The International Risk Podcast
Welcome to The International Risk Podcast — the premier destination for high-level insights into global risk dynamics. Hosted by Dominic Bowen, an accomplished senior advisor, each episode delivers expert analysis and actionable intelligence on today’s most pressing international risks. From geopolitical tensions and economic upheavals to cybersecurity threats and environmental challenges, we bring clarity to the complex risks shaping our world.
Tailored for CEOs, Board Members, senior managers, and risk professionals, our weekly episodes are essential listening for those making strategic decisions in volatile environments. With distinguished guests from diverse sectors and geographies — including renowned industry experts, policymakers, and thought leaders — we provide a multidimensional perspective, equipping you with insights to stay ahead of emerging threats and capitalize on new opportunities.
Our host, Dominic Bowen, is a senior business leader, and Partner at 2Secure where he is Head of Strategic Advisory and leads a team of senior management consultants and advisors.
Join us for engaging, thought-provoking conversations that go beyond the headlines. Stay informed, stay ahead, and transform the way you perceive and manage international risks. The International Risk Podcast is not just a podcast; it’s is crucial listening for today's leaders.
Episodes
355 episodes
Episode 354: Beyond Strikes: The Ripple Effects of the US–Iran Conflict with Dr Jamie Shea
This episode with Professor Jamie Shea explores how contemporary conflict is no longer confined to the battlefield but unfolds across multiple interconnected domains, generating effects that extend far beyond the immediate theatre of operations...
Episode 353: Terrorism Rewired: AI, Crime-Terror Networks and the New Global Threat Landscape with Dr Colin P. Clarke
In this episode, we host Dr Colin P. Clarke to explore how terrorism is evolving in an era of AI, organised crime, proxy warfare, and great power competition. Drawing on decades of work on terrorism, insurgency, illicit finance, and poli...
Episode 352: Inside the Ransomware Economy: Incentives, Governance, and Risk with Anja Shortland
This episode hosts Professor Anja Shortland, returning to the podcast following her previous appearance in 2021, to examine how ransomware has evolved into a sophisticated and highly organised form of cybercrime, operating as a glo...
Episode 351: Climate, Infrastructure, and Nuclear Risk: Rethinking Strategic Stability with Dr Florian Krampe
This episode with Dr Florian Krampe explores how climate change is no longer a peripheral environmental issue but a central factor reshaping global security. The conversation examines how environmental shifts are already degrading critical mili...
Episode 350: The Human Blind Spot in Cybersecurity with Robert Siciliano
In this episode, we host Robert Siciliano to examine why the biggest vulnerability in cybersecurity is so often not the technology, but the people using it. Drawing on decades of work in fraud prevention, identity protection, and securit...
Episode 349: Latin America's Violence Economy: Inequality, Growth, and State Capacity with Irvin Waller
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Irvin Waller about the often-overlooked role of interpersonal violence as a driver of international risk. While violence is frequently treated as a domestic iss...
Episode 348: Disinformation as Risk: Trust, Markets, and Influence
This episode with Thomas Barton, founder of the Council for Countering Online Disinformation (CCOD), explores the growing threat of online disinformation, examining how it has evolved from a political and media issue into a systemic risk for ma...
Episode 347: Cartels, State Power, and Security in Mexico with David Mora
This episode with David Mora examines the evolving landscape of organised crime in Mexico, moving beyond narratives focused solely on drug trafficking to explore the broader syst...
Episode 346: Life on the Frontier: Kaliningrad and the New Geography of European Security
In this episode, we host Dr Stanislaw Domaniewski to explore life on Europe’s eastern borders, focusing on Kaliningrad, the Polish-Russian frontier, and the politics of the European Union’s external edge. Drawing on his work on cross-bor...
Episode 345 The AI Bet: Huge Investment, Job Cuts, and Uncertain Returns
Today on The International Risk Podcast, we turn to the accelerating transformation of the global economy through artificial intelligence. Firms are making aggressive bets on future demand, and mid-market companies are grappling with r...
