Brussels Sprouts

Hosted by Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend, this podcast offers small bites on Transatlantic Security, NATO, the EU, Russia, and all things Europe.

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Explore the Brussels Sprouts Archive

Dmitry Suslov on the Trends Shaping Russian-American Relations

Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, joins Andrea Kendall-T...

The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy with Cas Mudde

Dr. Cas Mudde, Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss contemporary ...

The State of Global Democracy with Larry Diamond

Senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Dr. Larry Diamond joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to disc...

Brian Taylor on Putinism and Its Long-term Effects on Russian Politics

Dr. Brian D. Taylor, Chair of the Political Science Department at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor for a discussion about his book, The Code o...

Greek Politics with Katerina Sokou

Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Kathimerini and Skai TV Washington Correspondent Katerina Sokou joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss t...

Istanbul, Erdogan, and the Future of Turkish Politics with Steven A. Cook

Dr. Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche for a disc...

Dr. John A. Gans, Jr., on "White House Warriors" and the National Security Council

Dr. John A. Gans, Jr., joins Jim Townsend and Carisa Nietsche to discuss his recent book "White House Warriors: How the National Security Council has Transformed the American ...

5G: What It Is and What It Means for the Transatlantic Relationship

CNAS Adjunct Senior Fellow Elsa B. Kania joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss 5G technology and its implications for transatlantic security. Elsa B. Kan...

Chinese and Russian Influence in the Balkans

Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo are joined by recent George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs graduates Zlata Gogoleva, Rachel Long, and ...

Cooperation and Fragmentation: Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks on Transatlantic Relations

Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss the future of transatlantic, European, and Latvian security in an age of grow...

Demystifying Putin: Dr. Angela Stent on What Putin Wants

Dr. Angela Stent, Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University, provides an answer to the oft-asked question: what does Puti...

Edward Lucas on Why Europe’s Past is Not Prologue

Edward Lucas, Senior Vice President at the Center for European Policy Analysis, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss trends in European security, the fu...

Brussels Sprouts on the Road for NATO at 70

Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo take Brussels Sprouts on the road in this special edition of the podcast recorded live from the April 3 NATO Engages conference host...

Minister Jüri Luik on Baltic security, NATO, and Russia

Minister Jüri Luik, the Estonian Minister of Defense, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss Baltic security, NATO, and Russia....

Special Episode: Dr. Amanda Sloat on Brexit

Dr. Amanda Sloat, Robert Bosch Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to di...

Dr. Claudia Major on European and German Defense Policy

Dr. Claudia Major, a Senior Associate in the International Security Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor an...

Josef Janning on the Future of the Transatlantic Relationship

Josef Janning, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR Berlin, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the future of the transatlantic relationship, U.S.-Ger...

Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Šekerinska on North Macedonia

Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Šekerinska, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to di...

Benjamin Haddad on France’s Yellow Vest Movement

Benjamin Haddad, Director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss France’s Yellow Vest movement....

Andrew Weiss on Russia

Andrew Weiss, James Family Chair and Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss ...

Molly Montgomery on the Balkans

Molly Montgomery, a Vice President in Albright Stonebridge Group’s Europe Practice, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the Balkans and the future of t...

Dr. John Manza on NATO Readiness, NATO’s Iraq Mission, and Challenges Facing NATO Today

Dr. John Manza, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the future of NATO readiness, NATO’s training mi...

Amb. Ian Bond on Brexit and What's Next for Europe

Former Ambassador Ian Bond sits down with Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss his perspective on Brexit and what the future holds for the transatlantic relat...

Amanda Sloat on Brexit

Dr. Amanda Sloat, the Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at Brookings and DC’s Brexit expert, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo to discuss Brexit: how it happened, why ...

Amb. Azita Raji on Nordic Regional Security

Former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Azita Raji joins Jim Townsend and Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor to discuss Nordic security, European military capabilities, and Trident Juncture....

Alina Polyakova on the Russian Provocation in the Sea of Azov

Dr. Alina Polyakova, the David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend for...

