War and the rivalry between great powers decide borders, markets and millions of lives. Brian Rose has spoken to retired generals and colonels, former special forces operators, intelligence officers, war reporters and people who lived through conflict first-hand. They cover Russia and Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran, the slowdown of China, Guantanamo Bay and the war on terror, and what combat does to the people who fight. Every full interview is free to watch.
From retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor and General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, to former Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink, MIT economist Yasheng Huang, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, author Sebastian Junger and former CIA officer Andrew Bustamante: how wars start, how they are fought and what they leave behind.
Colonel Douglas Macgregor has returned to London Real again and again since 2023. He argues that Ukraine cannot win the war and should negotiate with Vladimir Putin, says the US government has misled the public about the conflict, and warns of the risk of a wider nuclear war. Seymour Hersh sets out his reporting that the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines and argues that the CIA covered it up. Bill Browder describes Russian money laundering and his long fight with the Kremlin. Looking east, MIT economist Yasheng Huang argues that China’s economic miracle is over, pointing to political centralisation and a demographic crisis.
Former CIA officer Andrew Bustamante analyses the Israel-Hamas war and Iran’s ambitions, and in 2025 argued that Donald Trump had no choice but to strike Iran. Douglas Macgregor warned in 2023 that the region was on the brink of total war. Alan Dershowitz gives his view of the Israel-Hamas war, and businessman Tarek Naemo argues that Western sanctions have held back Syria’s recovery. On the war on terror, former detainee Moazzam Begg and Todd Pierce, a US Army lawyer who defended Guantanamo detainees, describe Guantanamo Bay from opposite sides of the wire. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo (1933–2024) drew on his Stanford Prison Experiment to explain the abuses at Abu Ghraib.
Other guests talk about what war does to people. General Stanley McChrystal reflects on leadership, and Jocko Willink shares the lessons he took from combat in a documentary filmed on HMS Belfast. Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested discuss Hell on Earth, their film about Syria. Former SAS officer Simon Mann (1952–2025) talked about mercenary work in Angola and Sierra Leone and, in a second interview, the failed Equatorial Guinea coup. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour talks about reporting from conflict zones. Eva Schloss describes surviving Auschwitz, Jake Wood opens up about PTSD after Iraq and Afghanistan, and former Special Forces soldier Ollie Ollerton explains how he rebuilt his life after trauma.
Get every new episode free: watch the latest London Real interviews.
Who has London Real interviewed about geopolitics and war? Brian Rose has interviewed Colonel Douglas Macgregor, General Stanley McChrystal, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, Jocko Willink, Seymour Hersh, Bill Browder, Alan Dershowitz, Yasheng Huang, Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch, Christiane Amanpour, Sebastian Junger, Simon Mann, Philip Zimbardo and former CIA officers Andrew Bustamante, Kevin Shipp and John Kiriakou, among others.
What do the guests say about the war in Ukraine? Colonel Douglas Macgregor argues that Ukraine cannot win and that it is time to negotiate with Vladimir Putin. Seymour Hersh discusses his reporting on the Nord Stream pipelines and corruption in Ukraine, John Kiriakou gives a former CIA officer’s view of the war, and Bill Browder describes the Russian state he has spent years campaigning against.
What do the guests say about Israel and Iran? Andrew Bustamante argues that Donald Trump had no choice but to strike Iran and has analysed what he sees as Iran’s wider agenda. Douglas Macgregor warns that conflict in the region could lead to a global war, and Alan Dershowitz gives his analysis of the Israel-Hamas war.
Are the full geopolitics and war episodes free to watch? Yes. Every full-length interview on this page can be watched free on londonreal.tv.
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