- 31 minutes 14 secondsThe backlash against AI
Gideon talks to Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine, a book about the career of Demis Hassabis and his AI company, Google DeepMind. They discuss the growing backlash against AI, why people are worried, and what governments can do to mitigate the risks of the coming technological revolution. Clip: WSJ
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OpenAI’s foundation to spend $250mn on research into AI’s impact on economy
Pope’s appeal can’t change the AI race’s risky logic
AI guardrails stripped from Meta and Google models in minutes
How AI threatens the giants of consulting
AI companies are just companies
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.
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28 May 2026, 4:00 am - 27 minutes 6 secondsMitsotakis on Hormuz, Iran and how to escape a debt trap
Gideon talks to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on Greece as a leading shipping nation. They discuss Greece’s recovery from the financial crisis of 2015, how to achieve European strategic autonomy and the best way to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Clip: France 24
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Three supertankers attempt Strait of Hormuz crossing
America owes its European allies a defence roadmap
Protests spread in Africa as fuel crisis deepens
UAE says drone strike caused fire at nuclear plant
Tipping point looms for global energy crisis
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.
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21 May 2026, 4:00 am - 31 minutes 44 secondsTrump returns to Beijing: what’s at stake
Gideon Rachman speaks to James Crabtree, former head of the Asia programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and author of The Perimeter, about Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, his first in a decade. What do Washington and Beijing hope to gain, and what does the trip reveal about the evolving balance of power between the world’s two leading superpowers?
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Donald Trump’s plan to discuss Taiwan arms sales with Xi Jinping rattles Asian allies
Trump is up against China’s great wall of confidence
Trump’s war has given China an economic opening
Trump, Xi and the bid for a ‘grand bargain’ between superpowers
Trump prepares to press Xi on Iran war
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Nisha Patel. Sound design is by Breen
Turner
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14 May 2026, 4:00 am - 28 minutes 54 secondsLloyd Austin on Ukraine, Iran and the lessons of war
Gideon talks to Lloyd Austin, who served as US defence secretary under the Biden administration, about the need to adapt to new forms of warfare, accusations that he presided over a ‘woke military’ and how he headed off a nuclear threat from Russia in the early days of the Ukraine conflict. Clip: AP
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US pauses ‘Project Freedom’ as Trump seeks way out of Hormuz impasse
US warns Europe of delays to arms shipments as Iran war drains stockpiles
Pentagon to pull 5,000 soldiers out of Germany in dispute over Iran war
Donald Trump’s Iran war has cost $25bn, Pentagon says
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.
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7 May 2026, 4:00 am - 27 minutes 1 secondUkraine’s ‘existential’ battle with Russia
Gideon talks to Dmytro Kuleba, former Ukrainian foreign minister, about the current state of Russia’s war against Ukraine. What would it take to break the stalemate and how has the conflict been impacted by the US-Israeli attack on Iran? Clips: DW; Reuters
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Vladimir Putin pares back Victory Day parade over fear of Ukrainian strikes
US ambassador to Ukraine to leave over differences with Donald Trump
Ukraine’s drone pilots hit Russian targets from 500km away
Toxic rain falls on Russian city after refinery blaze
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.
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30 April 2026, 4:00 am - 1 minute 17 secondsIntroducing: The Story of Money
Those who do not study history may be destined to repeat it . . . and lose money. The Story of Money is a new podcast from The Financial Times exploring the past to see where the next opportunities — and disasters — may lie. Hosted by FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth, The Story of Money explores the history of global finance through the people, ideas, events, and institutions that have shaped it. From unregulated frontier banking experiments in 19th-century America to institutionalised debt forgiveness in ancient Mesopotamia, The Story of Money traces how financial systems evolve — and why familiar patterns often repeat — offering context for everything from market cycles to emerging AI trends.
Watch episode 1: They are history’s geniuses. But were they any good at investing?
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29 April 2026, 4:00 am - 30 minutes 55 secondsTrump finds it’s easier to start a war than to end one
Gideon discusses why the Iran conflict is proving so difficult to end with Michael Singh and Dana Stroul of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. What are the options on the table for both sides and can America’s allies play a useful role? Clip: New York Post
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The Iran crisis has not yet peaked
Iranian tankers bypass US blockade
Macron and Starmer to hold summit on plan to secure Strait of Hormuz
Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights to save fuel as prices soar
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.
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22 April 2026, 4:00 am - 27 minutes 26 secondsIran war: What does Tehran want and will it get it?
Gideon discusses possible negotiated solutions to the Iran war with Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution. What do Tehran's leaders want and how long can they hold out for a winning settlement that will ease the country’s economic pain? What are the stakes for Trump and the global economy? And what role, if any, can Gulf countries play in curbing the regime’s power to blight progress in the region? Clip: Fox News
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Iran is America’s Suez crisis — and just as ridiculous
Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases
Iran faces halt to oil production within weeks if US blockade succeeds
Life inside Iran’s internet blackout
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity.
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16 April 2026, 4:00 am - 32 minutes 55 secondsIs it possible to negotiate with Iran?
What is it like to negotiate with Iran and what are the key issues that need to be resolved if the war is to end? Has the war permanently reshaped the relationship between the US and Europe? Gideon talks to Baroness Catherine Ashton, who was the EU’s high representative for foreign policy from 2009 until 2014 and played a leading role in negotiations with Iran.
More on this topic:
Armageddon is off . . . for now
US and Iran agree 2-week ceasefire that will open Strait of Hormuz
Has Trump officially united Europe
Trump’s threats to pull out of Nato leave alliance exposed
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Nisha Patel. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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8 April 2026, 3:47 pm - 28 minutes 16 secondsTrump says the Iran war may be ending soon: mission accomplished?
Donald Trump has said the US military action against Iran may be coming to an end. If so, what would it have achieved and where does this leave the key question of safe passage for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz? Gideon discusses the consequences of the war for the US and its allies with Philip Gordon of the Brookings Institution. Clip: NBC News
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Trump threatened to stop weapons for Ukraine unless Europe joined Hormuz coalition
Shutting Hormuz is a template for China in Taiwan
Iran could emerge from the war stronger and more dangerous
UK to host coalition talks on securing Strait of Hormuz
One battle after another: Netanyahu’s new security doctrine
Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity.
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2 April 2026, 4:00 am - 30 minutes 2 secondsHungary’s pivotal election
Viktor Orbán has been a thorn in the side of the EU and a favourite of Donald Trump. But his party is now behind in the polls ahead of next month’s Hungarian elections. So could this mark the end of the Orbán era? Gideon discusses this with Zsuzsanna Végh, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund. They also discuss Orbán's close relationship with Russia and hostility to Ukraine. Clip: APT
Free links to read more on this topic:
ECB warns Hungary’s seizure of Ukraine cash risks euro credibility
Hungarian opposition groups quit to make way for Orbán challenger
Kremlin backs covert campaign to keep Viktor Orbán in power
The riches of Viktor Orbán’s home village
How Viktor Orbán’s oligarchs reaped billions in public contracts
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity.
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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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