In this live episode recorded in Berlin, Marcel Dirsus sits down with researcher and author Julia Ebner to explore the psychology of extremism, conspiracy theories, and online radicalization. From QAnon and neo-Nazi networks to AI-driven propaganda and the gamification of hate, they unpack how fringe movements recruit followers, spread across borders, and increasingly shape mainstream politics.

Julia shares insights from years spent researching extremist communities — including undercover investigations into online hate groups and radical movements — and explains why ordinary people can become drawn into dangerous ideologies.

The conversation also explores:

• why conspiracy theories are emotionally powerful,
• how social media amplifies extremism,
• what separates trolls from violent extremists,
• and why modern radicalization is becoming harder to contain.

Julia Ebner is the author of Going Dark, Going Mainstream, and The Rage. She is a researcher at the University of Oxford and works on extremism, terrorism, conspiracy myths, and the impact of emerging technologies on democracy.

The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus offers deep dives into geopolitics and international relations. We provide serious political commentary on foreign policy challenges, modern warfare, and global security.

China doesn't need to invade Taiwan to win.A blockade could bring the global economy to its knees — without firing a single shot. In this episode of The Next Best, political scientist Marcel Dirsus sits down with Hoover Fellow Eyck Freymann to map out the most dangerous flashpoint in global politics: the China–Taiwan conflict. From a full-scale Taiwan invasion to a blockade strategy to gray zone pressure campaigns, they break down every realistic scenario — and ask the harder question: what would actually deter Xi Jinping?

Russia didn't just invade Ukraine. It's trying to break the rules of the international system.In this episode, I sit down with James Ker-Lindsay — one of the world's leading authorities on secession and self-determination — to trace exactly how the sovereign state was built, why the rules against conquest exist, and how Russia is now dismantling them one fake referendum at a time.

About James Ker-Lindsay:James Ker-Lindsay is one of the world's foremost experts on secession, self-determination, and state recognition. He has advised governments and international organizations on questions of statehood and has authored more than a dozen books on conflict and international relations.

Russia says it's winning. The front line tells a different story. Military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady just returned from Ukraine — here's what he actually saw. Russia is betting on spring advances in the Donbas. Ukrainian soldiers say they'll stay "till hell freezes over." So who's right — and does it even matter if nobody has a theory of victory?

Xi Jinping may be the most powerful man in the world. But that power may also be a trap he can't escape.In this episode of The Next Best, Marcel Dirsus sits down with Rory Truex — Princeton professor and leading expert on Chinese politics — to unpack how Xi Jinping consolidated control over China's political system, why his grip on power may have made China more fragile, and what happens to the world if he suddenly disappears.

NATO isn't just weakening. It's basically dead — and that's not a headline. It's an analysis.In this episode, I break down exactly what killed the alliance: Donald Trump's deep, structural hostility to multilateral commitments, decades of European governments free-riding on American security guarantees, and a geopolitical reality that was already pulling U.S. attention toward China long before Trump returned to the White House.But here's what most people miss: NATO was never an automatic defense guarantee. It always ran on trust — on Putin believing the United States would risk its own cities to defend a European one. That belief is now gone. And without it, deterrence collapses.

I also explain why this probably isn't just a four-year problem. The Republican Party has changed. Europe has lost trust in the United States. And America's strategic focus on China isn't going away. The result: Europe will need to plan its own security — and pay for it — without counting on Washington.That's bad for Europe. But it's also bad for America.

Trump's approval rating tells a story his supporters don't want to hear — and the data backs it up.

Pollster and journalist G. Elliott Morris joins me to break down Trump's poll numbers and explain why he may be one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history.

If that's true, how does he keep winning?

We cover:

- Trump's approval ratings vs. past presidents

- Why voters still support him despite the polls

- The role of the economy in elections

- Public opinion on the war with Iran

- What polling data really tells us — and what it doesn't

Subscribe to Elliott's newsletter here: https://www.gelliottmorris.com/

The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus offers deep dives into geopolitics and international relations. We provide serious political commentary on foreign policy challenges, modern warfare, and global security.

Putin spent two decades demanding a multipolar world. Now he's getting one — and it might destroy Russia.In this episode of The Next Best, I speak with Seva Gunitsky, professor at the University of Toronto and author of Aftershocks, about the irony at the heart of today's geopolitical shift: the global order Putin wanted may be far worse for Russia than the one he helped dismantle.We discuss why the invasion of Ukraine may be the biggest strategic blunder of the century, how personalist dictatorships distort decision-making, and why a world dominated by leaders like Putin, Trump, and Xi Jinping could become more unstable — and more dangerous.We also examine whether Putin could survive peace, how dictators actually lose power, and why nuclear risk may be rising again.