{"podcast":{"title":"The General & The Journalist","slug":"the-general-the-journalist-7337304","podcast_index_feed_id":7337304,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/times-war","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-war","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/cover/1747297413915-59510958-55c7-4186-868e-81aaa6763a72.jpeg","author":"The Times","episode_count":62,"summary":"How wars start, how they are won and what they leave behind them. General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn first met in a war zone. Drawing on their real-life experience of armed conflict, they bring you the latest from Ukraine, Gaza and the dozens of other bitter struggles being fought across our increasingly divided planet. From interviews with key people on the frontlines of modern warfare to discussing the future of nuclear weapons and where Russia will attack next, this podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times also faces up to the biggest question - how ready are we for war, right now, if we had to fight one? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-02T02:20:28.401937+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304"},"episode":{"title":"Does Britain’s defence plan make it NATO’s weak link?","slug":"does-britain-s-defence-plan-make-it-nato-s-weak-link","published_at":"2026-07-01T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304/does-britain-s-defence-plan-make-it-nato-s-weak-link","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304","url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-war/episodes/does-britains-defence-plan-make-it-natos-weak-link","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6825a844b1b74cbbae73d5a8/e/6a44f148e80d75fcb861cd59/media.mp3","summary":"Britain says its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan will strengthen its role in NATO. But after months of delays, funding rows and warnings from allies, does the money go far enough?  Admiral Sir Keith Blount, the former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe at NATO, joins Tom and Patrick to assess what the plan gets right, where it falls short and why Britain risks losing influence in the alliance if it fails to deliver.  As NATO leaders prepare to gather in Ankara next week – with Russia threatening Europe, Donald Trump demanding more from the alliance, and countries such as Poland, Denmark and Germany moving faster on defence – is Britain still leading NATO or falling behind?  Do you think the government has sufficiently funded UK defence? Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Guest: Admiral Sir Keith Blount, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe to NATO Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders and Tom Newton Dunn Producer: Julia Webster Executive producer : Priyanka Deladia  Image: Getty, Dana Chan Clips: Reuters, Forbes, Sky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Britain says its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan will strengthen its role in NATO. But after months of delays, funding rows and warnings from allies,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2314,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-general-the-journalist-7337304/episodes/does-britain-s-defence-plan-make-it-nato-s-weak-link/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304/does-britain-s-defence-plan-make-it-nato-s-weak-link.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}