Luke Coffey on Brexit and the Future of the Special Relationship

Luke Coffey, Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, sits down with Jim Townsend to talk about the future of UK defense...

LtGen Jan Broeks and LtGen Esa Pulkkinen on EU/NATO Cooperation

LtGen Jan Broeks, DG of the NATO International Military Staff, and LtGen Esa Pulkkinen, DG of the EU Military Staff, sat down with Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend t...

Elisabeth Braw on Modern Deterrence

Elisabeth Braw, an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), sits down with Jim Townsend and Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor to discuss what modern deterrence ...

Special Episode: Ulrike Franke on the State of German Politics

Ulrike Franke, a Policy Fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, speaks with Jim Townsend and Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor about the rapidly shifting nature of Germ...

Anna Wieslander on Swedish Elections and the Nordic View of European Defense

Anna Wieslander, the Director of Northern Europe with the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, speaks to Jim Townsend about this year's elections in Sweden, as we...

Combatting Disinformation in Lithuania

Viktoras Daukšas, the Director of the Demaskuok.lt (DeBunk) Initiative, and Giedrius, one of the many “elves” fighting Russian trolls online throughout the Baltic region, sit ...

UK Director of International Security Policy on the US-UK Relationship and a Changing NATO

Nick Gurr, the Director of International Security Policy at the UK Ministry of Defense, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the deep connections betwee...

Christian Mölling on German Defense Spending, Burden-Sharing, and Strategic Autonomy

Christian Mölling, the deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), sits down with Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the conversation...

Julie Smith and Jim Townsend Reflect on the Podcast and Julie’s Upcoming Transition to Berlin

Julie Smith and Jim Townsend sit down for a bookend episode of Brussels Sprouts to look back on previous episodes and what they’ve learned from them. They also take the time t...

Sophia Besch Talks German Politics, Defense, and U.S.-German Relations

Sophia Besch of the Center for European Reform joins Jim Townsend to discuss the shifting internal dynamics in Germany and what they mean for U.S.-German relations, defense sp...

Lieutenant General (R) Ben Hodges on U.S. Troops in Europe, German Defense, and NATO’s Role in the Black Sea

LTG (R) Ben Hodges, the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis, joins Julie Smith and Jim Townsend to discuss his recent piece advocati...

Special Edition: The 2018 NATO Summit – a European Perspective

The 2018 NATO Summit is one of the most anticipated events in transatlantic relations this year. Seven European embassy defense representatives join Julie Smith and Jim Townse...

Special Edition: Expectations for the 2018 NATO Summit with former U.S. Ambassadors to NATO

The 2018 NATO Summit is just over the horizon but much remains uncertain and the transatlantic relationship is being tested. To give us a better grasp on what to expect in Jul...

Lord Paddy Ashdown on the Balkans, Brexit, and the Changing Transatlantic Relationship

Lord Paddy Ashdown, former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, sits down with Julie Smith to discuss his thoughts on the damage done to the transatlantic relations...

Special Edition: Talking the 2018 NATO Summit with NATO Permanent Representatives

In the run up to this year’s NATO Summit, three prominent NATO Ambassadors discuss what we can expect in Brussels, what binds NATO members together, and their experiences as w...

Dr. Brad Roberts Talks Nuclear Deterrence and Strategic Fluency

Dr. Brad Roberts, the Director for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile ...

Director of GMF's Paris Office talks Macron, Merkel, Iran, and July's NATO Summit

Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, Director of the German Marshal Fund's Paris Office, sits down with Brussels Sprouts to discuss Macron, Merkel, and the future of transatlantic rela...

Lithuanian Vice Minister of Defense talks cyber strategy and security

Edvinas Kerza, Vice Minister of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, sits down with Julie Smith and Rachel Rizzo to discuss the country's new cyber report, evolving threats in ...

Christian Mölling on Macron and Merkel’s Washington Visits and German Defense Policy

Christian Mölling, Deputy Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the German perspective on President Macron’s and Chancellor Merkel’s recent visits to ...

