From tear gassing student protestors in France to Britain’s chaotic party conferences with their controversial motions, Jason and Jane ask whether Western democracies can still deliver anything positive for the next generation. They take on Labour’s spending promises, the Tory’s bizzarre tax cut pledges, the Greens’ Zionism is Racism controversy and the growing power of bond markets over elected governments.

Then: are AI and its creators taking over? Jane reports from the UN General Assembly on the push for global AI rules. After the break, we turn to the US midterms and Iranian-linked security threats in Britain. Plus, Jason finally learns what “squeaky bum time” means. And apparently it is not only about clearing the midpoint.

Then in the MEGA ORDERERS BONUS just for our subscribers: Can Trump Tariff His Way to a Bolsonaro Victory? Brazil’s election, the Bolsonaro comeback, Lula’s failures, crime, evangelical politics and whether economic pressure is becoming a new form of foreign election interference.

Join the Mega Orderers Club: https://disordershow.com/club

And in the ORDERING THE DISORDER: Democracies need room to invest in the next generation and international cooperation to ensure AI serves people rather than addiction, polarisation and dominance.

Producer: George McDonagh

Subscribe to our Substack -

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SHOWNOTES LINKS

Have the Greens just voted for a de facto ban on Jews?

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-news-agents/id1640878689?i=1000793267697

More on this https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/02/green-party-anti-zionism-motion-attempt-tell-jews-how-to-think

'Everyone hates the police' – what France's school protests reveal about a divided nation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crq5nlqnn184o

George McDonagh produced Black Box about AI https://www.theguardian.com/technology/audio/2026/sep/03/black-box-the-chatbots-spirals-ai-psychosis-podcast

And then an On the Media about US polarization and ice. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RUp1IfoSX2CXl0s1eVi3h?si=1IlVr9j2SZqt9evXmucpaQ&utm_source=copy-link&t=2045

Jason is joined by former Kentucky congressional candidate Erin Petrie, board member of Bourbon Women and active DAR member, to dissect the ideological clash at the heart of the American left. They discuss whether progressive slogans like "abolish ICE" drive moderate voters into Trumpism, how Citizens United and billionaire donors have created a pay-to-play system and why politicians in Washington fail to address the affordability crisis in rural America.

MEGA ORDERERS BONUS: What do Erin’s experiences in post-revolutionary Libya reveal about the collapse of civic trust back home? Then, as Jason and Erin Order the Disorder, they debate whether centrist pragmatic realism or progressive dreaming is the path forward. They explore critical Senate and House races to watch in North Carolina and Texas, whether Democrats should pack the Supreme Court to counter executive overreach, and how international trade and tariffs could hit MAGA voters where it hurts. Plus: can the rule of law still win in Trump’s America, or must centrist Democrats go lower to actually restore order?

Join the Mega Orderers Club for the full bonus:

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Producer: Sam Cluley

Subscribe to Ordering the Disorder:

https://natoandtheged.substack.com/

Disorder on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow

SHOWNOTES LINKS

Erin’s Website:

https://erinpetrey.com/

Erin’s Podcast:

https://www.thekentuckyedge.com/on-the-edge-with-erin-petrey/

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) Debate Coverage

Citizens United v. FEC:

https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/court-cases/citizens-united-v-fec/

History of ICE:

https://www.dhs.gov/history

What exactly is “War Putinism” — and how long can it survive?

Jason is joined by Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of In Moscow’s Shadows, to get inside the increasingly militarised, kleptocratic system Putin has built. They discuss Russia’s recent Duma elections, whether the war economy is devouring Russia’s future, how corruption changes when elites stop believing the system will last forever, and why Russia is so effective at exploiting divisions in Western societies.

Then they Order the Disorder: Jason and Mark disagree agreeably over whether Europe needs greater unity or much bolder action against Russia — before exploring financial enforcement, sanctions, Russian money flows and what the West could actually do to constrain Putin’s capacity to disorder the international system.

And, naturally, there are bears. Lots of rampaging Russian bears.

MEGA ORDERERS BONUS: Can Ukraine actually win? Responding to a listener challenge, Jason and Mark debate what Russian defeat could realistically mean, whether any settlement merely gives Putin time to regroup, and what security guarantees Ukraine would actually need. Plus: even more on Russia’s increasingly disorderly bears.

Join the Mega Orderers Club for the full bonus:

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Producer: George McDonagh

Subscribe to Ordering the Disorder:

https://natoandtheged.substack.com/

Disorder on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow

SHOWNOTES LINKS

Mark Galeotti’s In Moscow’s Shadows:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/in-moscows-shadows/id1510124746

In Moscow’s Shadows 264: Russia’s Bear(s) On The March:

https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/in-moscows-shadows-264-russias-bear-s-on-the-march/id1510124746?i=1000791844169

Our recent episode with Hanna Notte — Can Putin Outlast the West (by Disordering it)?:

https://podfollow.com/disorder/episode/35b8c221b3fca72fafb5a4b0fee7924f22d97423/view

Disorder Ep. 196 with Jamison Firestone — Rule of Lies: The Origin Story of Putin’s Russia:

https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/ep-196-rule-of-lies-the-origin-story-of/id1706818264?i=1000777642161

Our previous episode with Sir Bill Browder:

https://pod.link/1706818264/episode/a36160dede2b990a59c34c3c4e8eeece

Join the Mega Orderers Club:

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This is a story about an Israeli and a Palestinian who refuse to give up. Instead, they teach us that “Peace is an action”. Rejecting revenge and rage, Aziz offers an image that stays with us: anger is like nuclear power. It can destroy, or it can light a path. This is a conversation about what it takes to choose the latter, and what the rest of us might do next.

