The Rachman Review
Financial Times
Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist, takes you with him on his travels, as he meets the decision-makers and thinkers who are shaping world affairs
- 33 minutes 8 secondsIran war risks turning into a battle of endurance
Gideon discusses the US and Israeli war against Iran with Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. What are the war aims, can they be achieved and where does this leave the future of the region and its relations with Israel? Clips: CBS; CNN
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Gulf insurance costs soar 12-fold despite Trump guarantee
Trump has no realistic plan for Iran’s future
Military briefing: how Iran could wage a new ‘tanker war’
The cynical opportunities of ‘Epic Fury’
The influencers leaping to Dubai’s defence
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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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5 March 2026, 5:00 am - 24 minutes 57 secondsBoris Johnson: Pressure on Putin is the price of peace
Gideon discusses the state of peace talks on Ukraine with Boris Johnson at a conference organised by the Yalta European Strategy group in Kyiv. The former UK prime minister offers his view of what needs to be done to bring an end to the conflict: put more pressure on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Otherwise, we are “setting a course for years more of conflict”. Clip: BBC
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy says war in Ukraine at ‘beginning of the end’
European leaders express solidarity with Ukraine as US hangs back
Ukraine’s economy shows grit amid lasting war damage
Europe re-arms as US slows defence spending
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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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26 February 2026, 5:00 am - 25 minutes 21 secondsChrystia Freeland on how to negotiate with autocrats — and allies
Gideon talks to Chrystia Freeland, former deputy prime minister of Canada, about different approaches to negotiating with the Trump administration. They also discuss the current state of the war in Ukraine, her new role as adviser to President Zelenskyy and how to pressure Russia into ending the conflict. Clip: US Department of State
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Why Rubio failed to repair the transatlantic rift
Carney’s new global order needs a huge shift in political will
Russia-Ukraine talks yield ‘some progress’ on ceasefire, says Zelenskyy
Europe’s path to security without the US
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.
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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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19 February 2026, 5:00 am - 23 minutes 1 secondTrump's predatory foreign policy
Gideon talks to American political scientist Stephen Walt about the phrase ‘predatory hegemon’ that he coined to describe the US administration under Donald Trump. What are the risks and benefits of this policy for the American people, and for those who formerly considered themselves staunch allies? Clip: The White House
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A post-Trump restoration is still possible
Trump and the normalisation of deviance
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.
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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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12 February 2026, 5:00 am - 27 minutes 13 secondsCan diplomacy avert a US-Iran war?
Andrew England, the FT’s Middle East editor, speaks to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, about Iran’s escalating crisis. Can diplomacy prevent a war between the Trump administration and Tehran? What are the prospects for reform of the increasingly unpopular Islamic regime in Iran? Clips: Channel 4 News; CBS
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US and Iran set to meet in Oman as Middle East tensions spiral
‘The game is over’: critics of Iranian regime seize on killings to push for change
Iran’s people stand to lose whether or not talks succeed
Arab and Muslim powers mount last-ditch effort to avert US-Iran conflict
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Presented by Andrew England. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.
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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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5 February 2026, 5:00 am - 20 minutes 38 secondsBill Gates: AI, aid cuts and the fear of speaking out
Bill Gates tells Gideon that a climate of fear has taken hold in the US business community under the Trump administration: “People are afraid to speak out about being afraid to speak out.” He discusses falling aid budgets, why philanthropy cannot replace government funding, and an ambitious new collaboration with OpenAI to improve access to healthcare in Africa. Gates also reflects on the more destabilising uses of artificial intelligence and his past association with the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Clips: NBC4, Bill Gates
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Bill Gates and OpenAI back $50mn AI rollout in African health clinics
Tech titans lined up for Trump’s second inauguration. Now they’re even richer
Bill Gates and Sergey Brin among newly released Epstein photos
Bill Gates warns aid cuts risk big increase in child deaths
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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
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29 January 2026, 5:00 am - 15 minutes 21 secondsMark Carney on a world in rupture — and what comes next
Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, received a standing ovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos after warning that the global order has entered a period of “rupture”. In a post-speech interview with Gideon, Carney reflects on how globalisation went wrong — and on what can still be salvaged through deeper co-operation among countries and institutions that share common values. Interview and clips courtesy of the World Economic Forum
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Mark Carney warns of ‘rupture’ to global order as Donald Trump rattles allies
Donald Trump’s ‘wrecking ball’ set to touch down in Davos
Republicans begin to push back against Donald Trump’s pursuit of Greenland
America’s barbarians inside the gates
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Breen Turner and 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
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21 January 2026, 2:13 pm - 28 minutes 8 secondsAlexander Stubb on Greenland: the good, the bad or the ugly?
Gideon speaks to Finland’s president about how to resolve the stand-off between Europe and the US over Greenland. Alexander Stubb describes the dispute as the "most difficult issue he has faced since taking office", arguing that discreet “back office” diplomacy, rather than public grandstanding, is the best way forward. He also touches on Ukraine, applauding the transatlantic alliance’s achievements so far but cautioning that the Greenland row is beginning to sap momentum from efforts to advance peace talks.. Clips: DWS; BBC
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Greenland is ground zero for Arctic ‘Great Game’
How the Greenland deployment of a few European troops enraged Donald Trump
Trump’s Arctic ambitions torch the most important US asset
Russia knocks out power, heating and water to Ukraine’s freezing capital
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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
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20 January 2026, 1:52 pm - 26 minutes 16 secondsSudan: inside the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
Famine, mass killings and the collapse of basic government services have pushed Sudan into what the UN now calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. As regional powers across the Middle East fuel the conflict by backing rival factions, civilians have largely been left to fend for themselves. Gideon speaks to Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair and Sudan expert Alex de Waal to understand how the country reached this point — and where the country and its people go from here. Clips: Sky News; Africa News
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There is already an answer to securing Sudan’s future
US rebukes backers of Sudanese paramilitary force behind ‘horrific’ atrocities
The human cost of a world without rules
How the UAE-Saudi Arabia alliance ruptured
Israel’s Horn of Africa gamble raises tension with Arab and Muslim rivals
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. 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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15 January 2026, 5:00 am - 23 minutes 53 seconds‘Regime roulette’ in Venezuela: Is Greenland next?
Now that the Trump administration has fully embraced the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ - a policy claiming the western hemisphere as a US sphere of influence - which country will be next in the line of fire? Gideon discusses this with Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group consultancy, which has just published its top risk report for 2026.
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Venezuela and the trouble with the Donroe doctrine
Greenland’s future must be decided by island and Denmark, Starmer warns Trump
Donald Trump’s imperial Venezuela folly will leave America no richer
The gangs, goons and guerrillas running swaths of Venezuela
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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Simon Panayi and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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8 January 2026, 11:13 am - 30 minutes 56 seconds2025: a year of chaos and confusion
Gideon and guests look back at 2025 as well as forward to the year ahead in an FT Live discussion for the Global Boardroom. Donald Trump set the tone of world politics this year from his tariff wars to his efforts to make peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, while also bombing Iran and threatening Venezuela. In a bid to make sense of the contradictions, Gideon is joined by Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Dan Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher school at Tufts university in Boston, and James Crabtree, author of an acclaimed book on Modi's India and a forthcoming book on US-China tensions in the Pacific. Clip: PBS
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When business and democracy don’t mix
Open source could pop the AI bubble — and soon
China is making trade impossible
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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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