The General & The Journalist

In this month's Q&A, Patrick and Tom examine Donald Trump’s controversial deal to buy Russian diesel, the shifting world order, and the threats facing Western security. Plus, they consider a listener’s idea for bringing veterans closer to the public.

Send your questions in to generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Julia Webster
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a decade, US spies and diplomats have reported mysterious symptoms including strange noises, sudden pressure and debilitating neurological symptoms… but no one has definitively explained why. Now, two investigative journalists say they have uncovered new evidence of a suspected microwave weapon, a Russian connection and a US government failure to confront the truth.

Their new book, The Havana Syndrome: Secret Weapons, a Government Cover-Up, and the Greatest Spy Mystery of Our Time, raises fresh questions about intelligence failures, covert warfare and a mystery that may be far from over. Is Russia behind these mysterious events and has the US government been hiding what it knows?

Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

04:00 The first mysterious attacks
16:57 The alleged Russian microwave weapon
26:29 The scientific evidence and scepticism
29:24 Was there a government cover-up?
35:23 Is the mystery still unfolding?

Guests: Michael Rey and Oriana Zill de Granados, investigative producers for CBS’s 60 Minutes
Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Julia Webster
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Clips: BBC, TODAY, 6 News Australia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Houthis have advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast threatening one of the world’s most important shipping routes through Bab al-Mandab. Yemeni government forces are fighting back, but the Iran-backed group’s ability to disrupt global trade and strike across the region continues to grow.

Yemen expert Nadwa Al-Dawsari joins Tom and Patrick to explain how the Houthis became a regional military power, how much control Iran really has over them, and whether Yemen is becoming another front in Tehran’s wider proxy war. So, how far can the Houthis expand, and can they be stopped?

Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

00:49 — The Houthis fight to seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast
02:58 — How Iran helped build Houthi military power
07:01 — Why the Bab el-Mandeb threatens global shipping
14:07 — Who are the Houthis and their enemies
22:13 — Can the US stop the Houthi threat?

Guest: Nadwa Al-Dawsari, Fellow at the Centre on Armed Groups and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Institute
Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producers: Julia Webster with help from Robert Wallace
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Denise Kelly, Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Russia steps up sabotage, interference and intimidation across Europe, how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to go?

Former MI6 chief Sir John Scarlett joins Tom and Patrick to explain what Putin wants in Ukraine, whether Russia could escalate into a direct confrontation with NATO, and why intelligence back channels may be crucial to preventing escalation.

Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

05:28 - Did the West misjudge Putin?
09:46 - Is Putin under pressure?
15:04 - What does Putin want in Ukraine?
17:30 - Russia’s hybrid war against NATO
23:49 - Why the CIA Chief went to Moscow

Guest: Sir John Scarlett, former MI6 Chief and co-founder of SC Strategy
Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn
Patrick brings his experience as a former head of the British Army to the podcast. He is also a Conservative peer and advises the party on defence.
Producer: Julia Webster, Shabnam Grewal
Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Kathia Mestanza, Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America has 11 aircraft carriers. So why is the US Navy struggling to deploy more than three at once?

In this bonus video explainer, The Sunday Times’s Mark Urban examines the growing strain on America’s carrier fleet. These 100,000-ton floating airfields have long been symbols of US military power, but delayed ships, lengthy repairs and overstretched crews are making it increasingly difficult to keep them at sea. If Washington cannot reliably deploy the fleet it already has, what does that mean for America’s ability to project power around the world – and are aircraft carriers becoming a symbol not of US strength, but of its limits?

00:00 – America’s aircraft carrier problem
00:53 – Delayed ships and ageing carriers
02:24 – Trump’s proposed carrier redesign
03:25 – Longer deployments, greater strain
04:50 – The carrier gap in the Pacific
06:09 – The $25 billion carrier group at risk
07:30 – The cost to the wider fleet
08:38 – Shipyard decline and military power

Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk
Producer: Yasmin Butt
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.