Maoz Inon's parents were killed in the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah's brother was killed by injuries from torture he suffered in Israeli custody. They have every reason to know what this conflict costs. Together, they insist that its future can still be peace.

In this episode of Out of Order, Mark Lobel, a British Jew and journalist, speaks with the Israeli and Palestinian co-authors of The Future Is Peace, alongside his childhood friend Rida Saïd, a British Muslim, entrepreneur and advisor in the Middle East, dedicated to peace and dialogue in the region.

Their conversation moves from grief and anger to the hard work of building a movement: protecting Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, teaching young women in the West Bank, creating a place where Israelis and Palestinians can encounter each other’s stories, and pressing people with power to act.

The peace activists also share their thoughts on: Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, Ed Miliband, the UK government’s sanctions against West Bank settlements, the upcoming Israeli and Palestinian elections and Aziz’s assertion that just three and a half percent of a society can change the social and political structure of a country.

Mark and Rida ask the questions that test that vision. Why spend so much time appealing to audiences abroad? What should happen when language meant to demand freedom makes someone else afraid? And, if the politicians will not lead, who will?

Guests: Maoz Inon, Aziz Abu Sarah, Rida Saïd

Producer: George McDonagh

Join the Mega Orderers Club for ad free listening, early release episodes and more:

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Show Note Links:

Contact Maoz and Aziz’s non-profit organisation here: https://www.iinteract.org/

Buy Maoz and Aziz’s book here: The Future Is Peace, a New York Times bestseller https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Peace-Aziz-Abu-Sarah/dp/1837264074/ref=asc_df_1837264074?mcid=cac2792703583071a5d48985f377d155&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=781185311404&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=700057887293780533&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045954&hvtargid=pla-2449018475226&psc=1&hvocijid=700057887293780533-1837264074-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

Read ‘A Law Catching Up with a Truth We Have Always Known’ by Rida Said: https://www.arabnews.com/opinion/a-law-finally-catching-up-with-a-truth-we-have-always-known-3001235

Watch Maoz and Aziz’s TED Talk, April 2024: https://www.ted.com/talks/aziz_abu_sarah_and_maoz_inon_a_palestinian_and_an_israeli_face_to_face

Subscribe to Out of Order on Substack here: https://substack.com/@marklobeltv

Follow Out of Order on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/outofordermarklobel/?hl=en-gb

Follow Out of Order on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/@OutofOrderwithMarkLobel

Get in touch with Mark here: https://www.mark-lobel.com/

Maoz and Aziz addressing the United Nations, 28th September 2026: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1i/k1idc71j2y

Four and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin hasn’t won. But Russia hasn’t been isolated either.

In this episode of Disorder latest, Jason is joined by Russia expert Hanna Notte, author of We Shall Outlast Them: Putin’s Global Campaign to Defeat the West, to explore how the Ukraine war has become the organising principle of Russian foreign policy — and a much wider struggle over global order.

How has Moscow cultivated relationships with China, India, Iran and the Global South? Does Russia actively benefit from global Disorder? And does Putin really need to keep fighting to preserve his regime — or does he continue simply because he believes Russia can still outlast Ukraine and its Western supporters?

Hanna also draws on her years living in and travelling through Russia to unpack stoikost — endurance and resilience — and the Russian narratives of suffering, self-reliance and victimhood.

As they Order the Disorder, they look at what would actually prove Putin’s wager wrong? Hanna argues that Europe needs above all to remain steady: keep Ukraine economically and militarily viable, strengthen its air defences, squeeze Russia’s oil revenues and shadow fleet, and demonstrate that Moscow cannot simply wait for Western resolve to collapse.

For Mega Orderers, hear Jason and Hanna get much more granular about where the war stands right now.

Join the Mega Orderers Club for the full bonus:

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SHOW NOTES

Buy Hanna Notte’s We Shall Outlast Them: Putin’s Global Campaign to Defeat the West in the UK:

https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/we-shall-outlast-them/hanna-notte/9781324117018

Hanna Notte discusses We Shall Outlast Them on the Kennan Institute’s The Long View — Putin’s Campaign to Defeat the West:

https://www.kennaninstitute.org/past-events

Mark Galeotti’s In Moscow’s Shadows:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-moscows-shadows/id1510124746

Mark Galeotti on Hidden Forces — The West’s Forgotten War and the New Russia:

https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-wests-forgotten-war-and-the-new-russia-mark-galeotti/

Disorder Ep. 196 with Jamison Firestone — Rule of Lies: The Origin Story of Putin’s Russia:

https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/ep-196-rule-of-lies-the-origin-story-of/id1706818264?i=1000777642161

Disorder with Marcel Dirsus — Dictators’ Disordering Quest for Internal Security:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep67-dictators-disordering-quest-for-internal-security/id1706818264?i=1000669774299

Disorder:

https://disordershow.com/

Mega Orderers Club:

https://disordershow.com/club

It’s our favourite time of the month: listener questions time! Jason and Jane tackle migration and assimilation, the rise of the AfD and neo-populism, and what Keir Starmer’s legacy tells us about the failure of technocratic politics to offer a compelling vision of the future.

