The longheld US position to defend Taiwan’s independent status in the face of Chinese aggression is looking shaky under the Trump administration, in spite of Taiwanese efforts to court the American president. This week, Gideon talks to analyst and author James Crabtree - former director of the Asia office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies - about why the US now seems more interested in doing a deal with China than showing support for Taiwan. They also discuss the broader implications that this, and other issues, might have for US alliances across the Indo-Pacific region, including relations with South Korea, Japan, Australia and India.Clips: Amazon PrimeFollow Gideon on Bluesky @gideonrachman.bsky.social or X @gideonrachmanMore on this topic:Taiwan raises defence spending by 23% under US pressure to counter China threatDonald Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te from New York stopoverUS cancelled military talks with TaiwanTrump is the gift that keeps giving to ChinaThe geopolitics of chips: Taiwan’s ‘Silicon Shield’Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. Sound design is by Breen Turner. 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.
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 NewsFree links to read more on this topic:Ukraine talks expose Trump’s dreadful attention to detailDonald Trump says US could play role ‘by air’ in Ukraine security guaranteeDonald Trump says US to ‘co-ordinate’ Ukraine’s security with Europe‘Stab in the back’: Kyiv reels as Trump embraces Putin’s termsSubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 linkFree links to read more on this topic:Donald Trump tariffs threaten Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ driveHow Pakistan wooed Trump — and rattled IndiaNarendra Modi tells Indian farmers he will ‘never compromise’ in face of 50% US tariffsIndia’s Russian oil conundrum: yield to Donald Trump or face tariff backlashPresented 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.
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 AmericaFree links to read more on this topic:A new cold war with China won’t help the USThe World of the Cold War — timely reading in an age of US, Russia and China tensionsThe last grand strategists: what Brzezinski and Kissinger could teach TrumpKing of Kings — the 1979 revolution that changed Iran and the worldSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 NewsFree links to read more on this topic:Has Gaza tested the limits of Donald Trump’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu?UK to recognise Palestinian state unless Israel ends Gaza crisisIsrael’s quiet war in the West BankThe world is failing the Palestinian peopleGaza: 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.
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: CBCFree links to read more on this topic:The fight to revive Europe’s shrinking rural areasPopulation undercounting threatens public policy, scientists warnJapan urged to use gloomier population forecasts after plunge in birthsThe unspoken truth about the baby bustBrain ageing is the best predictor of longevity, scientists findSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 24Free links to read more on this topic:Israel strikes Syrian military headquarters in DamascusBenjamin Netanyahu’s government teeters as ultra-Orthodox party quits coalitionEU weighs sanctions on Israel as concerns mount over Gaza aid dealInside Gaza’s ‘death traps’Israel’s quiet war in the West BankSubscribe 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.
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; ABCFree links to read more on this topic:Russia attacks Ukraine’s draft officesRussia hits Ukraine with biggest air attack of the warNato’s summit cannot disguise Ukraine’s plightKyiv’s sleepless nights under fireSubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.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.
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: CBSFree 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 bondsDonald Trump’s big, beautiful act of self-harmThe fall in the dollar is not scarySubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 Free links to read more on this topic:Best summer books of 2025: PoliticsHow Donald Trump brokered a shaky Israel-Iran ceasefireGulf expat bubble punctured by missilesWhere is Iran’s uranium? Search continues for 400kg stockpileIran’s supreme leader faces his defining momentSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 IndependentFree links to read more on this topic:War on Iran is splitting Trump’s Maga movementCan 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 TehranSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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, AljazeeraFree links to read more on this topic:Europe, the US and the question of valuesEurope confronts Trump’s triple threat on Ukraine, Nato and tradeEurope has a weaker hand than it thinks on UkraineNato defence ministers to discuss path to 5% military spendingSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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: CGTNFree 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 strategyChinese defence minister set to skip security forum in SingaporeChina’s Xi Jinping likens ‘US hegemony’ to ‘fascist forces’ ahead of Vladimir Putin summitXi and Putin are the greatest beneficiaries of Trump’s chaosSubscribe 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, @gideonrachmanRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a special six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the economic events reshaping the world in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s election. Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes will also be available on the FT’s YouTube channel.If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com Read Martin’s FT column hereSubscribe to Paul’s substack here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
President Biden’s time in office was a momentous period in world affairs and American foreign policy. The Taliban returned to rule Afghanistan, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Hamas attacked Israel all on the watch of National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.Gideon talks to Sullivan about the Biden legacy and hears how and why events unfolded and what the Trump administration is doing now. Clips: BBC, CBS, Sky News, The Guardian, Radio Free Europe, CGTNFollow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachmanMore on this topic:Europe needs to keep up the pressure on NetanyahuPutin thinks that time is on his sideFormer national security adviser Jake Sullivan: ‘The core engines of American power are hummingSubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. 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 EU is in Donald Trump’s cross hairs. So how should it respond? In this week’s episode, Paschal Donohoe, Ireland’s finance minister and president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, discusses whether the euro can challenge the dollar. He tells Gideon that European integration should go even further - and makes the case for immigration and a new relationship between the EU and the UK. Clips: Euronews,PBS NewshourFollow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachmanMore on this topic:Why the EU beats Trump at the art of the dealHow the UK and EU thrashed out a post-Brexit reset in relationsDonald Trump says US will ‘100%’ strike trade deal with EUEuro has ‘clear path’ towards greater reserve currency use, says Eurogroup presidentSubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. 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.
