Free Daily Podcast Summary
Hold Your Fire!: Daily Summaries Delivered
by International Crisis Group
Join Crisis Group's Executive Vice President Richard Atwood as he dives deep into the conflicts that rage around the globe with Crisis Group analysts and special guests. These experts bring a unique, on-the-ground perspective to understanding both why those conflicts persist — and what could bring them to an end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest Episodes
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- 1 weeks ago44 min
The UAE in Sudan
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn of Africa Director Alan Boswell about Sudan’s war and the foreign powers fueling it. They revisit the atrocities committed during the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) takeover of El Fasher a year ago and the failure by outside actors to prevent them. They discuss shifting front lines, how external supply of drones and other military equipment is helping the RSF sustain its campaign and the growing risk of regional spillover. They examine how the UAE’s support for the RSF, which Abu Dhabi continues to deny, and Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Türkiye’s backing of the Sudanese army have left both sides with little incentive to compromise, complicating efforts to end the war. They also assess why U.S.-led ceasefire efforts have stalled and what a negotiated settlement might require. Finally, they discuss the questions raised by top Emirati official Lana Nusseibeh’s bid for UN Secretary-General in light of the UAE’s role in Sudan’s war.Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more, check out our Sudan page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 2 weeks ago43 min
Will Trump Help Putin Win in Ukraine?
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group Ukraine expert Lucian Kim, chief of policy Stephen Pomper and Europe director Fabienne Hara to unpack the latest public rift between Washington and Kyiv and what could come next. They examine U.S. President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Moscow, his renewed criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and how domestic political pressures ahead of November’s midterm elections are shaping his approach. They also assess the latest U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the war. They then discuss Russia’s intensified attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and the mood in Ukraine ahead of the winter. They explore how European capitals can strengthen Ukraine’s position while confronting Russian sabotage and drone incursions and political divisions at home. Finally, they consider whether the midterms could alter Washington’s Ukraine policy.Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more, check out our EU-Watch List entry Ukraine under Strain: The Choices Facing the EU and our Ukraine page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 3 weeks ago53 min
The Yemen War, Saudi-Iran relations and Another Escalation in the Gulf
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Arabian Peninsula director Yasmine Farouk and senior Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi to discuss the Houthis’ renewed offensive in Yemen and escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia. They examine Houthi strikes on Saudi targets, including a deadly attack on Riyadh’s airport and the group’s advances in Yemen. They discuss the largely defensive external support Saudi Arabia is receiving and the prospect of direct U.S. involvement. They then turn to Tehran’s calculations, exploring how Houthi advances and escalating attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz serve Iran’s efforts to pressure Washington but at the cost of worsening relations with the Gulf. They also discuss Iran’s evolving deterrence strategy and the collapse of the June U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding over Hormuz, before looking at the dangers of further escalation. Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more, check out our Q&A Yemen’s War Moves toward Zero-sum Confrontation and our Gulf and Arabian Peninsula regional page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 4 weeks ago39 min
How Close Are Ethiopia and Eritrea to All-out War?
This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Alan Boswell, Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa director, to discuss the fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and the risk of an all-out war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. They examine federal forces’ recapture of Tigray’s capital Mekelle and what has changed since the previous war. They explore Eritrea’s calculations in backing its former enemy, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and whether Ethiopian advances toward the Eritrean border could bring the two countries into direct conflict. They also discuss Ethiopia’s push for Red Sea access and how it has further fuelled tensions with Eritrea. Turning to the wider region, they assess how Middle Eastern powers’ competing interests could shape their responses to a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the risk of such a conflict becoming entangled with wars in Sudan. Finally, they consider what an urgent diplomatic effort to prevent further escalation would require.For more, check out our last episode Back to War in Ethiopia? our statement Arresting the Dangerous Descent Back into War in Northern Ethiopia and our Horn of Africa page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Sep 29, 202637 min
Back to War in Ethiopia?
This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Africa director Murithi Mutiga about renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia. They examine why the Pretoria agreement, which ended the devastating 2020–2022 war between Tigrayan rebels and the federal government, failed to deliver lasting peace. They assess the fragile new alliance of Tigrayan, Amhara and other rebel groups, Eritrea’s alleged backing, and the threat it poses to the federal government. They also discuss how war-weary Tigrayans view the fighting and how the conflict could unfold. Finally, they explore the risk of direct war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, entanglement with Sudan’s conflict and wider regional rivalries, and whether diplomacy can halt the fighting and prevent a broader regional war.For more check out our latest statement “Arresting the Dangerous Descent Back into War in Northern Ethiopia” and our Ethiopia page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Sep 18, 202653 min
The UN’s High Level Week, Secretary-General Selection and “Middle Power” Problem
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Richard Gowan, Crisis Group’s Director for Global Issues and Institutions, and Daniel Forti, Head of UN affairs, ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly high-level week. They explore the mood at the UN, its shifting relations with Washington and its shrinking role in peacemaking worldwide, particularly in the Middle East. They assess current Secretary-General António Guterres’s legacy, the contenders to succeed him and whether new leadership can reinvigorate the organisation’s peacemaking while defending the UN Charter’s principles and rebuilding relationships with powerful states. They also discuss how UN peacekeeping missions can adapt to fragile ceasefires and how much Western and non-Western mid-sized powers, which appear increasingly drawn to other forums, will invest in the UN’s future.Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.For more check out our special briefing “Ten Challenges for the UN in 2026-2027” and our multilateral diplomacy page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Sep 14, 202630 min
Special Episode: Will the Houthis Shut Down the Bab al-Mandab Strait?
In this special episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s senior Yemen analyst Ahmed Nagi to unpack the rapid Houthi advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and its implications for regional security and global shipping. They discuss how the 2022 truce between the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognised government unravelled, the domestic and regional factors behind the latest offensive, and what enabled the Houthis to gain ground so quickly. They assess how these gains have strengthened the Houthis’ bargaining position and expanded their demands, and whether the group can consolidate its control and advance further. They also examine Saudi Arabia’s difficult choice between costly concessions and further military escalation, and what could prompt broader Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and beyond.Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.For more, check out our Yemen page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Sep 12, 202652 min
Nuclear Deterrence in Europe (and another round of U.S. Ukraine-Russia diplomacy)
In this first episode of a new season of Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s European Security Director Olga Oliker about the role of nuclear weapons in Europe. They examine how Russia’s nuclear threats have constrained but failed to halt Western support for Ukraine, why Trump’s questioning of NATO commitments has weakened European confidence in U.S. nuclear protection, and why Russian military planners still assume Washington could intervene in a war with another NATO member state. They assess efforts to reinforce the U.S. nuclear umbrella and expand the role of French and British arsenals. They also talk briefly about the latest round of U.S. diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine. They discuss U.S. special envoy’s Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv, why hopes for diplomatic breakthrough remain dim and the latest developments on battlefield. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.For more, check out our Europe page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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About Hold Your Fire!
Join Crisis Group's Executive Vice President Richard Atwood as he dives deep into the conflicts that rage around the globe with Crisis Group analysts and special guests. These experts bring a unique, on-the-ground perspective to understanding both why those conflicts persist — and what could bring them to an end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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