This week's Two Matts Q&A: Is this the start of World War III?
The Two Matts
The New World
4.2 • 577 Ratings
🗓️ 8 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Matts again respond to your queries. They discuss whether we are on the verge of World War III, why Mark Carney endorsed Donald Trump’s actions and why Dubai-based expats don’t pay their own way home. Plus they talk about whether political defectors should trigger a by-election, why they are so harsh on Keir Starmer and how he can save himself and and which artists they love and hate.
Produced by Matt Withers
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In my lifetime, I think this has got the potential to be the biggest, most engrossing |
| 0:10.0 | conflagration the world has seen, hasn't it? |
| 0:14.0 | As amusing as it has been to read in the Daily Mail about expats worrying that they've left them on Jaro back at the flat, you know. |
| 0:22.6 | That was a real piece, you know. |
| 0:25.3 | I think they, you know, everyone will be serious once the whole safe to sound. |
| 0:31.4 | If an MP is elected as a Labour MP, for instance, and then decides, I'm going to a party with a whole new set of manifesto promises and values, then that should become a new by-election. |
| 0:48.8 | Hello and happy Sunday. Happy Sunday, one and all. |
| 0:52.5 | Hope you're all having a great weekend so far. This is the |
| 0:55.2 | two mats question and answer session brought to you by the wonderful subscribers of the New |
| 1:00.4 | World magazine. Do join them, please. First question comes in from Tulip in Salford, and it's a very |
| 1:06.3 | simple one. Are we on the verge of World War III? What do you think? We were saying on Thursday that quite a few people are asking this, so thank you, |
| 1:15.2 | Chilip, for doing so. Well, obviously, it depends what you mean by World War III. If you mean, |
| 1:20.3 | as I suppose, in most movies and thrillers, the nuclear apocalypse, and I don't think we're |
| 1:26.0 | there yet, so everyone can relax a little bit, if not totally. But I don't think we're there yet. |
| 1:30.5 | So everyone can relax a little bit, if not totally. |
| 1:36.7 | But I think World War III has always, certainly since the end of the Cold War, |
| 1:40.2 | has always been likely to take the form of a sort of multi-theater, |
| 1:43.4 | incredibly dangerous, asymmetric conflict, |
| 1:46.3 | which is fought by proxies as well as states. |
| 1:48.1 | And on that basis, we are there. |
| 1:56.5 | And I think, I actually think that looking back, World War III began in August 2021 with the retreat from Kabul, |
| 2:02.1 | because that led to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Putin in February 22, |
... |
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