country ‘associate membership’. In this edition, we ask what that means and how it differs from the close status afforded to Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK – countries which Carney is also visiting ahead of his own Strasbourg speech Thursday before the European Parliament. 
• 
  First Hormuz, now the Red Sea? Oil spikes as Saudis sucked into Yemen spiral 15.09.2026 44m

  First, there was US President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to strike Iran. Then, came the quagmire of a war without an exit strategy. Now, six months later, with access to the Strait of Hormuz all but shut, global shipping has taken another hit the other end of the Arabian Peninsula. Iran-backed Houthis are threatening access to the Red Sea. 
• 
  Where is the kill switch? AI doomsday warnings trigger calls to regulate 14.09.2026 45m

  Talk about doomscrolling. In the past week, our timelines have been full of dark predictions of our imminent demise, including one by a Silicon Valley engineer who puts the chances of artificial intelligence wiping out humanity at better than 10 percent. The recent breach of the machine-learning programmers' site Hugging Face by AI machines is also triggering panic. In this edition, we ask: can machines destroy the planet on their own? In the age of technology, does problem-solving always override safety? 
• 
  9/11 then and now: Do September 2001 attacks still shape our world? 10.09.2026 45m

  Once in a generation – sometimes once in a lifetime – a singular event blindsides the entire planet. 25 years on, does the memory of the 9/11 attacks on New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania fade into history, or is it still as raw and vivid as on that sunny September morning? 
• 
  Whose space is it? Europe scrambles as US rules satellite race 09.09.2026 46m

  With the digital age came the scramble for minerals below and to master the heavens above. US President Donald Trump wants a thousand rocket launches per year and with SpaceX’s reusable modules leading the way. The United States towers over the competition – which is why Ukraine’s president has to beg Elon Musk to use his Starlink low orbit satellite system to take out the Russian cruise missile launchers. 
• 
  Missiles or mediation? Trump envoys shuttle between Russia and Ukraine 08.09.2026 44m

  Ukraine’s momentum on the battlefield was a primary focus at July’s NATO summit in Turkey. Kyiv’s long-range drones and US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that the Washington would allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles on in the country. However, Trump's deal has yet to materialize. Moreover, Russia has ramped up cruise missile launches and Ukraine has run out of air defenses to stop them. Moscow is also failing to stop incoming missiles. In today’s edition we ask: What happens in war when offense proves better than defense for both sides?
• 
  Only the beginning? German far right's breakthrough shakes Europe to its core 07.09.2026 46m

  The result was not enough to win outright, but certainly enough to shake Germany and Europe to their core: the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) trounced the ruling conservatives in the impoverished former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt in Sunday's election. We ask about the consequences of voting for an anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party that wants schools to teach less about the ills of Hitler and more about the glory of Bismarck.
• 
  German far right's breakout moment? AfD party eyes outright win in regional election 04.09.2026 42m

  Could Europeans awaken next Monday to another shock bellwether moment? German voters could for the first time since World War II give an outright majority to a far-right party in regional elections. We ask about the AfD's push in Saxony-Anhalt and a charismatic lead candidate whose campaign strives to put charm above the vitriol usually associated with a party with pro-Nazi roots.
• 
  Churchillian moment? Macron in Britain amid scramble to boost European defence 03.09.2026 41m

  What can an 11th-century comic strip about the Norman Conquest of England tell us about the spectre of sea change in 2026 Europe? France’s president is on hand for the hottest ticket in London, the first-ever cross-Channel visit of the Bayeux Tapestry, which, for the record, is not a tapestry but a delicate scroll of embroidered cloth that chronicles a radical turning point in our continent’s history. Should France’s outgoing president and the British monarch who welcomes him be likened more to the defending Saxons or the invading Normans?
• 
  School without screens: Will France's high school phone ban fly? 01.09.2026 43m

  A lot happened during summer recess: France's constitutional council struck down the core of a new law to ban social media for under-15s, but it did validate the extension to high schoolers of a phone ban already in effect for younger pupils. Why one but not the other? On the first day of school across this country and others, we size up what's best for future citizens, parents and teachers, all grappling in this age of distraction with the lure of screens. 
• 
  Melting Himalayas? Nepal disaster exposes growing risk of glacial flooding 01.09.2026 43m