Then: is AI going to destroy humanity — or merely our jobs and our sanity? Could agentic AI military systems create their own escalatory feedback loops? And why might we need a kind of NATO for AI?

Finally, we turn to Yemen, the Houthis and the Red Sea, before asking what the Fed’s surprise interest-rate hike tells us about the importance of independent institutions.

Mega Orderers Bonus: Is Unregulated Capitalism Hacking Our Evolution?: Pls join the Mega Orderers Club for this unmissable treatment of topics like… Why does AI flatter us? And what do sycophantic chatbots, sugar, porn, gambling and neo-populist strongmen have in common? Jason and Jane explore evolutionary mismatch and ask whether we need a GLP-1 for our addiction to Disorder.

Join the Mega Orderers Club: https://www.disordershow.com/club

Producer: George McDonagh

Subscribe to our Substack -

https://natoandtheged.substack.com/

Disorder on YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow

SHOWNOTES LINKS

George McDonagh’s Black Box: The Chatbots series for The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/audio/2026/sep/03/black-box-the-chatbots-spirals-ai-psychosis-podcast

The Guardian on AI sycophancy:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/02/ai-sycophancy-risk-to-society-grasp-reality

The Guardian on the Fed raising US interest rates:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/16/us-federal-reserve-votes-hike-rates

The Guardian on Yemen, the Houthis and the wider regional conflict:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/violence-erupts-in-yemen-again-why-it-matters-globally-and-how-it-is-linked-to-the-us-iran-war

The Guardian on the latest anti-Houthi military developments:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/yemen-anti-houthi-forces-inquest-military-collapse

Twenty-five years after 9/11, did America respond to an attack on the Western Order by inadvertently helping to disorder that Order itself?

Jason is joined by Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, to look back at 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan and the collapse of NATO allies trust in the USA—and forward to how Ukraine can win and the defence of Europe. Hodges argues that military power is only useful when attached to a clear strategic objective and Congressional and popular buy-in: a lesson America repeatedly forgot after 9/11.

They then turn to Ukraine: drones, long-range strikes, manpower, democratic legitimacy and Europe's continuing failure to develop sufficient air and missile defence. In the Ordering the Disorder section, General Hodges argues that Europe should stop thinking about merely improving Ukraine's negotiating position and instead help it defeat Russia—while rebuilding the alliances and institutions that once magnified American power.

Join the Mega Orderers Club at disordershow.com/club to get Jason's response to the interview, including his own reflections on 9/11 and whether power without clear objectives, functioning alliances and an idea of the Order it is seeking to create can itself become an engine of Disorder.

SHOWNOTES LINKS

Democrats v Dictators with Ben Hodges on his personal background:

https://youtu.be/9eOKx6iVTx8?is=PJsO4AA9lfIk_5ru

Ben Hodges — Association of the United States Army:

https://www.ausa.org/people/ben-hodges

NATO — Collective Defence and Article 5:

https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/introduction-to-nato/collective-defence-and-article-5

Disorder — NATO: A Model for Ordering the Disorder? with Jamie Shea, Kori Schake, Timothy Garton Ash and Charles Kupchan:

https://podfollow.com/disorder/episode/484e21562b7dcd1a1a1f570a09343fd68bf6e732/view

Join the Mega Orderers Club:

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A great power battle is emerging between Russia, China and Washington… and Europe teeters on the edge of all three. Could this break up the union? And is the European reliance on America over?

To find out, Jason is joined by author and Director of the Moynihan Center of European Studies at Syracuse University, Glyn Morgan. His latest book The Rise and Fall of American Europe charts the rise and fall of the 80-year history of what he calls American Europe.

Jason and Glyn discuss how this system emerged off the back of Roosevelt's plans to dismantle both fascism and British imperial power, why it delivered decades of European prosperity, and why that’s now under threat.

Plus: European complacency on defence, Macron's failed warnings, and - as they Order the Disorder - Glyn imagines a future where Europe works together for defense, with Britain’s role as a guardian of the Atlantic Sea.

To get an extended version of the episode, join the Mega Orderers Club at disordershow.com/club

Producer: Sam Cluley

Subscribe to our Substack - https://natoandtheged.substack.com/

Disorder on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow

Shownotes:

Get The Rise and Fall of American Europe by Glyn Morgan

https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-rise-and-fall-of-american-europe--9781509573202

For more on Glyn visit his Syracuse University faculty page

https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/directory/glyn-morgan

For more on our partnership with the New Books Network

https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/up-partners/disorder