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Financial Times

Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist talks to the decision-makers and thinkers who are shaping world affairs.
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The Rachman Review

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

Free links to read more on this topic:

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

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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

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The cold war guru whose warnings on Russia still stand

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?

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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

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Can Israel translate power into peace?

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

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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.

Our shrinking and ageing world

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

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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.

The war in Gaza - what do Israelis want?

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.

Putin steps up summer offensive against Ukraine

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

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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.

Is the US heading for a debt crisis?

Gideon discusses whether the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran can hold with Vali Nasr, Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Can anyone claim victory from the war? Where does this leave the battered regime in Tehran and its nuclear ambitions? And what will the US need to do to ensure that intense fighting doesn’t break out again? Clips: Channel 4 News; BBC

 

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Best summer books of 2025: Politics

How Donald Trump brokered a shaky Israel-Iran ceasefire

Gulf expat bubble punctured by missiles

Where is Iran’s uranium? Search continues for 400kg stockpile

Iran’s supreme leader faces his defining moment

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 Simon Panayi 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.

Too soon to celebrate peace between Iran and Israel?

Israel has launched an aerial bombardment of Iran, with the aim, it says, of ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Gideon talks to Philip Gordon, who was national security adviser to former US vice-president Kamala Harris, about how realistic Israel’s aims are, Iran’s capacity to fight back, and whether the US is about to be drawn into another conflict in the Middle East. Clips: Channel 4 News, The Independent﻿

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War on Iran is splitting Trump’s Maga movement

Can an American bunker-buster destroy Iran’s nuclear mountain?

Could strikes on Iran cause a nuclear disaster?

Let them kill us’: millions of Iranians refuse to leave Tehran

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.

Israel goes to war with Iran

Gideon talks to Oana Lungescu, Nato's former and longest-serving spokesperson, about what to expect from this month’s summit and what's at stake? Can Europe convince the Trump administration that Russia is a risk they need to take seriously, and will an agreement to increase defence spending be enough to satisfy the US president? Clips: Sky; Channel 4, Aljazeera

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Europe, the US and the question of values

Europe confronts Trump’s triple threat on Ukraine, Nato and trade

Europe has a weaker hand than it thinks on Ukraine

Nato defence ministers to discuss path to 5% military spending

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 Simon Panayi 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.

Nato’s moment of truth

Gideon Rachman and China historian Rana Mitter discuss the evolution of Xi Jinping from internal exile, to party apparatchik, to strongman leader. What motivates Xi and what’s behind his friendship with the Russian leader? This episode is an edited recording of an event organised by Intelligence Squared that took place in central London late last month. Clip: CGTN

Free links to read more on this topic:

Donald Trump says China’s Xi Jinping is ‘hard to make a deal with’

Xi’s history shapes China’s diplomatic strategy

Chinese defence minister set to skip security forum in Singapore

China’s Xi Jinping likens ‘US hegemony’ to ‘fascist forces’ ahead of Vladimir Putin summit

Xi and Putin are the greatest beneficiaries of Trump’s chaos

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.

Our shrinking and ageing world

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