Foreign Office is a weekly interview podcast hosted by Michael Weiss, from New Lines Magazine and Free Russia Foundation, dedicated to those ever-relevant subjects of Russian intelligence operations and active measures. Featured guests include prominent historians and scholars, journalists, diplomats, and ex-spies.
Latest episodes
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44 min
Compelling Investigation Suggests Havana Syndrome Points to Russian Operatives
Investigative journalists Christo Grozev, Roman Dobrokhotov and Michael Weiss have been looking into the Havana Syndrome since 2020. They initially approached the topic skeptically…
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1 h 02
To Catch a Spy in Estonia - A Conversation with Toomas Ilves and Dan Hoffman
Last week, reports surfaced of a teacher in Estonia who was charged with spying for Russia. Host Michael Weiss discusses this as well as the state of the Russia/Ukraine war with fo…
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56 min
The Future of the Middle East
All eyes are on Israel and Gaza as the conflict threatens to spread throughout the region. But how have the key regional actors responded? Michael Weiss is joined by Faysal Itani,…
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1 h 00
Behind the Front Lines in Ukraine - A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Tingle
Michael’s guest this week is Dr. Anthony (Tony) Tingle, Program Director of the Institute for Future Conflict at the United States Air Force Academy where he oversees research on r…
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46 min
The Ukraine War - Where Are We and Where Do We Go From Here?
Michael’s guest this week is Australian Retired General Mick Ryan. Mick is a military analyst who served in the ADF for more than 35 years and was commander of the Australia Defenc…
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55 min
The Death of Yevgeny Prigozhin: A Foreign Office Special Episode
On this special episode of Foreign Office, Michael is joined by Roman Dobrokhotov, a Russian investigative journalist, political scientist and former activist and Christo Grozev, a…
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59 min
Sweden’s Role on the International Stage: A Conversation with Martin Kragh
Sweden is set to join NATO as Turkey drops their objections. They’ve also been staunch supporters of Ukraine in the effort against Russia. To understand Sweden’s role on the intern…
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1 h 07
Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West
Michael’s guest this week is Calder Walton, Assistant Director of the Belfer Center's Applied History Project and Intelligence Project at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of t…
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45 min
The Ukraine Counteroffensive, Cluster Munitions and Putin: A Conversation with Ambassador Kaimo Kuusk
This week, Michael sits down with Estonia’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Kaimo Kuusk, who has been in the post since 2019. Ambassador Kuusk will soon become the Ambassador to Lithuania,…
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1 h 17
An In-Depth View of the Prigozhin Led March on Moscow with Pierre Vaux
Michael’s guest this week is Pierre Vaux, a researcher specializing in open-source investigations, conducting digital forensic analysis of hostile state activity, disinformation an…
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27 min
From the Archive: Foreign Office #25. A 21st Century SMERSH
Michael Weiss is on assignment this week. In light of this weekend's events, we're bringing you an episode from the Foreign Office archive.Bellingcat's Christo Grozev on what the l…
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49 min
Vatnik Soup: A Conversation with Pekka Kallioniemi
Michael’s guest this week is Pekka Kallioniemi, a postdoctoral researcher working in the field of human-computer interaction at Tampere University. He is the creator and author of…
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54 min
On the Ground In Ukraine with James Rushton
Michael’s guest this week is James Rushton, a journalist at Yahoo News who is covering the Ukraine-Russia war from his home in Kyiv. He’s been reporting amidst air raid sirens and…
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51 min
Is the Ukraine Counter-Offensive Imminent?
Michael’s guest this week is Jennifer Cafarella, the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Jennifer and her team of analysts have been prov…
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52 min
A Comprehensive Look at Wagner and Prigozhin
This week, Michael’s guest is Jack Margolin, an independent journalist and researcher with a particular focus on private Russian military companies, including Yevgeny Prigozhin and…
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47 min
Foreign Office with Michael Weiss: A Conversation with Andrei Kozyrev
This week, Michael’s guest is Andrei Kozyrev, who was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation under President Boris Yeltsin. In his position, he was credit…
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42 min
The Ground Truth: What's Really Going On in Ukraine?
After a brief hiatus, host Michael Weiss is back, fresh off a trip to Ukraine. He, along with special guest, former CIA Intelligence Officer Marc Polymeropoulos, discuss what's act…
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52 min
The Battle for Bahkmut: A Conversation with Sir Lawrence Freedman
This week, host Michael Weiss sits down with Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at Kings College, London and author of a new book, “Command: The Politics of M…
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48 min
#72. Mykola Bielieskov on Bakhmut and much more
Michael Weiss discusses the strategic importance of Bakhmut and the large Ukrainian military strategy with Mykola Bielieskov, Research Fellow at National Institute for Strategic St…
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56 min
Foreign Office #71. Kinzinger on 1/6, Ukraine and the GOP
The former Illinois Representative talks war — both abroad and at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices