Two transatlantic power brokers on why Europe should step up on Iran and double down on Ukraine

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to the very first edition of the Brussels Playbook Week Ender. Anne McElvoy travels to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, an annual event that brings together defenders of democracy in the Danish capital. As U.S. President Donald Trump visits China and the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran remain unresolved, how is Europe grappling with crises on multiple fronts? Anne sits down with two influential powerbrokers from the other side of the Atlantic. Chrystia Freeland is an economic adviser to Ukraine President Zelenskyy and until last year was Canada's deputy prime minister: They discuss Ukraine's war effort and political stability in a week that saw Andriy Yermak, the former head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, charged with corruption and money-laundering offenses. Anne also talks to John Bolton, the former U.S. national security adviser during Trump's first term, about Europe's response to the war in Iran and Trump's visit to China. Questions or comments? Message our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Here we are.
0:02.7	Welcome to the very first edition of the Brussels Playbook Weekender.
0:07.2	I'm your host, Sarah Wheaton.
0:10.7	If you've looked at your podcast app and thought, hang on, this looks a little different.
0:16.6	Yep, you're not going crazy.
0:19.2	New name, new artwork, new music you're hearing right now.
0:24.9	But don't worry, underneath the repaint, it's still the same Friday deep dive into Europe,
0:30.3	the people shaping it, and the ideas driving it.
0:34.2	For this debut episode, our colleague Anne McHawoy takes us to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.
0:40.4	She sat down with Christian Freeland, economic advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, and former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, as well as John Bolton, former national security advisor to Donald Trump.
0:52.5	Indeed, her conversations touch on Donald Trump, as well as Ukraine, the war in Iran,
0:57.5	transatlantic security, and what Europe might need to prepare for next.
1:02.7	Here's Anne.
1:05.5	Christia Freeland.
1:07.1	How many years is it since we first met?
1:09.5	In fact, I can tell you where we first met
1:11.1	because I was visiting Kiev where you were a correspondent from Moscow
1:14.8	and you showed me around Kiev,
1:16.7	which I think ended up in a quite lubricious dinner.
1:20.3	Yes, I was going to say we may have been overserved.
1:23.7	We were over-served.
1:24.9	That is exactly right.
	...

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