Disorder

From tear gassing student protestors in France to Britain’s chaotic party conferences with their controversial motions, Jason and Jane ask whether Western democracies can still deliver anything positive for the next generation. They take on Labour’s spending promises, the Tory’s bizzarre tax cut pledges, the Greens’ Zionism is Racism controversy and the growing power of bond markets over elected governments.Then: are AI and its creators taking over? Jane reports from the UN General Assembly on the push for global AI rules. After the break, we turn to the US midterms and Iranian-linked security threats in Britain. Plus, Jason finally learns what “squeaky bum time” means. And apparently it is not only about clearing the midpoint.Then in the MEGA ORDERERS BONUS just for our subscribers: Can Trump Tariff His Way to a Bolsonaro Victory? Brazil’s election, the Bolsonaro comeback, Lula’s failures, crime, evangelical politics and whether economic pressure is becoming a new form of foreign election interference.Join the Mega Orderers Club: https://disordershow.com/clubAnd in the ORDERING THE DISORDER: Democracies need room to invest in the next generation and international cooperation to ensure AI serves people rather than addiction, polarisation and dominance.Producer: George McDonaghSubscribe to our Substack -https://natoandtheged.substack.com/Disorder on YouTube -https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShowSHOWNOTES LINKSHave the Greens just voted for a de facto ban on Jews?https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-news-agents/id1640878689?i=1000793267697More on this https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/02/green-party-anti-zionism-motion-attempt-tell-jews-how-to-think'Everyone hates the police' – what France's school protests reveal about a divided nationhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crq5nlqnn184o George McDonagh produced Black Box about AI https://www.theguardian.com/technology/audio/2026/sep/03/black-box-the-chatbots-spirals-ai-psychosis-podcast And then an On the Media about US polarization and ice. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RUp1IfoSX2CXl0s1eVi3h?si=1IlVr9j2SZqt9evXmucpaQ&utm_source=copy-link&t=2045 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What exactly is “War Putinism” — and how long can it survive?Jason is joined by Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of In Moscow’s Shadows, to get inside the increasingly militarised, kleptocratic system Putin has built. They discuss Russia’s recent Duma elections, whether the war economy is devouring Russia’s future, how corruption changes when elites stop believing the system will last forever, and why Russia is so effective at exploiting divisions in Western societies.Then they Order the Disorder: Jason and Mark disagree agreeably over whether Europe needs greater unity or much bolder action against Russia — before exploring financial enforcement, sanctions, Russian money flows and what the West could actually do to constrain Putin’s capacity to disorder the international system.And, naturally, there are bears. Lots of rampaging Russian bears.MEGA ORDERERS BONUS: Can Ukraine actually win? Responding to a listener challenge, Jason and Mark debate what Russian defeat could realistically mean, whether any settlement merely gives Putin time to regroup, and what security guarantees Ukraine would actually need. Plus: even more on Russia’s increasingly disorderly bears.Join the Mega Orderers Club for the full bonus:https://disordershow.com/clubProducer: George McDonaghSubscribe to Ordering the Disorder:https://natoandtheged.substack.com/Disorder on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShowSHOWNOTES LINKSMark Galeotti’s In Moscow’s Shadows:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/in-moscows-shadows/id1510124746In Moscow’s Shadows 264: Russia’s Bear(s) On The March:https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/in-moscows-shadows-264-russias-bear-s-on-the-march/id1510124746?i=1000791844169Our recent episode with Hanna Notte — Can Putin Outlast the West (by Disordering it)?:https://podfollow.com/disorder/episode/35b8c221b3fca72fafb5a4b0fee7924f22d97423/viewDisorder Ep. 196 with Jamison Firestone — Rule of Lies: The Origin Story of Putin’s Russia:https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/ep-196-rule-of-lies-the-origin-story-of/id1706818264?i=1000777642161Our previous episode with Sir Bill Browder:https://pod.link/1706818264/episode/a36160dede2b990a59c34c3c4e8eeeceJoin the Mega Orderers Club:https://disordershow.com/clubAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Four