In our second episode for 2026, John is joined by returning guest Professor Scott Lucas to talk about the recent tragic events in the U.S. state of Minnesota.

Show Notes:

Episode Description

From Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., Minnesota has become the epicentre of seismic political conflict — from mass protests to intense debates over immigration enforcement, federal power, and public accountability. We explore how the state’s recent upheavals reflect broader shifts in U.S. political life, and what they reveal about leadership, legitimacy, and the social fabric of American civic life.

About the Guest

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView, a leading site for global political analysis, and a frequent commentator on major international TV and radio outlets.

EA WorldView – https://eaworldview.com/

UCD Clinton Institute – https://www.ucdclinton.ie/

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The first episode of The Focus for 2026 opens with a wide-ranging and hard-edged conversation with political theorist and commentator Roy Casagranda.
As global politics enters a period of heightened uncertainty, Dr Bruni and Casagranda examine the strategic, political, and moral pressures shaping the international system — from the Americas to Europe and the Middle East. The discussion explores the return of transactional politics, the limits of moral clarity in foreign policy, and how domestic political shifts are reshaping global decision-making.

This episode sets the tone for The Focus in 2026: analytical, unsentimental, and grounded in strategic reality.

Topics Covered

Transactionalism, power, and the erosion of norms in international affairs
Venezuela, energy politics, and strategic leverage
Europe’s strategic unease and leadership fatigue
Public opinion, populism, and the changing voter landscape
What 2026 reveals about the durability — or fragility — of the global order

Why This Episode Matters

As governments grapple with overlapping crises — political, economic, and security-related — this conversation cuts through surface-level narratives to examine how power is actually being exercised, justified, and contested.
For policymakers, analysts, and engaged citizens alike, this episode offers a sobering but necessary assessment of where the world is heading.

About the Guest

Roy Casagranda is a political theorist and commentator specialising in political philosophy, leadership, and the intersection of power and morality in modern politics.

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Britain enters 2025 facing economic strain, strategic uncertainty, and intensifying global competition. In this hard-hitting year-end special, Dr John Bruni sits down with former Royal Navy submariner and intelligence specialist CDRE Pat Tyrrell OBE (Ret.), and investigative journalist Pete Warren, for an unfiltered assessment of the UK’s political and strategic direction.

We break down the British Budget, stalled growth, defence underfunding, and the question of whether the UK can still project credible power. We explore Britain’s shifting foreign policy, the war in Ukraine, Russian hybrid provocations, cyber intrusions, and the fragility of European security.

The panel also examines Keir Starmer’s political survival, public fatigue, the rise of the Reform Party, and what Britain must do to avoid strategic drift in 2025.

If you care about the UK’s future — its defence, diplomacy, politics and global role — this is your must-watch end-of-year episode.

Show Notes:

Contact Chris

X: @chrismullinexmp

Website: https://www.chrismullinexmp.com/

Books by Chris Mullin - 1982 A Very British Coup 1986, Error of Judgement 2009, A View from the Foothills 2010, Decline & Fall 2011, A Walk-On Part 2016, Hinterland 2019, The Friends of Harry Perkins 2023, Didn’t You Used to be Chris Mullin?

Contact Pat

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrick-tyrrell-3479b6

Articles by Pat - AUKUS: A Tale of Politics, Strategy, and Submarines — published 04 Aug 2022, Crash-Diving into Australia’s Submarine Dilemma — published 13 Jul 2022, Adrift and Rudderless – The Sad Story of SS United Kingdom, Monty Python Politics: A Reflection on the Tumultuous Reign of PM Liz Truss, Nov. 2022, Rip van Winkle and the Age of Complacency, Aug. 2022, A Peace that Dares Not Speak its Name — a co-authored piece (with Dr. John Bruni) June 2022

Bruni, John; Jain, Purnendra; Tyrrell, Patrick J. “Why Australia, the UK and Japan need closer security cooperation.” SAGE International Australia Strategic Concept Paper, 12 August 2020.

Bruni, John; Jain, Purnendra; Tyrrell, Patrick J. “A New Strategic Trilateral of the UK, Australia and Japan?” The Naval Review, vol. 108, no. 4 (2020), pp. 362–368.

Pat also contributed as part of a larger report for SAGE International Australia, writing sections on the UK and France in a 2020 Indo-Pacific strategic assessment.

Contact Pete

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/petewarren

Website: https://www.futureintelligence.co.uk/

Books by Pete Warren - AI on Trial – with Mark Deem 2025 (2nd edition), Cyber Crime & Warfare: All That Matters – with Michael Streeter 2013, & Cyber Alert: How the World Is Under Attack from a New Form of Crime – with Michael Streeter 2005.

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