Take Me To Your Leader!

Bonus Episode | Yevgeny Prigozhin — The Man Who Challenged Putin

Yevgeny Prigozhin is becoming a figure of huge influence in the world right now. A former petty criminal, hotdog vendor and restaurateur from St Petersburg who went on to build a powerful private army. Prigozhin has been a loyal ally of Putin’s until he turned his sights on Moscow, sparking the biggest crisis in Vladamir Putin’s presidency. 

INTRODUCING — Season Two: Take Me To Your Leader

There’s a lot going on in the world right now; disruption, upheaval, and conflict. Long-running superpowers are teetering while others are emerging.

01 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy: "Exactly the right man"

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has captured the world’s attention and admiration like few leaders can.  When Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, the comic actor turned wartime leader became the face of Ukraine’s resistance. He refused offers of evacuation, famously telling Joe Biden he needed ammunition, not a ride.As the Russian bombs rained down, Zelenskyy went out into the streets of Kyiv using social media to talk directly to his people and the world. Rarely has the world seen a leader recording selfies from a city under attack. But his prolific online and social media messaging has helped galvanise widespread support for Ukraine. Now the man who played a president on TV, is in the role of his life.We find out who the man behind the screen and the podium really is from those who know Zelenskyy best.  Guests:Olga Boichak, Lecturer in digital cultures and the director of the Computational Social Science Lab at the University of Sydney David Dodson, Film director and editor who worked with Zelensky for 14 yearsOleh Rybachuk, Former Deputy PM of Ukraine and founder of the Centre of United Actions 

02 | Joe Biden: Does he still have what it takes?

Joe Biden is America’s oldest ever president. He wants to stay in the White House another four years and is now campaigning for a second term. If he wins that term, he’ll be 86-years-old by the time he leaves office.Is he too out of touch as his Republican critics have said, or after 50 plus years in politics, is he far more astute than we think? Importantly, does he have what it takes to repair an increasingly divided America and a potential rematch against Donald Trump? Guests:Kim Hoggard, former White House official in the Reagan and Bush AdministrationsSusan Platt, former Chief of Staff to BidenGabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent at New York Magazine

03 | Ursula von der Leyen: the most powerful woman in the world?

Ursula von der Leyen is not easy to box. A mother of seven and medical doctor who once lived undercover, under a false identity in London before entering politics, has had a remarkable career. She rose through the ranks in the German parliament in the shadow of Angela Merkel, before being tapped on the shoulder for the president of the European Commission.But according to foreign policy analyst Constanze Stelzenmüller, “heads of state elect commission presidents in the hope that they won't be too powerful in Europe”. So how did Ursula von der Leyen manage to transform the position and become one of the most powerful women in the world?Guests:Constanze Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution Jacek Rostowski, former Deputy PM of PolandProfessor Claire Annesley, professor of politics and gender studies and Dean of UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture