Mark Galeotti is one of the world’s foremost experts on Russia, an honorary professor at University College London, director of Mayak Intelligence, and author of more than 30 books on Russian history, intelligence, and organized crime. His latest work, Forged in War, explores the military history of Russia from its origins to the present day.

In this episode, Galeotti explains why Vladimir Putin’s recent Victory Day parade revealed not strength—but vulnerability. He breaks down the growing strain inside Russia, from economic pressure and Ukrainian drone strikes to elite infighting and declining public trust in Putin’s leadership.

The conversation also explores Putin’s worldview, the Soviet legacy that shaped him, and why Galeotti believes Russia is entering a generational transition. He examines the growing divide between Putin’s aging inner circle and younger elites preparing for a post-Putin future, while offering insight into what Russia could look like in the decades ahead.

Throughout the discussion, Galeotti argues that the war in Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped Russia politically, economically, and psychologically—and that even if the fighting stopped tomorrow, the consequences will last for generations.

00:00 Intro — What Putin’s Victory Day Parade Revealed
01:11 Why the Parade Signaled Weakness
05:21 Russians Are Starting to Feel the War
07:56 Does Putin Think the War Is Ending?
12:37 Why Putin Can’t Walk Away From Ukraine
17:03 How History Will Remember Putin
19:14 Is Putin Becoming Russia’s Brezhnev?
22:34 The Quiet Succession Debate Inside Russia
25:30 Ukraine’s Attacks on Russia’s Economy
30:14 How the Soviet Union Still Shapes Putin
35:33 What a Post-Putin Russia Could Look Like
40:14 Organized Crime, Russia, and Final Thoughts

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Douglas Brunt is a New York Times bestselling author, and host of the podcast Dedicated. His latest book, The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel, uncovers the forgotten story of the Nobel family’s oil empire — a business that once rivaled Rockefeller’s Standard Oil before being erased from history by the Soviet regime.

In this episode, Brunt explores the rise of Emanuel Nobel, nephew of Alfred Nobel, and how the Nobel family transformed the Russian oil industry into one of the largest petroleum empires in the world. The conversation traces the origins of global oil competition, the rise of industrial capitalism, and the violent political upheavals that reshaped the 20th century.

Brunt also discusses the role of oil in world history — from the early battles over energy dominance to the Russian Revolution, World War I, and the emergence of modern geopolitics. He explains how Emanuel Nobel crossed paths with figures like Joseph Stalin and why the Bolsheviks saw the Nobel empire as a symbol of everything they wanted to destroy.

The episode also dives into the origins of the Nobel Prize, the legacy of Alfred Nobel, the relationship between energy and global power, and why stories buried in forgotten archives still shape the modern world.

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Ryan Crocker is one of the most distinguished diplomats in modern American history, serving as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, and Kuwait over a decades-long diplomatic career at the center of U.S. foreign policy.

In this episode, Ambassador Crocker argues that the world is passing through a dangerous geopolitical “hinge point” — one marked by growing instability in the Middle East, rising strain on U.S. alliances, and the potential breakdown of the post-World War II international order.

Drawing on firsthand experience from Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Syria, Crocker reflects on the long-term consequences of the Iraq War, the evolution of terrorism and proxy warfare, and the limits of American power. He warns that weakening alliances like NATO could accelerate nuclear proliferation and return the world to a far more dangerous balance-of-power system.

The conversation also explores the Iran conflict, the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, China’s growing role in global affairs, and why diplomacy and personal relationships between leaders still matter in statecraft. Throughout, Crocker offers a sobering but deeply informed perspective on what happens when global leadership becomes uncertain.

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