Episode 344: Israel's Dahiyeh Doctrine Returns to Lebanon with Paul Hefel-James
Today on The International Risk Podcast, we turn to Lebanon, where Israel’s invasion, the subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and political fracture are colliding in ways that could reshape Lebanon for years. As the c...
Episode 343: Canada’s Defence Dilemma: Sovereignty, NATO, and the U.S. Alliance with Norman Leach
In this episode, we host Norman Leach to explore whether Canada is entering a new era in defence policy. Drawing on his background in military history, defence commentar...
Episode 342: You Can't Kill an Idea: War, Power and 40 Years as a Foreign Correspondent with Humphrey Hawksley
The global landscape feels increasingly unsettled. Conflict in the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine to wider geoplitical, technological and climatic shifts, the world is going though a period of rapid change. At the same time, the nature of confl...
Episode 341: Taiwanese Politics, Shifting Attitudes, and the ‘China Question’
In this episode we host Ava Shen to unpack the dynamics of Taiwanese politics, the role of the DPP, KMT, and TPP, and how cross-strait tensions shape both domestic discourse and international perceptions. The conversation explores disinformatio...
Episode 340: Iran Escalates: How Geopolitical Shocks and the Strait of Hormuz Becomes an Organisational Crisis
In this episode, we host K. Campbell to examine how the escalating conflict with Iran should be understood not only as a military confrontation but as a wider risk event with implications for shipping, supply chains, critical infrastruct...
Episode 339: Disinformation, Information Disorder, and Democratic Resilience in a Fragmented Media Environment with Natalie Martin and Eliot Higgins
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Natalie Martin and Eliot Higgins about the growing impact of disinformation, digital media, and information disorder on global security and democratic re...
Episode 338: Louis Theroux & the Manosphere: When Misogyny Goes Mainstream with Dr. Allysa Czerwinsky
You might've seen the recent Inside the Manosphere documentary by Louis Theroux. About a year ago we had this episode with Dr. Allysa Czwerinsky discussing this exact topic! If Louis Theroux’s Netflix series Inside the Manosphere
Episode 337: Inside Russia’s Political War Against the West with Professor Mark Galeotti
In this episode, we host Professor Mark Galeotti to explore how Russia wages political warfare against the West beyond the conventional battlefield. Drawing on decades of work on Russian power, intelligence, organised crime, and state co...
Episode 336: Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier: Why the Lake Chad Basin Matters for Global Security with Cedric de Coning and Andrew E. Yaw Tchie
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Cedric de Coning and Andrew E. Yaw Tchie about the complex relationship between climate change, conflict, and human security in the Lake Chad Basin. Once...
Episode 335: Water Scarcity and Systemic Risk in Iran with Milad Jafari
Iran is facing what many experts describe as a looming state of “water bankruptcy”, a crisis where demand has so profoundly outstripped supply that the very foundations of economic stability, social cohesion, and national security are und...
Episode 334: North Korea: Strategic Signalling, Economic Constraint, and Regional Risk with Rachel Minyoung Lee
This episode with Rachel Minyoung Lee examines the evolving risk landscape surrounding North Korea, moving beyond headlines focused solely on nuclear escalat...
Episode 333: Securing the State: Crisis Management and Counterterrorism Strategy with Professor Sir David Omand
In this episode, we host Professor Sir David Omand to explore crisis management, counterterrorism, and intelligence at the highest levels of the British state. Drawing on a career that includes senior roles at GCHQ, the Home Office, the ...
Episode 332: Who Pays for Climate Damage? Climate Litigation, Risk, and Accountability with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith about the rapid expansion of climate litigation and what it means for corporate strategy, financial stability, and intern...
Episode 331: Hypersonic Missiles, Nuclear Deterrence and the New Arms Race
In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precip...