Archive - States of Play by Sam Olsen

When the Lights Went Out: How Britain Lost the Imagination to Survive What Comes Next

The forgotten art of national resilience in an age of hostile states and fragile systems

Dec 6 •

China Is Rewriting the Industrial Playbook That Britain Invented

From coal and cotton to rare earths and supply chains, the old industrial logic is being reborn in a new superpower

Dec 3 •

November 2025

States of Play podcast Episode 17: The New Economic Iron Curtain

What the Great Split between the US and Chinese worlds will mean for governments, businesses, and the average person

Nov 29 •

43:25

The Great Split: How China and the West Are Reshaping Globalisation

My new co-authored report sets out the strategic implications for businesses and governments of a world dividing into rival economic blocs

Nov 26 •

The Meridian Line at the Heart of the Coming Global Crisis

How the 52nd Meridian has become the strategic hinge of an increasingly plausible global polycrisis

Nov 22 •

Beyond Rivalry: The Middle East as the Pivot of Great Power Competition

How Gaza, Technology and Asian Ascendancy Are Reshaping the Region’s Strategic Imagination

Nov 19 •

States of Play podcast Episode 16: How the Allies Won the War - and What the West Has Forgotten

What the Allied grand strategy of the Second World War reveals about power, leadership, and survival in the age of China and AI

Nov 15 •

46:54

China’s Blockbuster Movies and the Global Battle for Soft Power

A two-billion-dollar hit proves China’s cinematic muscle but not yet its cultural magnetism

Nov 12 •

An Introduction to Chinese History

To understand China today, you first have to understand its past

Nov 5 •

A Pause, Not Peace, in Busan

What the Xi–Trump Deal Really Means for the Changing World Order

Nov 1 •

October 2025

The Mineral Noose

How China’s grip on critical minerals could halt the West’s defence and energy systems overnight

Oct 29 •

States of Play podcast Episode 15: The Polycrisis 2027 Scenario

How the West is Facing a Grave, Imminent, Multi-threat Global Crisis

Oct 25 •

55:17

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