The Political Cycle: How the West Was Lost

Donald Trump has ripped up the rulebook on post-war Western defense strategy, indicating that conflict in Europe is Europe’s problem. What does this shift mean for those caught between Russia and the USA? Is the Western world ready to go without the backing of the USA? Rohan Venkat, Emily Tamkin and Tom Hamilton discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

"Recoup the costs"

• https://thecritic.co.uk/the-ukrainian-minerals-myth/

• https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/02/trump-ukraine-russia-war-started-zelensky-putin-rakusan.html

Three Years of War

On American aid cuts/disruptions

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to an ad-free version of the show)

• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat

• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email nick@podotpods.com

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS