• Trump ‘plays into Putin’s hands’
    Aug 21 2025

    Gideon discusses the outcome of the recent Alaska and Washington summits with Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Has Russia emerged as a clear winner? What can be achieved without more pressure on Vladimir Putin? How effective would western security guarantees be to prevent future Russian aggression?


    Clip: Sky News


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    Ukraine talks expose Trump’s dreadful attention to detail

    Donald Trump says US could play role ‘by air’ in Ukraine security guarantee

    Donald Trump says US to ‘co-ordinate’ Ukraine’s security with Europe

    ‘Stab in the back’: Kyiv reels as Trump embraces Putin’s terms


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    Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design by Breen Turner. The executive producer is Flo Phillips.


    Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    23 mins
  • What next for India as Trump-Modi friendship sours?
    Aug 14 2025

    The Trump administration has hit India with 50% tariffs. And just after a short military conflict between India and Pakistan, President Trump played host to Pakistan’s army chief of staff at the White House. Gideon discusses what this means for India and for the region with Tanvi Madan, author of a noted history of the US-India relationship. Clip: WION. Weekend Festival link


    Free links to read more on this topic:

    Donald Trump tariffs threaten Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ drive

    How Pakistan wooed Trump — and rattled India

    Narendra Modi tells Indian farmers he will ‘never compromise’ in face of 50% US tariffs

    India’s Russian oil conundrum: yield to Donald Trump or face tariff backlash


    Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Manuela Saragosa.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    23 mins
  • The cold war guru whose warnings on Russia still stand
    Aug 7 2025

    Zbigniew Brzeziński was one of the most influential statesmen of the cold war. But many of the geopolitical problems he wrestled with in Russia, China and the Middle East, have returned with a vengeance. Among his many prescient ideas, ‘Zbig’ as he was known, predicted that American hubris might lead to an ‘alliance of the aggrieved’ between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Gideon discusses his life and legacy with FT colleague Ed Luce, who has written an acclaimed biography of the Polish-born strategist. Clip: Voice of America


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    A new cold war with China won’t help the US

    The World of the Cold War — timely reading in an age of US, Russia and China tensions

    The last grand strategists: what Brzezinski and Kissinger could teach Trump

    King of Kings — the 1979 revolution that changed Iran and the world


    Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

    Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Jean-Marc Eck and the executive producer is Manuela Saragosa.

    Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    30 mins
  • Can Israel translate power into peace?
    Jul 31 2025

    Israel has demonstrated its capacity to strike at its enemies far and wide since the Hamas attacks of October 7 2023. But what will it do with this military dominance? The FT’s Charles Clover puts this question to Palestinian historian Yezid Sayigh. They discuss the weakness and instability of neighbouring Arab states and how the Netanyahu government’s moves to prevent Palestinian statehood represent the biggest threat to peaceful coexistence in the region. Clips: France 24; Channel 4 News


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    Has Gaza tested the limits of Donald Trump’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu?

    UK to recognise Palestinian state unless Israel ends Gaza crisis

    Israel’s quiet war in the West Bank

    The world is failing the Palestinian people

    Gaza: a war without end?


    Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

    Presented by Charles Clover. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    28 mins
  • Our shrinking and ageing world
    Jul 24 2025

    Humans have never been healthier or better fed. We’re living longer, but having fewer children - and many countries’ populations are now shrinking. Gideon discusses these trends with demographer Nicholas Eberstadt. Have smartphones played a role in our declining fertility? How will we look after our elderly people? Is migration the answer? Clip: CBC


    Free links to read more on this topic:

    The fight to revive Europe’s shrinking rural areas

    Population undercounting threatens public policy, scientists warn

    Japan urged to use gloomier population forecasts after plunge in births

    The unspoken truth about the baby bust

    Brain ageing is the best predictor of longevity, scientists find


    Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

    Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.


    Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    28 mins
  • The war in Gaza - what do Israelis want?
    Jul 17 2025

    Israel’s military victories have brought little comfort to Israelis who are focused on the fate of those hostages still in Gaza. Sasha Polakow-Suransky, FT executive opinion editor, talks with Dahlia Scheindlin, Israeli pollster and author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise Unfulfilled about what Israelis want. Why has widespread opposition to many of the Netanyahu government’s policies so far failed to translate into political change? And why do Israelis seem unable to sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians who are also caught up in the conflict? Clips: Reuters; France 24


    Free links to read more on this topic:

    Israel strikes Syrian military headquarters in Damascus

    Benjamin Netanyahu’s government teeters as ultra-Orthodox party quits coalition

    EU weighs sanctions on Israel as concerns mount over Gaza aid deal

    Inside Gaza’s ‘death traps’

    Israel’s quiet war in the West Bank


    Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

    Presented by Sasha Polakow-Suransky. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    29 mins
  • Putin steps up summer offensive against Ukraine
    Jul 10 2025

    Russia’s attacks on Ukraine are escalating, both on the front lines and across urban centres. Ben Hall, the FT’s Europe editor, talks to military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady about Ukraine’s battle to hold onto territory until a ceasefire can be agreed. Clips: Channel 4; ABC


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    Russia attacks Ukraine’s draft offices

    Russia hits Ukraine with biggest air attack of the war

    Nato’s summit cannot disguise Ukraine’s plight

    Kyiv’s sleepless nights under fire


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    Presented by Ben Hall. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    19 mins
  • Is the US heading for a debt crisis?
    Jul 3 2025

    Gideon talks to Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund and author of a new book: How Countries Go Broke. They discuss the size of the US debt and what history tells us about identifying warning signs. Clip: CBS


    Free links to read more on this topic:

    Is Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ a political curse for Republicans?

    Fears over US debt load and inflation ignite exodus from long-term bonds

    Donald Trump’s big, beautiful act of self-harm

    The fall in the dollar is not scary


    Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

    Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

    Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    24 mins