and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin hasn’t won. But Russia hasn’t been isolated either.In this episode of Disorder latest, Jason is joined by Russia expert Hanna Notte, author of We Shall Outlast Them: Putin’s Global Campaign to Defeat the West, to explore how the Ukraine war has become the organising principle of Russian foreign policy — and a much wider struggle over global order.How has Moscow cultivated relationships with China, India, Iran and the Global South? Does Russia actively benefit from global Disorder? And does Putin really need to keep fighting to preserve his regime — or does he continue simply because he believes Russia can still outlast Ukraine and its Western supporters?Hanna also draws on her years living in and travelling through Russia to unpack stoikost — endurance and resilience — and the Russian narratives of suffering, self-reliance and victimhood.As they Order the Disorder, they look at what would actually prove Putin’s wager wrong? Hanna argues that Europe needs above all to remain steady: keep Ukraine economically and militarily viable, strengthen its air defences, squeeze Russia’s oil revenues and shadow fleet, and demonstrate that Moscow cannot simply wait for Western resolve to collapse.For Mega Orderers, hear Jason and Hanna get much more granular about where the war stands right now.Join the Mega Orderers Club for the full bonus:https://disordershow.com/clubSHOW NOTESBuy Hanna Notte’s We Shall Outlast Them: Putin’s Global Campaign to Defeat the West in the UK:https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/we-shall-outlast-them/hanna-notte/9781324117018Hanna Notte discusses We Shall Outlast Them on the Kennan Institute’s The Long View — Putin’s Campaign to Defeat the West:https://www.kennaninstitute.org/past-eventsMark Galeotti’s In Moscow’s Shadows:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-moscows-shadows/id1510124746Mark Galeotti on Hidden Forces — The West’s Forgotten War and the New Russia:https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-wests-forgotten-war-and-the-new-russia-mark-galeotti/Disorder Ep. 196 with Jamison Firestone — Rule of Lies: The Origin Story of Putin’s Russia:https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/ep-196-rule-of-lies-the-origin-story-of/id1706818264?i=1000777642161Disorder with Marcel Dirsus — Dictators’ Disordering Quest for Internal Security:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep67-dictators-disordering-quest-for-internal-security/id1706818264?i=1000669774299Disorder:https://disordershow.com/Mega Orderers Club:https://disordershow.com/clubAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Twenty-five years after 9/11, did America respond to an attack on the Western Order by inadvertently helping to disorder that Order itself?Jason is joined by Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, to look back at 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan and the collapse of NATO allies trust in the USA—and forward to how Ukraine can win and the defence of Europe. Hodges argues that military power is only useful when attached to a clear strategic objective and Congressional and popular buy-in: a lesson America repeatedly forgot after 9/11. They then turn to Ukraine: drones, long-range strikes, manpower, democratic legitimacy and Europe's continuing failure to develop sufficient air and missile defence. In the Ordering the Disorder section, General Hodges argues that Europe should stop thinking about merely improving Ukraine's negotiating position and instead help it defeat Russia—while rebuilding the alliances and institutions that once magnified American power. Join the Mega Orderers Club at disordershow.com/club to get Jason's response to the interview, including his own reflections on 9/11 and whether power without clear objectives, functioning alliances and an idea of the Order it is seeking to create can itself become an engine of Disorder.SHOWNOTES LINKSDemocrats v Dictators with Ben Hodges on his personal background:https://youtu.be/9eOKx6iVTx8?is=PJsO4AA9lfIk_5ru Ben Hodges — Association of the United States Army:https://www.ausa.org/people/ben-hodgesNATO — Collective Defence and Article 5:https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/introduction-to-nato/collective-defence-and-article-5Disorder — NATO: A Model for Ordering the Disorder? with Jamie Shea, Kori Schake, Timothy Garton Ash and Charles Kupchan:https://podfollow.com/disorder/episode/484e21562b7dcd1a1a1f570a09343fd68bf6e732/viewJoin the Mega Orderers Club:https://disordershow.com/club Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy