90 Seconds to Midnight
The Doomsday Clock is the symbolic countdown to human extinction; a universally recognised, annual indicator of the world’s vulnerability to man-made global catastrophe. If the clock strikes midnight, the world will have ended.
Today, the clock sits as close to midnight as it has ever been – just 90 seconds away.
And is it any wonder?
Ongoing wars in the Ukraine and Middle East. The continued expansion of nuclear arsenals around the world. The advance of generative AI and its potential for disinformation. The climate crisis. The list of potentially world-ending dangers feels increasingly – and depressingly – long.
The Doomsday Clock is set annually, but, given the scale of the challenges facing humanity on a daily basis, as of September 5, we will be setting our own version of the clock each week.
Welcome to 90 Seconds to Midnight: the Daily Mail’s new weekly global news podcast, promising listeners informed analysis, discussion, and on-the-ground reporting about the week’s most influential geopolitical flashpoints. Hosted by the Mail’s Special Correspondent David Patrikarakos, every episode ends with one question: are we closer, or further away, from midnight?
Episodes
Dispatch from Tel Aviv
One year on from the October 7th attacks on Israel, David Patrikarakos is in Tel Aviv to hear how that day sparked one of the most dangerous and uncertain periods in the recent history of the Middle East.
First, David talks to IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Reserve Peter Lerner to get the latest on the Israel’s military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon, before sitting down with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to hear why he thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is the biggest obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the safe return of the hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Producer: Max Bower
Editor: Alex Graham
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
Host: David Patrikarakos
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10/10/24•45m 16s
Niall Ferguson on an escalating global conflagration
David Patrikarakos is joined by Niall Ferguson to discuss the latest events in the Middle East; why the US is irrelevant in the calculations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu; and, how Israel is likely to retaliate against Iran.
They also discuss the ‘Axis of Ill Will’ comprising China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea; why Ferguson believes that we are in the early stages of a second Cold War and the probability of this escalating into World War III; and whether the US will discover the true meaning of deterrence.
Producer: Max Bower
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
Host: David Patrikarakos
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03/10/24•38m 51s
Dispatch from Beirut
Beirut local Ronnie Chatah talks to 90 Seconds to Midnight about the latest developments on the ground in Lebanon and how likely an all-out war is between Israel and Hezbollah.
Ronnie also explains whether Israel's motives are different against Hezbollah compared to Hamas and the shadowy role and aims of Iran in this escalating conflict that is threatening to engulf the Middle East.
Producer: Max Bower
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
Host: David Patrikarakos
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27/09/24•38m 19s
Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Exploding Pagers, Hezbollah and Putin
Foreign Secretary David Lammy talks Special Correspondent David Patrikarakos about the pager attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and escalating tensions across the wider region; the latest from Ukraine; and how we know that Putin is rattled...
We also hear from defence expert Andrew Fox about the ramifications of the attacks against Hezbollah and the potential for a wider regional war in the Middle East.
Producer: Max Bower
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
Host: David Patrikarakos
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19/09/24•38m 51s
The War in Ukraine - A Watershed Moment?
In this, the first episode of 90 Seconds to Midnight, the Daily Mail’s Special Correspondent David Patrikarakos is in Kyiv to meet legendary Ukrainian war reporter Illia Ponomarenko. In a wide ranging discussion, the two catch up on the recent Ukrainian counter-offensive into Russian territory; what any potential peace between Russia and Ukraine might look like; and, the breaking news of further American support for Ukraine from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Producer: Max Bower
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
Host: David Patrikarakos
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12/09/24•43m 54s
Introducing... 90 Seconds to Midnight
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06/09/24•1m 20s
