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Women Leaders

Women Leaders

By: Women Leaders - European Leadership Network
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The podcast that discusses global current affairs with women leaders!


Ilana Bet-El chats with wonderfully qualified women experts from around the world in informal but in-depth conversations that explain, analyse and highlight events of the day.


Women Leaders brings incredibly well-informed perspectives to world events: not the news, but what the news means! From geopolitics to security, defence and wars, and from economics to journalism, media and disinformation, we bring context and insight to the rapid changes in the world.


  • Contribute to the conversation or share your topic wishes with a comment & a 5-⭐️
  • Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast
  • Proudly partnered with European Leadership Network, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and website
  • Supported by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations

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Women Leaders Economics Management Management & Leadership Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Iranians at war with Liora Hendelman-Baavur & Maneli Mirkhan

    Iranians at war with Liora Hendelman-Baavur & Maneli Mirkhan
    Mar 20 2026
    In week three of the war started by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the main outcome appears to be destruction: of buildings and gas fields and military hardware; of the world energy market; of US credibility. The conflict has spread to Lebanon courtesy of Hezbollah, and Israel is being hit by missiles from there and Iran. The Gulf states, living under attack too, are seeing their economic model of a luxury bubble financed by high spenders dwindle away. The Straits of Hormuz, the crucial waterway through which energy, fertilisers and much else travels, is now closed. And while still shooting its ballistic missiles and many drones, Iran is being pummelled daily while seeing its ranks of leadership picked off faster than appointments are possible.So what do the Iranian people make of the war? What are their horizons, and options? In absolute fact it is difficult to tell as the Ayatollahs keep the internet closed and for many contact to the outside world is difficult. But information is getting out, and as ever it is far more nuanced and complex than the simple narratives of for or against the regime that have been supplied so far.Iran historian Dr Liora Hendelman-Baavur of Tel Aviv University and Maneli Mirkhan, strategist and Iran expert bring fascinating insights into the thinking and possibilities of the Iranian people, as well as many other analyses of how this war came about, and why it is difficult to predict how it ends.This episode was recorded on 19 March 2026ChaptersAn expected war between Israel and Iran?Public sentiment and reactions in Iran and IsraelRegional Dynamics: Iran and the Gulf StatesWhat comes next with the war?MentionsDorna websiteLiora’s book Creating the Modern Iranian Woman: Popular Culture Between Two Revolutions FollowLiora Hendelman-Baavur LinkedIn & Tel-Aviv University pageManeli Mirkhan LinkedIn & websiteIlana Bet-ElInstagram @women_leaders_podcastListen this episode on our YouTube channelOur partner European Leadership Network Twitter LinkedIn Facebook websiteCreditsProduction: Florence FerrandoMusic: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJTContribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcastWatch now our episode on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    42 mins
  • Destruction and disorder with Dina Esfandiary

    Destruction and disorder with Dina Esfandiary
    Mar 6 2026

    The Islamic revolution that swept Iran in 1979 changed not only that state but also the region, and the world. The current war in and Iran can still be understood as a direct outcome of that event.

    The humiliation of the US in 1979 made it implacably opposed to Iran. The alignment of most of the Gulf states with the US and their increasing ties with Israel also created a complex balance. On the other hand, Iran's spread of influence through its "Shia Crescent" in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, with offshoots in Yemen and Gaza, made it a formidable and threatening presence.

    It is upon this background that the US-Israeli strikes commenced on February 28, engulfing the whole region in destruction and disorder.


    Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead at Bloomberg Economics, is an excellent guide to this complex reality. With clarity and depths of knowledge, this is the conversation we all need now.


    This episode was recorded on 5 March 2026


    Chapters

    • Iran's response and regional implications
    • Historical context of Gulf-Iran rivalry
    • Iran's military capabilities and regional concerns
    • What motived the US to strike Iran?
    • The plight of the Iranian people


    Mentions

    • [Dina’s articles - Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AV0Rw29Q1B0/dina-esfandiary](https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AV0Rw29Q1B0/dina-esfandiary)


    Follow

    • Dina Esfandiary LinkedIn & X/Twitter
    • Ilana Bet-El
    • Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
    • Listen this episode on our YouTube channel
    • Our partner European Leadership Network Twitter LinkedIn Facebook website


    Credits

    • Production: Florence Ferrando
    • Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-rollLicense code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

    Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

    Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

    Watch now our episode on Youtube

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    29 mins
  • Gisèle Pelicot and opposing objectification with Katrin Bennhold & Elisa Braun

    Gisèle Pelicot and opposing objectification with Katrin Bennhold & Elisa Braun
    Feb 20 2026
    Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir has just been published, and the Jeffrey Epstein files continue to become public. While the admirable Ms Pelicot has become a modern heroine, the two stories have forced a strong focus upon a core common reality: women remain the ultimate objects, to be subjugated by men.Ms Pelicot, the survivor of multiple rapes while rendered unconscious by her husband, recovered her own agency by refusing to remain anonymous, and by demanding that shame shift to the other side, to the perpetrators, to the men who raped her. The survivors of the Epstein abuse have not been so lucky: attention has been largely upon the powerful and famous men involved in this long running story of rape and abuse of minors, of young underage women.Many women, and men, feel deep outrage about both these appalling events, but it isn’t always easy to talk about them. However, Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times and Elisa Braun of Euractiv, both senior investigative reporters and experienced journalists, explain so much about how these stories are reported, and express measures of disgust that enhance our own deep-felt emotions in the face of these criminal misogynistic abuses.A fascinating, flowing and necessary discussion.This episode was recorded on 19 February 2026ChaptersContrasting stories: Pelicot vs. EpsteinCivil courage and accountabilityWhen Justice is deniedInvestigative journalism: trust and traumaConspiracy theories and institutional trustMentionsThe World newsletter - The New York TimesThe Rapporteur newsletter - EuractivGisèle Pelicot’s bookCongressional hearing on Epstein files Grooming girls in Rotherham by Katrin BennholdEpstein files 101 with Matt GoldsteinMarina Hyde on the Epstein filesFollowKatrin Bennhold LinkedInElisa Braun LinkedInIlana Bet-ElInstagram @women_leaders_podcastListen this episode on our YouTube channelOur partner European Leadership Network Twitter LinkedIn Facebook websiteCreditsProduction: Florence FerrandoMusic: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-rollLicense code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJTContribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcastWatch now our episode on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    48 mins
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