
Hey, it’s Marcel Dirsus. I’m a political scientist and this is The Next Best, my podcast. The world is complex, dangerous and confusing. To make sense of it all, I talk to authors, historians, diplomats and spies. Together, we’re going to learn about nuclear weapons, sanctions, targeted killings and much more. Let’s go. Have a question? Email at: thenextbestpodcast@gmail.com
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 9 | Founded | 2 months ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | PoliticsNews | |||

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Tim Weiner joins Marcel Dirsus to discuss his book, The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century.
This episode is a deep dive into the CIA, the failures of the War on Terror, and the future of modern warfare. Weiner tr... more
The Baltic region is Europe's most dangerous geopolitical flashpoint. From the Suwałki Gap to the stationing of German combat troops in Lithuania, we explore the geopolitical stakes of a potential conflict between Russia and NATO.
Political scientis... more
How the U.S. turned banks, the dollar, and tech supply chains into a weapon that isolates entire countries without firing a shot.
Edward Fishman is the author of "Chokepoints" and a former member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. We... more
We're now multiple years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and an end to the fighting isn't in sight. There are now negotiations, but where could these negotiations lead? What happens if Russia wins? And why did Putin decide to invade in t... more
My guest this week is Kori Schake. Kori has an incredibly impressive CV. She is currently the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute, but she has also worked at the US Department of State, the Pentagon and the Whi... more
Earlier this year, I read a book called Death is Our Business and this week I spoke to the author John Lechner. John is an interesting man. He used to work in investment banking and then he decided to become a journalist. So he moved to Africa and st... more
Hey, it's Marcel Dirsus and this is The Next Best.
I spoke to Charles Hecker this week. Charles has spent 40 years traveling and working in the Soviet Union and Russia. He speaks fluent Russian and he just wrote a book called Zero Sum.
At first g... more
My guest this week is Steve Coll. Steve is a senior editor at The Economist and he has written nine books. He has won the Pulitzer Prize not once, but twice. His most recent book is about Saddam Hussein, the CIA and America's invasion of Iraq. It is ... more
Marcel Dirsus brings the same sharp insight and engaging storytelling we know from his book „how tyrants fall“ and his talks. Even with just one episode so far, I am hooked. Can’t wait to hear more!
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #208 | |
Apple Podcasts | #229 |









Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Conversations within this series focus on multifaceted and intricate global topics through interviews with experts across political science, history, journalism, and diplomacy. The discussions span a wide range of critical issues such as military strategy, international relations, geopolitical challenges, and historical contexts of various conflicts. Notably, the podcast addresses complex subjects like the roles of mercenaries, the influence of oligarchs in Russian economics, and the historical implications of civil-military relations in democracies. The informative dialogue aims to expose the nuanced layers of current global crises, making it suitable for listeners interested in understanding the darker aspects of international decision-ma... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus launched 2 months ago and published 9 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Next Best with Marcel Dirsus include:
1. Oliver Moody
2. Edward Fishman
3. Michael Kimmage
4. Kori Schake
5. John Lechner
6. Charles Hecker
7. Steve Coll
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.