Danish Minister of Finance Talks Transatlantic Trade, Danish Defense, and Nord Stream 2

Danish Minister of Finance Kristian Jensen discusses the uncertain future of TTIP, the Danish decision to increase defense spending, the challenge of Nord Stream 2 to European...

Ambassador Gérard Araud on President Macron’s Upcoming Visit to Washington

French Ambassador to the United States Gérard Araud discusses what we should expect from President Macron’s upcoming visit to Washington, the European perspective on the Iran ...

Norwegian Deputy Minister of Defense on Russia and NATO’s Evolving Maritime Posture

Norwegian Deputy Minister of Defense Tone Skogen joins with CNAS experts Julie Smith and Jim Townsend to discuss challenges in the North Atlantic, the new NATO Command Structu...

Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs on his visit to the White House, Estonian security

Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser sits down with CNAS Adjunct Senior Fellow Jim Townsend to discuss his recent visit to Washington DC with the other Baltic Fore...

Dr. Karen Donfried on today’s transatlantic relationship and its post-Trump future

Dr. Karen Donfried of the German Marshall Fund joins Brussels Sprouts to discuss the current state of transatlantic relations, how it has been permanently transformed by Presi...

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs on Baltic security concerns, NATO membership

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Linas Linkevičius, sits down with CNAS’ Jim Townsend to discuss his recent visit to Washington, Baltic security concerns, and takes the...

Peter Potman on the Rise of China and Transatlantic Cooperation

Peter Potman, Director of the Asia and Oceania Department at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joins Julie Smith and Dr. Dan Kliman of CNAS to discuss the Dutch and...

Dr. Celeste Wallander discusses the Munich Security Conference, future of US-Russia relations

Dr. Celeste Wallander sits down with Julianne Smith to reflect on the 2018 Munich Security Conference, and discuss what we can look forward to in terms of the future of US-Rus...

Philippe Errera discusses President Macron's vision for defense and European security

French Director General for International Relations and Strategy Philippe Errera joins Brussels Sprouts to outline the French approach to the upcoming NATO summit and the burd...

Spanish Ambassador to the US talks Spain-U.S. Relations

In the latest episode of Brussels Sprouts, CNAS expert Jim Townsend asks Spanish Ambassador to the US, Pedro Morenés Eulate, how Spain and the United States can tap into their...

CNAS CEO Victoria Nuland on NATO, the EU, and Russia

The Center for New American Security's new CEO Victoria Nuland joins Brussels Sprouts to discuss her storied 32-year diplomatic career working on European issues. She shares h...

Former Ambassador of Bulgaria discusses U.S.–European relations

Ambassador Elena Poptodorova, former Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States and Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Association, sits down with Brussels Sprouts to disc...

Danish Ambassador Lars Gert Lose on US-Danish relations and visiting Salt Lake City

Danish Ambassador Lars Gert Lose recently visited Salt Lake City with the Transatlantic Security Team as a part of the Across The Pond, In The Field project. Hear Ambassador L...

Robert Work talks NATO's technological innovation and the DoD

CNAS Senior Counselor for Defense and former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work sits down with CNAS experts Julie Smith and Jim Townsend to discuss Third Offset strategy ...

Amanda Sloat on recent European travel, hot-button issues of 2018

Dr. Amanda Sloat, Julie Smith, and Jim Townsend all recently visited different European cities, from Brussels to Munich to Berlin. The latest episode of Brussels Sprouts highl...

Christian Hänel talks the importance of diversity in transatlantic relations

Christian Hänel, of the Robert Bosch Foundation, chats with CNAS expert Julie Smith about why he was “positively surprised” by his first visit to Pittsburgh—as part of t...

Andy Dlinn talks transatlantic relations, meaning behind "America first"

Andy Dlinn, President of the PA Republican Leadership Council and member of the National Council of the John Birch Society, sits down with CNAS expert Julie Smith to disc...

"Brussels Sprouts" podcast: Insights from Pittsburgh, Mark Houser on Why Macron Will Forever Remember His Visit There

CNAS' new program “Across the Pond, In the Field” is taking foreign policy discussions on a national road trip—visiting 12 cities over a span of three years. During our ...

