AI Summary
5 min readIn August, two men bought tickets to Vienna’s Museum for Applied Art, entered an exhibition, and smashed an armored display case with a hammer. It took 41 blows to get through the glass. They stole a platinum necklace set with 673 diamonds, designed in 1939 for Queen Nazli of Egypt and valued at over $4 million. The guards did not intervene because the thieves were armed, and protocol prioritized visitor safety. The museum reopened the next day with metal detectors.
That heist is part of a broader pattern. European museums are seeing a spike in high-value art theft, and the episode’s central question is whether Europe can sustain its support for Ukraine if the United States withdraws or dramatically reduces its backing. The conversation, led by diplomatic editor Anton LaGuardia, examines the military, financial, and political dimensions of that question.
The state of American support
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:04) **Introduction** - Hosts Rosie Blore and Jason Palmer tee up the day's stories: private science in Trump's America, European art thefts, and the main segment on Europe's ability to support Ukraine alone.
- 2 (01:35) **Trump's Envoy and the Ukraine Peace Push** - Steve Whitkoff lands in St. Petersburg to meet Putin after a proposal with Zelensky, setting up the core question of whether Europe can go it alone.
- 3 (03:25) **America-Europe Dynamics on Ukraine Before the Break** - LaGuardia walks through the shifting partnership, from G7 cooperation to Trump's embrace of the Kremlin.
- 4 (04:50) **Zelensky's Changing Tone Toward Trump** - The Ukrainian president stops pulling punches, calling Trump's diesel deal "weak" and praising Europe as the real leader.
- 5 (06:06) **Europe's Capabilities: Money vs. Weapons** - LaGuardia breaks down what Europe can and cannot replace if America withdraws support.
- 6 (07:56) **Europe's Domestic Troubles Undermine Support** - Violent protests over cost of living and energy prices weaken European governments just as Ukraine asks for more money.
- 7 (09:15) **The Midterm Election Wildcard** - LaGuardia explains how the US midterms could either end or worsen the current acute phase.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Donald Trump’s administration is turning against Ukraine. But as European powers confront trouble at home, they are struggling to replace American support. Are US private science institutions entering a golden age? And the climb in art crime.
Guests and host:
- Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
- Shera Avi-Yonah, US business correspondent
- Vendeline von Bredow, senior Germany correspondent
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Ukraine, Witkoff, Zelenksy
- Scientific research, National Science Foundation
- Art theft, Louvre, Museum for Applied Art
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