DiEM25

Your chance to put Yanis Varoufakis on the spot. Politics, economics, philosophy — or something completely unexpected. Nothing is off the table. Join us live as Yanis answers questions submitted by you. Hosted by Mehran Khalili.
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Yanis Varoufakis (site): https://yanisvaroufakis.eu
Mehran Khalili (newsletter): https://mehrankhalili.com/subscribe
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As Europe rearms and conscription returns across the continent, what happens to those who refuse to fight?
In the first episode of a new Frontline series on conscientious objection, host Mehran Khalili speaks to Yurii Sheliazhenko — a Ukrainian legal scholar, pacifist, and winner of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize. He's been a declared conscientious objector since 1998.
Two weeks before this interview, Yurii was grabbed off the street in Kyiv, beaten, pepper-sprayed, and held for two days without a lawyer. He now faces trial for "justifying Russian aggression" — based on a document he wrote that condemns Russia's invasion. 
His trial is on 13 May. With wars escalating and military spending exploding, Yurii's story is no longer just about Ukraine. It's about what happens to all of us when our governments tell us to fight. 
FOLLOW THE SPEAKERS
Yurii Sheliazhenko (his organisation): https://pacifism.org.ua/en/about 
Mehran Khalili (newsletter on effective activist tactics): https://mehrankhalili.com/subscribe
SHOW NOTES
Support Yurii:
- Sign the petition to drop charges against him: https://worldbeyondwar.org/yurii-sheliazhenko-abducted/
Get involved in the conscientious objection movement:
- War Resisters' International: https://wri-irg.org
- European Bureau for Conscientious Objection: https://ebco-beoc.org 
- Connection e.V. (CO support across Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Europe): https://en.connection-ev.org

Read more:
- Responsible Statecraft on Ukraine's forced conscription crisis: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-recruitment-army/
- The Progressive on Ukraine's pacifists (interview with Yurii, February 2026): https://progressive.org/latest/ukraines-pacifists-in-a-country-at-war-toesland-20260225/
- Books recommended by Yurii:
- Erica Chenoweth & Maria J. Stephan, Why Civil Resistance Works 
- WRI's Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns (free): https://wri-irg.org/en/story/handbook-nonviolent-campaigns

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Opposition to the Iran war exists, in the polls, on the streets, across Europe. But it isn't translating into political pressure. Why not? And what would it take to change that? In this livestream, Yanis Varoufakis and Grace Blakeley examine the structural barriers keeping anti-war sentiment from becoming anti-war power, and what resistance could actually look like from here. Hosted by Mehran Khalili.
FOLLOW THE SPEAKERS
Grace Blakeley (site): https://graceblakeley.substack.com/ 
Yanis Varoufakis (site): https://yanisvaroufakis.eu 
Mehran Khalili (newsletter): https://mehrankhalili.com/subscribe 
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Join DiEM25: https://diem25.org/join ​
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On 28 February the US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran. The strikes killed the Supreme Leader and hit cities across the country. What most reports leave out is that the attacks came hours after Oman's foreign minister announced that Iran had accepted a diplomatic opening.

Why did it happen then? Why has Europe stayed silent? Why did Spain break ranks? And what does the EU's €800 billion rearmament push have to do with all of this? This conversation looks at what is really driving the conflict — and what people can actually do about it.
Mehran Khalili speaks with Amir Kiyaei, policy director of DiEM25. Both have Iranian roots and family in Iran. 
FOLLOW THE SPEAKERS

Amir Kiyaei → https://x.com/AmirKiyaei 
Mehran Khalili (newsletter) → https://mehrankhalili.com/subscribe
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As leaders, generals and diplomats gather in Munich this weekend to debate Europe's security and the future of the transatlantic alliance, the real question is not what is said on stage, but what direction Europe is being steered toward. 

In this livestream, Yanis Varoufakis and Jeffrey Sachs will examine the conclusions of the Munich Security Conference — and the wider headlines, reactions and signals surrounding it — separating rhetoric from reality.

Is "strategic autonomy" taking shape, or are old dependencies being reinforced? What does Munich reveal about Ukraine, NATO and Europe's room to manoeuvre? An essential hour for anyone trying to understand where Europe is headed. Hosted by Mehran Khalili. Join us live and put your questions to the panel!
FOLLOW THE SPEAKERS: 

Jeffrey Sachs (site): https://www.jeffsachs.org/ 
Yanis Varoufakis (site): https://yanisvaroufakis.eu
Mehran Khalili (newsletter): https://mehrankhalili.com/subscribe 

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Join DiEM25: https://diem25.org/join ​
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Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/DiEM25official