<p>I sat down with Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus — and the rare leader who came to politics as a historian first. Cyprus is a country of a million and a half people sitting on the bridge between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which makes it one of the most strategically placed nations on earth right now. We got into why he believes the world is sliding back into raw power politics, why the institutions built after World War II no longer reflect reality, why India has to be at the centre of whatever replaces them, and why he thinks war is the easiest mistake a country can make and the hardest to undo. We also talked about democracy under pressure, why he moved from the left to the centre-right over a lifetime, what AI might do to work and governance, and what it actually feels like to wake up every day and carry the weight of a country. He told me it's a very lonely role — and that the only thing that matters is whether history, not tomorrow's headlines, judges you well.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>00:00</strong> Introduction</p><p><strong>03:07</strong> Being a historian first, a politician second</p><p><strong>08:02</strong> Why power politics is returning to the world</p><p><strong>12:03</strong> The case for India on the UN Security Council</p><p><strong>17:01</strong> How postwar institutions favoured the incumbents</p><p><strong>22:23</strong> Whether democracy still delivers economic progress</p><p><strong>27:02</strong> Designing a new regional order from India to Europe</p><p><strong>34:39</strong> Why interests, not values, reshape alliances</p><p><strong>40:53</strong> The only real way to avoid war</p><p><strong>42:35</strong> Where he stands on left versus right</p><p><strong>46:02</strong> Moving from academia into political reality</p><p><strong>47:11</strong> What AI could do to work and democracy</p><p><strong>52:08</strong> Thinking about the next generation, not the next election</p><p><strong>56:22</strong> What it feels like to hold power</p><p><strong>1:03:09</strong> What diplomacy taught him about negotiation</p><p><strong>1:07:57</strong> A closing argument for India's leading role</p><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">#NikhilKamath</strong><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);"> – Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas</span></p><p>Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast</p><ul><li>Twitter/X: <a href="https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/</a></li><li><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Instagram: </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/</a></li><li><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">LinkedIn: </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app</a></li><li><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Nikos Christodoulides</strong><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);"> – President of the Republic of Cyprus</span></p><ul><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikos-christodoulides-660b02139/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikos-christodoulides-660b02139/</a></li><li><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Instagram: </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/nikoschristodoulides/?hl=en&utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://www.instagram.com/nikoschristodoulides/?hl=en</a></li><li><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">X: </span><a href="https://x.com/Christodulides?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://x.com/Christodulides</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify</span></p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn</a></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify</span></p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59</a></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify</span></p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th</a></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(15, 15, 15);">#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline</span></p><p><br></p>