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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.

Oct 24, 2025

China’s ruling Communist Party leadership met in Beijing to frame the next five-year-plan. Amid a trade war with the United States, they set priorities for economic policy and technology, including how to build artificial intelligence into key sectors of society.  

New faces appeared and old ones vanished, with a purge of senior military officials and others as President Xi Jinping sacked some officials he had earlier promoted. As Xi prepares to meet with US President Donald Trump in South Korea, Chatham House senior research fellows Yu Jie and James Kynge join host Bronwen Maddox.

Read our latest:

The UK must prioritize cybersecurity or be left dangerously exposed

Sanae Takaichi sees herself as the successor to Shinzo Abe. But changes in Japan’s politics present big challenges

Tanzania election: Erosion of democracy will also come at the cost of economic potential

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

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