Uncommon Decency

About

Your intellectual euro-trip in podcast form, with co-hosts Jorge González-Gallarza, François Valentin and Julian Graham. Through interviews and analysis, Uncommon Decency will seek to engage with the freshest thinking on European issues. Get in touch at @UnDecencyPod or undecencypod@gmail.com, and consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/undecencypod.

109. Merkel: Memoirs of an Empress, with Guy Chazan & Tom Nuttall
Timothy Garton Ash, the British historian and columnist, in The Guardian’s op-ed page three days after America’s 2016 election secured Donald Trump the White House that the phrase “leader of the free world” is usually applied to the US...
108. 1919: The Ghost of Versailles, with Margaret MacMillan & Gérard Araud
"The Treaty includes no provisions for the economic rehabilitation of Europe, nothing to make the defeated Central Empires into good neighbours, nothing to stabilise the new States of Europe." This damning critique of one of history's best-known peace...
107. France: What the Hell Happened? with Mujtaba Rahman & François Hublet
What France has just lived through can only be described by the words of Vladimir Lenin: “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”. In just a month, the country's political landscape was upended by...
106. Europe's Looming Right Turn, Russia's Sleazy Interference & Pedro Sánchez's Comeback—Decency Deep Dive
Welcome to another Decency Deep Dive. This week we tackle the forthcoming European Parliament (EP) elections on June 9, widely expected to deliver a significantly more right-wing supranational legislature. Russia’s ongoing efforts to intrude into...
105. Collisions: Origins of the Russo-Ukrainian War, with Michael C. Kimmage
“I think it is obvious that NATO's expansion does not have any relation with the modernisation of the alliance itself, or with ensuring security in Europe. On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust....
104. Regulating AI, with Ian Bremmer & Anu Bradford
“Day by day, however, the machines are gaining ground upon us; day by day we are becoming more subservient to them; more men are daily bound down as slaves to tend them, more men are daily devoting the energies of their whole lives to the...
103. America First, Europe Alone? with Shashank Joshi & Bruno Tertrais
"You didn't pay? You're delinquent? No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them—Russia—to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay!" In February, former—and possibly future—US President Donald J. Trump launched a...
102. Woke America, Anti-Woke Europe? with Yascha Mounk & Pierre Valentin
China might be the world’s factory, but America remains the earth’s cultural hegemon. And perhaps its greatest export of the last decade has been “wokeism” or “wokeness”. Once inhabiting the fringiest recesses of American academia, the...
101. Munich Recap: Trump's NATO Remarks & Europe's Role in Israel—Decency Deep Dive
Welcome to another Decency Deep Dive. This week we tackle various topics on the heels of the Munich Security Conference, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the world to re-anchor security at the heart of global politics. Ukraine's...
100. Franco-German Russian Illusions, with Sylvie Kauffmann & Guy Chazan
“The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.” Former German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s advice seems to have resonated with an entire generation of German leaders in the 21st century, from the Social-Democrat Gerhard Schroder to...
99. The Left-Right Divide: A Eulogy? with Rob Ford & François Hublet
In 1789, members of the newly-created National Assembly in Paris split between those for whom the king should retain an absolute veto, sitting to the Assembly President's right, and those who thought he shouldn't, sitting to his left. The primordial...
98. 2024: European Inflection Point? Decency Deep Dive
Every new year seems to heighten the impression that History is accelerating, and this may well not be new. The novelty lies in the fact that with every passing year, that impression seems to root itself in firmer ground. This is not just about the...
97. Geert Wilders and the Rise of Platinum Populism, with Caroline de Gruyter & Ewald Engelen
In a daring move, we kicked off March 2021 quoting none other than Francis Fukuyama, titling our episode "Getting to Holland" as a twist on Fukuyama's famous cliché of “Getting to Denmark”. The episode came in the heels of Mark Rutte's...
96. The Strange Death of Spain, with William Chislett & Michael Reid
Dive into the conundrums and riddles of Spanish politics with our latest riveting episode. Picture this: a high-stakes election, an unexpected coalition, and a political landscape teetering on the edge of ungovernability. In a plot twist that kept the...
95. The New Poland, with Marek Matraszek & David Engels
On October 15, Poles were called to the polls—no pun intended. The ruling Law & Justice party—or PiS in its Polish acronym—came first with a plurality of ballots and parliamentary seats, but fell short of a majority. As a result, after eight...
94. The Americanization of Race, with Tomiwa Owolade & Remi Adekoya
“As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Romans, I seem to see "the Tiber foaming with blood". That tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror across the Atlantic but which is interwoven with the history and...
93. The Spanish Right's Coalitional Conundrum, the EU's Looming Migration Crisis & Ukraine's Counteroffensive—Decency Deep Dive
Welcome to another Decency Deep Dive. This week we tackle three thorny topics. Non-subscribers will hear us lay out the ongoing coalitional dynamics on the Spanish right in the wake of last month's regional and local races, as well as the looming...
92. Who Are Today's Europeans? with Ben Judah
We are extremely lucky this week to host Ben Judah, Director of the Atlantic Council's Transform Europe Initiative, but most importantly for our purposes, the author of the recently published (2023), a travelogue of sorts that compiles short...
91. Erdoğan's Odds-Defying Presidential Win, with Birol Baskan & Judd King
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected as President of Turkey in a run-off on May 14th this year, all but assuring him a spot as one of the world's longest-serving leaders (he will have served 25 years altogether after this historic third term). His...
90. Zelensky's World Tour, Sunak's Comeback & Mitsotakis' Winning Formula—Decency Deep Dive
It's debating season again at Uncommon Decency. This week we are chatting about Zelensky's rock star world tour, unpacking the Greek center-right's triumph and weighing the Conservatives' (low) chances for a similar performance in the UK. Join us...

About

Episodes