PODCAST: Trump decertifies Iran nuclear deal: What happens now?

CNAS experts Julie Smith, Ilan Goldenberg and Elizabeth Rosenberg discuss President Trump’s decision to decertify the Iran nuclear deal. The discussion breaks down what the mo...

Constanze Stelzenmüller discusses Germany’s 2017 election

As Germans prepare to head to the polls on Sunday, expert Constanze Stelzenmüller breaks down the ins-and-outs of the 2017 election....

What It's Like on the Inside: Camille Grand on Working at NATO HQ

Camille Grand, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at NATO, offers an inside-the-building update from NATO HQ. Things are busy in Brussels, and Camille offers h...

Ambassador Mark Brzezinski Discusses his Father's Legacy

Mark Brzezinski, managing director at Makena Capital Management and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, sits down with Julie and Jim to discuss the legacy of his father, Dr.&nbs...

Back-to-School Edition: Previewing the Fall Agenda for Transatlantic Relations

Julianne Smith and Jim Townsend discuss what the coming months might look like for transatlantic relations and the NATO alliance....

Dr. Michael O'Hanlon Discusses the Future of NATO

Dr. Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, stops by to discuss the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization....

Rethinking UK's Brexit Strategy: Tidbits from the Chatham House Director

On this episode, Dr. Robin Niblett discusses Britain's current political climate and how the country could find its own way post-Brexit. Dr. Niblett also provides a quick tuto...

Maintaining European Alliances: A Perspective from the British Defence Secretary

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stops by to discuss what's coming out of Brussels on defense. Hosted by Julie Smith and Jim Townsend....

European Defense Capabilities: A Conversation with Tomas Valasek

In this episode of Brussels Sprouts, Tomáš Valášek, the director of Carnegie Europe, sits down with Julie Smith to discuss Central Europe's perception of President Trump and a...

No Better Option: Dr. Kori Schake on the NATO Alliance

Dr. Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, sits down with Julie Smith and Jim Townsend to discuss the current transatlantic security landscape, President Tr...

European Security amid the Trump Presidency and British Election: How does Germany Move Forward?

Norbert Röettgen, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German Bundestag, shares his thoughts about the British election, German Chancellor Merkel's remarks followi...

Readiness and Defence: An Outlook from Lithuania and Estonia

In this episode, Jim Townsend sits down with the Lithuanian and Estonian ministers of defence to discuss the respective landscape and outlook on security, international affair...

Trump's Visit to Europe: Home Run or Missed Opportunity?

Julie Smith and Jim Townsend discusses President Trump's visit to NATO and Sicily and the impressions from European foreign leaders. Julie also provides a lesson in European d...

Investing in Defense: Norway's Perspective on Opportunities for the NATO Alliance

Norwegian Minister of Defence Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide discusses the NATO defense landscape and Norway's role and investment in readiness. Hosted by Jim Townsend....

Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist on Transatlantic Relations

Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist joins Julie Smith and Jim Townsend to discuss Sweden's worldview, the current state of transatlantic alliances, Stockholm's relatio...

Why NATO is like a Potluck Dinner: Conversation with Jim Townsend and Julianne Smith

Transatlantic Security experts Jim Townsend and Julie Smith discuss this week's NATO Ministerial and why NATO is like a potluck dinner....

Is Europe in Crisis or on Track? Nordic Pearls of Wisdom from Carl Bildt

Transatlantic Security experts Julie Smith and Jim Townsend sit down with Former PM of Sweden Carl Bildt to talk about the future of Europe and why every country in the transa...

NATO's Back on the Table: Reflections from the Secretary General

After a successful meeting in Washington with President Trump, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sits down with CNAS' Transatlantic Security team. Hosted by Jim Townsend...

CNAS Launches New Transatlantic Security Program

With the launch of the new Transatlantic Security Program, Julianne Smith, senior fellow and director of the program, sits down with Jim Townsend to discuss the program's focu...