The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is an ever-expanding Alliance and is currently made up of 30 independent member states. Even so, consensus decision-making is a fundamental principle of NATO and has remained so since its creation in 1949. In today’s episode, we speak to Sir Adam Thomas KCMG, the Director of the European Leadership Network (ELN) since November 2016. Before joining the ELN, Sir Adam had a 38-year diplomatic career in the British Diplomatic Service and served as the UK Permanent Representative to NATO between 2014 and 2016. He explains how NATO members make decisions as a collective, how military decision-making is balanced out with diplomatic decision-making and what accountability measures are in place within NATO. 

Media Minded explores the bizarre world of misinformation and conspiracies. Following on from the success of the first season in 2019, each episode platforms a different subject who has previously been a victim of, or a willing participant in, a conspiracy theory… but these lines may be more blurred than you think. Ex-cultists, anti-vaxxers and more describe their slow descent into the untrue, and those who experience the brunt of the lies and hatred explain the effect that the proliferation of these ideas has. All the while, industry-leading academics and experts provide theoretical justifications for the actions taken by all parties.

Presented by Matteo Bergamini

Edited and recorded by Sabina Mckenzie Brown.

Season 3 of this podcast is made possible thanks to the kind support and sponsorship of the U.S. Mission to NATO.