{"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":"Xi versus his generals","slug":"xi-versus-his-generals","published_at":"2026-01-29T00:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304/xi-versus-his-generals","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-general-the-journalist-7337304","url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-war/episodes/japan-china-and-a-coup-in-xis-court","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6825a844b1b74cbbae73d5a8/e/697a2385d577b417ba3bbdb8/media.mp3","summary":"Xi Jinping has effectively removed his last remaining rival power-base in Beijing. Until last weekend, Zhang Youxia was the highest ranking general in the Chinese armed forces and second only to Xi in the military's hierarchy. But having now carried out an almost-total purge of the PLA's leadership, has Xi consolidated his power or, ultimately, undermined it? And what does it mean for a prospective move on Taiwan? Patrick and Tom are joined from Taipei by RUSI's Philip Shetler-Jones, to talk about rumours of a coup and chew over what's left of the PLA's command and control structures. Watching events in Beijing closely will be Japan, which has recently ditched its post-war pacificism to rearm at breakneck speed. Recognising the reality of Xi's ambition to 'reunite' with Taiwan, and mindful of an increasingly unpredictable America, Tokyo has come off the fence and declared that any attack on Taiwan would automatically draw it into a war with China. But is it too late to deter Xi? Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton Dunn Producer: Marnie Duke Executive producer: Fiona Leach Clips: Al Arabiya English Photo: Getty Images Get in touch: generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Xi Jinping has effectively removed his last remaining rival power-base in Beijing. Until last weekend, Zhang Youxia was the highest ranking general in the…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2127,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-general-the-journalist-7337304/episodes/xi-versus-his-generals/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/xi-versus-his-generals.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}