  It may well be one of the tragic consequences of global warming. Scientists will tell us whether receding glaciers are to blame for last Wednesday’s ice shelf collapse that triggered a catastrophic flood, cascading down more than 3,000 metres from the Chinese border into Nepal.
• 
  Will football ever be the same? The legacy of a star-spangled World Cup 16.07.2026 43m

  After a stunning performance in Argentina’s come-from-behind win against England, 39-year-old Lionel Messi secured the defending World Cup champions their second final in a row – much to the delight of organizers. Taking note of Messi’s star power, the US bent the rules to include him on the Inter Miami side in the Club World Cup last year. In this edition we ask: what legacy will there be for the biggest World Cup ever, with its three countries, 64 teams and record-smashing ticket pricing?
• 
  French chicken chain row gets political 15.07.2026 43m

  In this edition, we take a look at the French love for food – in this case, chain rotisserie chicken and the current squabble over it that has turned political.
• 
  War, talks, repeat: How to break the cycle between US and Iran? 14.07.2026 19m

  Who needs nuclear weapons when you have the Strait of Hormuz? While ordinary Iranians are far worse off than on February 28th – when the US and Israel launched a war that killed the Supreme Leader on day one – the Islamic Republic has since shown it has massive leverage in the war and is betting that Donald Trump’s threats of invasion are empty.
• 
  Willing to pay: Europe faces the bill for backing Ukraine without the US 13.07.2026 26m

  Forget last week's Nato summit, where Donald Trump put the alliance through another rollercoaster. It's Bastille Day in Paris, with the “Coalition of the willing” – Nato minus the United States – gathering for a more measured summit on the eve of the traditional military parade down the Champs-Élysées, where aircraft from Germany, Ukraine, the UK, Sweden and Greece will join the flypast.
• 
  Not built for the heat: How do cities adapt to record temperatures? 09.07.2026 43m

  It's not even Bastille Day yet, and France is already in the grip of its third heatwave of the season. Hospitals are under strain, wildfires are spreading, riverbeds are running dry, work and study are being disrupted—and there's even a shortage of ice. Many of you reacted strongly to our recent discussion on whether air conditioning is the answer. We'll briefly revisit that debate, but also look at the bigger picture: why is France still so unprepared for extreme heat?
• 
  Star-spangled blowup? A divided United States commemorates 250 years 02.07.2026 43m

  The world’s longest-running democracy is celebrating its 250th anniversary. It is a milestone for a United States that still seems like a new world to many Europeans. Since 1789, the US has been governed under the same constitution while in France, there have been five republics, three monarchies and three dictatorships – including the Nazi occupation. In this edition, we ask: what is the significance of this Fourth of July? 
• 
  Iran after Khamenei: What direction following supreme leader's funeral? 01.07.2026 44m

  Some days they talk. Some days they fight. Iran and the United States have settled into a pattern since the truce signed last month. This Wednesday in Doha, both sides are present in indirect negotiations. Whatever comes of that, the attention is now shifting to Tehran, where the Islamic Republic is preparing for Saturday's kickoff of four days of state funeral proceedings for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
• 
  Crimea back in play? Russia feels pain of Ukraine long-range strikes 30.06.2026 44m

  A couple of weeks back, we asked if the tide was turning in Ukraine. The short answer: a little, but it's hard to cut through the fog of war. Now, we're beginning to wonder if Crimea could be back in play. Kyiv's new line of longer-range missiles and drones are wreaking havoc on fuel and power supplies. And while Russia continues to inch forward in other frontline flashpoints, the peninsula occupied in 2014 by Vladimir Putin's little green men has never looked so vulnerable. 
• 
  What aftermath for Venezuela? Earthquake relief hampered by political crisis 29.06.2026 43m

  We are in awe of Venezuela’s first responders and all the brave citizens still pulling survivors from under the rubble of some 770 buildings that collapsed in last Wednesday’s double earthquakes. Is the sudden collapsing of so many structures – many built during the boom years of high oil prices – a tipping point for a nation under sanctions that has been dogged by decades of eroding services and infrastructure? Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelan interim president of a regime in survival mode, was booed copiously Saturday in Caracas as many accuse the successor of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro of putting security before disaster relief.