The Rachman Review

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, @gideonrachman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 breaches​​Narendra 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

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