Independent Thinking
Independent Thinking is the new podcast from Chatham House.
Each week our director, Bronwen Maddox, will host conversations with leading policymakers, journalists and our own Chatham House experts to provide insight and depth on the big international questions of the week.
Independent Thinking gives you, the listener, the opportunity to engage with the high-level conversations that the institute hosts, and, for Chatham House members, to ask questions directly to the participants in each episode.
Feb 27, 2026
The US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump on his first justification for tariffs, but he says he will push them through by other means.
On this week’s Independent Thinking podcast, our experts analyse why Trump is wedded to tariffs as an economic and political tool, and what effect they will have on...
Feb 19, 2026
Negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war do not appear to have made significant progress. In the meantime, the focus of US President Donald Trump's 'lighthouse diplomacy' appears to have switched to Iran.
Chatham House analysts discuss the state of the talks, and whether Europe will step up to provide the weapons and...
Feb 16, 2026
In a special edition of Chatham House’s Independent Thinking podcast recorded at the Munich Security Conference 2026 over the weekend, Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox and Grégoire Roos, Director of the Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes, unpack the key issues that emerged from this year’s forum.
The...
Feb 13, 2026
As Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer ploughs through crisis after crisis, his Labour Party faces multiple threats in upcoming local elections. Our Chatham House analysts examine whether having six prime ministers in a decade is a sign that Britain, like some of its neighbours, has more fundamental underlying...
Feb 6, 2026
After the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, our analysts discuss where in the Western Hemisphere US President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio may turn their attention to next.
Host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Laurel Rapp, director of Chatham House's US and North America Programme, and Dr...