After a short but intense clash, a ceasefire is holding between India and Pakistan, but tensions remain high. Both sides claim victory, but the rapid escalation in the conflict bodes ill for future diplomacy between the two countries. Gideon talks to Professor Sushant Singh, lecturer in south Asian Studies at Yale University, about the conflict and what’s at stake if tensions escalate again. Clips: Times of India, Fox NewsFollow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachmanMore on this topic:How India and Pakistan pulled back from brink of warIndia and Pakistan’s fragile ceasefire holds after alleged breachesNarendra Modi says India has proved ‘superiority’ over Pakistan in clashesIndia and Pakistan: a conflict in the hands of two religious strongmenMilitary briefing: India and Pakistan test red lines of nuclear rivalrySubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. 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.
Donald Trump continues to issue a blizzard of controversial statements and executive orders. His political opponents often seem confused, even stunned. So how should the Democratic party take on the US president? Gideon talks to Senator Andy Kim, a new Democrat from New Jersey, on the merits of different approaches to opposition and what is needed to win back voters.Clips: KTVU FoxThis is Gavin NewsomFollow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachmanMore on this topic:Take no comfort from America’s Trump backlash‘Nadir for the party’: US Democrats edge towards civil warLessons from Russia, Turkey and India for Trump’s AmericaTraders made $100mn from buying Melania Trump memecoin before launchTrump’s assault on the rule of law: ‘the speed and intent is remarkable’Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Flo Phillips and the sound design is by Breen Turner.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
US efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine have so far not yielded anything close to a peace deal. Both Russia and Ukraine have objected to some aspects of the Trump administration’s plan. What – if anything – might make a lasting peace possible? Gideon Rachman speaks to Sir Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London, about what each party wants from a peace deal.Free links to read more on this topic:Podcast: Future weapons: Ukraine’s army of drone: https://on.ft.com/3GKlW00US and Ukraine sign natural resources deal https://on.ft.com/4iRd4mYSteve Witkoff, the Trump loyalist disrupting diplomacy https://on.ft.com/3EKE89qSubscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe. Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Sound design is by Breen Turner.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gideon talks to the FT’s Michael Stott about Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, whose friendship with Donald Trump has been in the spotlight over his willingness to imprison US deportees, notably Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Clip: The White HouseFollow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachmanFree links to read more on this topic:Nayib Bukele: the TikTok authoritarian feted across Latin AmericaEl Salvador’s Bukele refuses to repatriate man wrongly deported from USHow El Salvador became a model for the global far rightTrump is halfway to making America a police stateEl Salvador offers to swap Venezuelan US deportees for political prisonersSubscribe 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.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mermadone
This woman is exactly what is wrong with leftist thinking. She makes no mention of the 100k people killed by Nassarall, nor does she begin to state how Iran is not just culpable but fragrantly at fault for the terrorism in Gaza and Lebanon
Miki Sivan
Such a poor podcast. Receiving vague answers or avoiding answers, and Rachman is just moving on with the next question.
Mermadone
Europe needs to stop giving all their money to social entitlements and start building their militaries back. It's not up the US to bail out Europe everytime they can't get their act together. We're tired of paying for you. We don't want to be the policeman on the world. Do your part, and pay what you owe into NATO, or we're OUT!!!
Mermadone
2) China's navy are all small vessels. So don't go thinking their ships can do anything substantial. Their air craft carrier can only go 1000 nautical miles.
Mermadone
what??? America is bad at helping other countries build THEIR infostructure???!!! Maybe if the USA wasn't paying to protect all of Europe so they can have their socialist medical care and they paid for their own military, then maybe the US could pay to help out others