The stunning U.S. raid that removed Nicolás Maduro from power has upended Venezuela’s political landscape and forced Washington to confront what comes next. Rather than pushing immediately for regime change, the Trump administration appears to be testing a pressure-and-incentives strategy, with sanctions relief, oil production, and economic access used as leverage to shape the behavior of the remaining leadership. Can this approach actually deliver meaningful political reform in Caracas, or will regional stability and U.S. energy interests take precedence over Venezuela's democratic transition?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Dr. Vanessa Neumann, the founder and president of Asymmetrica, a Latin American business advisory firm. Neumann served as the Official Representative for Interim Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó to the United Kingdom and Ireland, from March 2019 through November 2020. Prior to her diplomatic posting, she served as group leader at the High Level Risk Forum Task Force on Charting Illicit Trafficking at the OECD.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

The ongoing peace negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine War have entered a delicate phase, with both Kyiv and Moscow signaling interest in talks even as fighting continues on the ground. Can Ukraine secure meaningful security guarantees without conceding territory? Is Russia seeking a genuine deal or merely buying time? And what would a workable endgame actually look like for a conflict that has reshaped global politics?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Andrew Kuchins, a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest in Washington, DC. Kuchins most recently served as president of the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Before that, he served as Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (2007-2015) and at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2000-2003, 2006), where he also directed their Carnegie Moscow Center (2003-2005).

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

It’s been a big two weeks in U.S. politics, and some political observers are asking whether the MAGA movement is finally losing steam. A year after President Donald Trump’s stunning comeback, Republicans face fresh blowback from the record-breaking government shutdown, renewed public scrutiny of the "Epstein Files," and major electoral defeats on November 4. Is the MAGA movement fraying at the edges? And could these developments hint at further weakening ahead of the 2026 midterm elections?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest. Heilbrunn previously served as a senior editor at the New Republic and an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times and has written on both foreign and domestic issues for numerous publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, Washington Monthly, and the Weekly Standard.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.