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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

One of the most important groups of advisers around Donald Trump are the 'restrainers'. They want to radically reduce America’s commitments to global security alliances. Gideon talks to Dan Caldwell, a leading restrainer and military veteran who believes the Iraq war was a 'monstrous crime'. Clip: Face the Nation

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Foreign Affairs article: Trump Must Not Betray “America First”

The tragedy of Iraq, 20 years on

Nato chief warns Donald Trump of ‘dire threat’ to US if Ukraine pushed into bad peace deal

The west should not succumb to cynical regret over Syria

Trump swoops into Paris as Europe prepares for a more transactional relationship

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Will Trump pull America back from the world?

Gideon talks to FT Middle East correspondent Raya Jalabi about what she found when she drove from Beirut into Damascus shortly after the toppling of President Assad. What signs are there that the rebel group HTS will be able to manage a peaceful transition of power and end the country’s civil war? Clip: AFP

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Netanyahu and Erdoğan compete to be the Middle East’s strongman

Assad dispatched $250mn of Syria’s cash to Moscow

Now Syria can dream of a future again

Justice for the victims of Assad’s atrocities in Syria

How the Assad family built an empire of fear in Syria

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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.

Fear and euphoria in Damascus

Gideon hosts an end-of-year discussion with Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and Karin von Hippel of the Royal United Services Institute. They discuss what we can expect from the incoming Trump presidency, the prospects for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and China’s strengthening ties with Russia. Clip: Fox 13 News

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FT Person of the Year: Donald Trump

Putin says Trump’s Ukraine proposals merit attention

Xi Jinping prioritises consumers over chips as concerns over growth mount

AI admin tools pose a threat to national security

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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.

What to expect in 2025

Gideon talks to the FT's Christian Davies about President Yoon’s thwarted attempt to impose martial law in South Korea. What lies behind the shock move, and what does it tell us about the underlying problems of a country better known for the global success of its entertainment industries? Clip: Washington Post

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South Korea crisis mounts as clock ticks on arrest warrant for president

The resilience of South Korea’s democracy remains in doubt

South Korea’s tumult is a symptom of China-US strife

A hostage situation’: South Korea paralysed in fight against Trump tariffs

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Simon Panayi.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Korea’s real-life political drama

Gideon talks to Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of Canada’s Liberal party, about how the country will deal with its newly-hostile southern neighbour when it is undergoing a change of leadership at home. They discuss Donald Trump’s threat to raise punitive tariffs on Canadian imports and how to respond to his suggestion that Canada should become the US’s 51st state. Clip: Global News

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Canada warns of ‘tit-for-tat’ tariffs on US if Trump imposes levies

Pierre Poilievre moves closer to realising his populist vision for Canada

Praised abroad, troubled at home: Canada’s political ‘prince’ bows out

Mark Carney considers run to replace Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau

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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.

Does the Trump administration pose an existential threat to Canada?

As Donald Trump begins his second term as US president, and Russia presses forward in Ukraine, Gideon Rachman speaks to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb about Europe’s place in the world. They also discuss the risk of strategic irrelevance in Europe, the rise of the far right, Finland’s position in Nato – and whether other European countries need to be a bit more like Finland. Clip: Reuters

Follow Gideon on X @gideonrachman or Bluesky @gideonrachman.bsky.social.

Gideon Rachman is the chief foreign affairs commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column here. 

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‘Will President Trump even notice Europe?’ asks Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

Davos agenda turns to dealmaking as Trump takes office 

Trump and the contest between two visions of democracy

Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Lulu Smyth, Manuela Saragosa and 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.

Finland's president on Europe in a Trumpian world

Gideon talks to Muhammad Yunus, interim leader of Bangladesh, who was invited by students to take charge after their revolution last July. He describes the alleged corruption that took hold when Sheikh Hasina was in office and his vision for a better future for the country. Clip: AP

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Bangladesh hires Big Four audit firms to review ‘robbed’ banks

Tycoon threatens international legal action against Bangladesh over ‘destroyed’ investments

Bangladesh’s unlikely revolutionaries: an 84-year-old and some students

Bangladesh requests UK minister’s bank account details in corruption probe

Bangladesh central banker accuses tycoons of ‘robbing banks’ of $17bn with spy agency help

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.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bangladesh students win a chance for change

Gideon talks to Andrew England, the FT's Middle East editor, about the US president's 'crazy' plan for a takeover of the Gaza Strip. And he talks to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid about the prospects for his country as it finally returns to peace and stability.

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Middle East and Europe condemn Donald Trump’s plans to take over Gaza

Donald Trump’s Gaza plan resurrects grandiose Middle East playbook

The deceptively negotiable Donald Trump

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.

Follow Gideon on X @gideonrachman

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump sets his sights on Gaza property deal

Gideon talks to Daniel Drezner, a professor of international politics at Tufts University in the US, about why it’s no longer possible to trust America and what the rest of the world can expect from the Trump presidency. Clip: CBC

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Tariffs won’t bring back America’s unipolar moment

'Cost and chaos’: Donald Trump’s metal tariffs sweep across corporate America

Trump is giving a green light to corporate corruption abroad

Trump is forcing Europe to a reckoning on Ukraine

Trump, Putin, Xi and the new age of empire

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.

Follow Gideon on X @gideonrachman

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US systems unravel under Trump

Gideon dissects US vice-president JD Vance’s incendiary speech at the Munich Security Conference with German businessman Mathias Döpfner. They discuss the state of the transatlantic relationship and how Donald Trump’s actions towards Russia and Ukraine could mark a turning point. They are then joined by FT colleague Laura Pitel to talk about Döpfner’s media empire Axel Springer and the cancellation of federal government subscriptions to the Politico Pro news service. Clip: The White House

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Donald Trump calls Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’ as US rift with Ukraine deepens

Vance’s real warning to Europe

How Europe can defend itself without US help

Europe’s dependence on US tech is a critical weakness

Donald Trump opens the door to Vladimir Putin’s grandest ambitions

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.

Follow Gideon on X @gideonrachman

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mathias Döpfner: Transatlantic alliance in danger

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/3GKlW00

US and Ukraine sign natural resources deal https://on.ft.com/4iRd4mY

Steve Witkoff, the Trump loyalist disrupting diplomacy https://on.ft.com/3EKE89q

Subscribe 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.

Are we any closer to peace in Ukraine?

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