As 2025 draws to a close, it’s worth pausing to take stock of a year that marked a clear step-change in reach, relevance, and international engagement.

The Focus Podcast

This year, The Focus moved decisively from a niche platform into a recognised voice in strategic and geopolitical debate.

• Subscriber growth from ~1,000 to over 8,000, reflecting sustained audience trust rather than viral spikes.

• A continued emphasis on long-form, serious conversation with defence professionals, policymakers, scholars, and journalists—cutting against the prevailing trend toward shallow commentary.

• The podcast increasingly functioned not just as media, but as a convening space for difficult conversations on war, deterrence, alliances, democratic resilience, and strategic competition.

The growth wasn’t accidental. It was the product of consistency, intellectual seriousness, and a refusal to chase outrage or algorithmic shortcuts, some ‘clickbaity’ titles notwithstanding! My thanks to Producers Mr. Neil Smart and Ms. Lin Siah for their hard work and perseverance.

SAGE International

In parallel, SAGE International consolidated its role as a platform for applied strategic thinking.

• Ongoing engagement with partners across Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East, linking policy, defence, and academic communities, primarily through Prof. Julian Lindley French’s The Alphen Group (TAG). Also, through Trends Research and Advisory, Abu Dhabi (UAE) & the Rabdan Security & Defence Institute (RSDI), Abu Dhabi (UAE).

• A sharper focus on bridging research, commentary, and public engagement, rather than treating them as separate silos.

• Continued work positioning SAGE as a connector organisation—helping ideas, people, and institutions find one another across borders.

International Strategic Engagement

The standout professional milestone of the year was participating as a guest panellist at a pre-NATO Summit strategic function, The Atlantic Charter 2025 & Beyond hosted by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS).

Running into a Regular Guest of The Focus, Gen. Ben Hodges.

John, far left, seen with Dr. Hanna Shelest & Dr. Richard D. Hooker Jnr.

• The discussion took place in the lead-up to the 2025 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit, engaging directly with allied perspectives on deterrence, alliance cohesion, and the evolving security environment.

• It was a reminder that serious, independent analysis—when consistently applied—does travel, and that platforms like The Focus increasingly sit within wider strategic ecosystems rather than outside them.

Looking Ahead

If 2025 was about momentum, 2026 will be about consolidation and scale:

• Deepening international partnerships

• Expanding audience reach without diluting substance

• Using media not just to comment on strategy, but to shape the conversations around it

My Gratitude to collaborators, guests, listeners, and partners who made this year possible. Happy New Year & Onward We All Go, 2026 Awaits!