In last week’s episode of Independent Thinking, Chatham House’s podcast series, experts discuss the big picture in the Middle East and how the various conflicts are shaping relations in the region.

The conflict in the Middle East has rapidly extended into the cyber domain. Iranian state-sponsored actors and a large ecosystem of pro-Iranian hacktivist groups are actively targeting Western commercial, financial, energy and critical infrastructure organisations.

Supply chains across industries are facing systemic vulnerabilities driven by geopolitical conflict, shifting trade policy, extreme weather, and surging costs. These pressures are causing cascading challenges that can extend lead times, disrupt operations, and even delay on-time delivery of lifesaving medicine, in the case of life sciences. Despite nuances in how risks manifest across different industries, having visibility deep into the supply chain is foundational, especially since senior leaders cannot manage what they are unable to see.

Andrew Leigh, the bestselling author of The Shortest History of Economics, tells the story of human innovation by identifying three of its most essential driving forces: tinkering, teams and trade. He examines hotbeds of creativity, the forces that suppress them and the unexpected ways ideas travel across borders and disciplines.