For Our Freedom and Yours | Poland in NATO

Welcome back to the Ties That Bind.This season, we are looking at NATO from a bit of a different vantage point, specifically that of the frontline states. How are frontline states investing in and planning for their defense? How are they thinking about their role and contributions in the Alliance and on the world stage? How have their historical experiences shaped how their governments and societies think about defense, countering disinformation, and changing economic realities? And how are they preparing for a potential conflict with Russia? This week, we are looking at Poland, a country that has completely transformed its military and defense capacity over the last two decades. Periods of transition are not always painless, and we’ll hear what challenges Poland has faced and what opportunities lie ahead as it looks to become a leading voice within the alliance and on the world stage.Featured guests: * Anna Fotyga, former Polish Foreign Minister, 2006-2007* Tomasz Szatkowski, former Deputy Defense Minister, 2015-2019, and Ambassador to NATO, 2019-2024* Jakub Romaniuk, Programme Director, Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Introducing our new monthly podcast series, Behind the Front, which features conversations with industry experts on challenges and opportunities facing the technology, space, and national security sectors. This week Aaron Stein sat down with Scott “FUG” Gilloon, who currently serves as the Sector Vice President of Air Force Strategic Development and Capability Assessments at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. The two talked about General Atomics’ CCA, its origin story, how these aircraft may be used in combat, and what the future of air combat may entail. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

A flurry of back-and-forth diplomacy, a renewed Russian offensive, and a rare outburst of protest in Ukraine. The Kyiv Dispatch with Aaron Schwartzbaum and Fabrice Deprez returns to break down what's actually happening and most importantly, how people on the ground are feeling about it.For more reporting and stories from Ukraine, be sure to follow Fabrice’s newsletter, Eastern Radar. Explore more from the Bear Market Brief. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Are drones the future of war? What lessons can be learned from Ukraine for the Taiwan contingency? To discuss these topics and more, FPRI President Aaron Stein sat down with Lorenz Meier, CEO of Auterion, to discuss drones and the future of war. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Why does Russia play such an important role in geopolitics? If it's because of 'strength'... what does strength even mean? And why do conceptions of Russia's strength vary so extremely? Seva Gunitsky joins Aaron Schwartzbaum on this week’s Bear Market Brief podcast.Related ReadingRussia is both weak and strong - that's the problem by Seva Gunitsky Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

How might combat collaborative aircraft be used to fight a war in Europe? Or the Indo-Pacific? To discuss these questions, and the latest from the YFQ-44A, President Aaron Stein sat down with Andrew Van Timmeren, the director of air dominance systems at Anduril Industries, about what he and the company are working on.FPRI’s new project, Behind the Front, analyzes current and future national security challenges with a focus on the Defense Industrial Base, military procurement, lessons learned from ongoing conflicts, and challenges and opportunities in the technology and space sector. Read more here. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Here on the Bear Market Brief, a lot of what we focus on is, simply put, risk: what might happen, and what might it mean?On this episode, geoeconomic and country risk expert Rachel Ziemba joins Aaron Schwartzbaum to delve in the discipline of Political Risk: how does one "do" the field?Bear Market Brief features a weekly newsletter and a monthly podcast that strives to be a resource for specialists, generalists, and anyone with an interest in the post-Soviet space. We provide a platform for analysis, particularly for emerging area experts and academics, and a space for even-handed, fact-based conversations in hopes of improving Russia/Eurasia analysis and coverage. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Listen to Part 1 here.In this special two part episode of Chain Reaction, Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to September 2024. In Part 2, Yevgeniy details his time in captivity in Russia’s Mordovia prison, the circumstances of his eventual release in a prisoner exchange in September 2024, and reflects on his ordeal and the conflict as a whole. Please be advised that this episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

In this special two-part episode of Chain Reaction, Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to September 2024. During this time Malik faced daily beatings and torture. In Part 1, Yevgeniy explains what it was like to be a prisoner of war in Russian prisons, and what the thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war still face every day.Please be advised that this episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners.Part 1 - Chapters* Introductions - 2:26* Setting the scene in Mariupol - 5:04* Negotiating surrender - 14:43* Surrender at the bridge - 18:25* Arriving in Sartana - 20:29 * Time in Olenivka prison -22:19* Transfer into Russia - 26:37* Time in Ryarsk prison - 30:27* Interrogations - 46:25* A Day in Ryarsk - 56:18 Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

This week technologist Joel Burke, author of the recently published Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution, joins Indra Ekmanis on the Baltic Ways podcast.He shares his insights on Estonia’s rise as a leader in e-government, technological exports in a globalized world, and what the US has to learn from Estonia in a moment of disruption. Baltic Ways is a podcast from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe