Russia has confirmed what western powers had long predicted and invaded Ukraine. On the eve of war, Gideon spoke to Sabine Fischer of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a Russian specialist recently back from Moscow, and to Polina Ivanova, FT correspondent in Kyiv, about the mood in the two capitals. Clips: RT, The White House Want to read more? EU hits Putin’s defence minister and chief of staff with sanctions Putin’s denial of Ukrainian statehood carries dark historic...
Feb 24, 2022•21 min
After a week of frenetic diplomacy, the Ukraine crisis has yet to be resolved. But it has had a significant impact on reshaping western alliances. Gideon talks to Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, about the impact of the Russian threat on US ties with Europe, and on Nato and the EU. Clips: The White House, Sky News Want to read more? Poland prepares for possible influx of refugees fleeing Ukraine Top finance watchdog urges west to ‘think twice’ abo...
Feb 17, 2022•22 min
Governments and militias around the world, from Ukraine to Ethiopia, have a new and powerful weapon at their disposal: armed drones. Gideon talks to Ulrike Franke of the European Council on Foreign Relations about how this is changing the balance of power and causing growing concern about civilian casualties. Clips: WSJ, CBS,Sky News Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 10, 2022•22 min
Gideon talks to Hungary’s opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay about his chances of overcoming the powerful political machine created by Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party in April's elections. Clips: Fox News, Reuters Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 03, 2022•20 min
Russia’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine has set off alarm bells and led to a flurry of transatlantic diplomacy. Gideon talks to Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, about what President Vladimir Putin is seeking to achieve, and whether he can realise these goals without launching an attack on Ukraine. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 27, 2022•22 min
Diplomacy has so far failed to defuse the crisis in Ukraine and many fear that war is imminent. Gideon discusses the remaining diplomatic possibilities and, if they fail, what a war might look like, with Samuel Charap, a political scientist at the Rand Corporation think-tank in Washington. Clips: Sky News, CBS News Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 20, 2022•21 min
Gideon talks to David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, about the organisation’s 2022 watchlist, which reveals that people in 20 countries, representing 10 per cent of the world’s population, are at risk or in dire need of humanitarian aid, and the situation is getting worse. What has gone wrong and are there any solutions? Clips: DW, Live Aid, Reuters IRC’s 2022 Emergency Watchlist David Miliband’s speech to the Council on Foreign Relations Read a transcript of this epi...
Jan 13, 2022•24 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/c2a23023-df6b-49ed-af06-149bb0b35237 Three years of demonstrations have proved the Sudanese people’s strong desire for democratic change after decades of military rule. But this week the latest attempt to secure a peaceful transition foundered with the resignation of Abdalla Hamdok, interim prime minister. Gideon Rachman discusses what happens next with London-based journalist Yousra Elbagir and Muzan Alneel, a writer based i...
Jan 06, 2022•24 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/03234d8d-0548-4e84-b7c9-5ed87b2b7a57 For the last podcast of 2021 and to review the year, Gideon Rachman is joined by his FT colleagues Martin Wolf and Gillian Tett. We’re coming to the end of a tumultuous year, which began with the unprecedented storming of the US capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. And which ends with a pandemic still raging, inflation on the rise and Vladimir Putin threatening to invade Ukraine. Audio: ...
Dec 23, 2021•30 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/ce91ffd7-0549-4187-8dda-61b20548d2c8 Gideon talks to Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the ways in which global powers try to exert influence over others in an interconnected world. Mark Leonard is author of The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict. Clips: Reuters, BBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 16, 2021•26 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/402578f3-6ad6-45f8-8340-cb1e809fe95b In this special interview, Sir Jeremy Fleming, head of the UK signals intelligence agency GCHQ, talks to FT editor Roula Khalaf and FT correspondent Helen Warrell about cyber threats from China and other state actors, the global competition for data and the "Snowden effect" on spy agencies. Clips: IISS, NBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 11, 2021•27 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/34bb8aee-612e-4b2e-ab59-0d11518e1d82 Gideon talks to Kadri Liik, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about Russia’s military build-up on the Ukraine border and about how policymakers in Nato and the EU are responding. Clips: Nato News; VOA; BBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 02, 2021•23 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/c40abc3c-5a4b-4ebe-9f24-82241f2939f5 Gideon talks to former White House official Evan Medeiros about the recent summit between the US and Chinese presidents. Was the relative cordiality of the meeting a sign of reconciliation or are the two powers heading towards a military confrontation? Clips: The White House, Deutsche Welle Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 25, 2021•24 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/f1dbd73c-381c-475b-8b22-fa07abd6d92f Gideon talks to Simon Mundy, author of Race For Tomorrow , about how he would assess global efforts to tackle climate change in the wake of this month’s gathering of world leaders in Glasgow. Clips: Bloomberg; NBC; ABC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 18, 2021•25 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/e66fa8b7-7b92-4497-8585-cf43e8cd41fc Poland’s judicial reforms have put it on a collision course with the EU over human rights and the rule of law. Can the bloc adapt to accommodate its more awkward members or should it take a hard line? Gideon discusses the problem with Catherine De Vries, a professor of political science who specialises in the EU and is based at Bocconi University in Milan. Clips: BBC, Euronews. European Co...
Nov 11, 2021•22 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/07579093-643e-4300-87c3-3b3e6b36526b Gideon talks to Leslie Hook, the FT’s environment correspondent, about what to expect from the UN climate change conference in Glasgow. Will determination to give teeth to the Paris accord survive the global energy crisis? Clips: UN; ITV News; Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 04, 2021•18 min
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/7dd6de54-58d0-4a5f-9c74-d599b513a668 Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, finally left office this year. He is now on trial on corruption charges and Israel is ruled by the most diverse coalition in its history. Gideon discusses Israel’s new political landscape with Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. Clips: IsraeliPM, Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...
Oct 28, 2021•18 min
Gideon talks to historian Paul Kennedy about how long America’s period as the world’s most powerful nation can last in the face of a rising China. Clips: British Pathé Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 21, 2021•23 min
Gideon discusses the strength of America’s political system with Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the foreign policy magazine The National Interest . Are fears about the Republican party’s commitment to democracy justified, and can Joe Biden win back the support of white, working class America? Clips: MSNBC, TODAY, CNN Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 14, 2021•28 min
Gideon talks to Parag Khanna, founder and managing partner of FutureMap, a global strategic advisory firm, and author of a new book on mass migration called Move: the forces uprooting us . Clips: PBS, Channel 4 News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 07, 2021•21 min
Gideon talks to Ulrike Franke of the European Council on Foreign Relations about Olaf Scholz’s election win, his Social Democratic party’s likely alliance with the Greens and Free Democrats, and whether this will lead to a change of direction for Germany. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 30, 2021•21 min
Joe Biden says "relentless diplomacy" will be at the heart of American foreign policy. But the Aukus pact with Britain and Australia, reached without consulting other allies, angered European leaders, notably France’s Emmanuel Macron. Derek Chollet, counsellor at the state department in Washington, explains the rationale for the deal and why he thinks the diplomatic friction is likely to be shortlived. CLIPS: The White House, France 24 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 23, 2021•23 min
Gideon talks to Darrell Bricker, author of several books on Canadian politics and CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, about Canada’s upcoming federal election. With the vote opening on September 20th, the two discuss what led to this early election, the campaign debates and whether Canada is on the brink of a major political shift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 16, 2021•22 min
Gideon talks to Thomas Wright, director of the Center on the US and Europe at the Brookings Institution, about the aftermath of a global crisis when ‘no-one was home’ on the international leadership side. Clips: Global News, NBC News and AP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 09, 2021•20 min
Sarah Chayes, a writer and former journalist who worked as a special adviser to the US military leadership in Afghanistan, talks to Martin Sandbu about what will be the legacy of America’s 20-year involvement. Clips: White House; ITV News; ABC 7 Chicago Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 02, 2021•24 min
Years of political instability, the world’s highest coronavirus death rate, and the recent election of leftwing President Pedro Castillo have plunged Peru into crisis. Michael Stott, FT Latin America editor, talks to Oswaldo Molina, executive director of think-tank REDES and head of economics at Lima’s Pacific University, about the origins of this crisis and whether this is part of a wider trend in Latin America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 26, 2021•23 min
How will Iran’s new president tackle growing disillusionment at home, a potentially hostile regime on its eastern border and negotiations to revive the nuclear deal? Andrew England, the FT’s Middle East editor, discusses what we can expect from Ebrahim Raisi with Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East North Africa programme at Chatham House in London. Clips: Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 19, 2021•30 min
Gideon Rachman talks to Professor Sir David King about the string of environmental disasters across the globe this summer. With the IPCC report this week confirming that climate change is accelerating, Sir King says that it is no longer enough to aim for net zero emissions, we must use technology to repair damage to the polar ice caps. Clips: BBC, Latin America News Agency (Reuters), Bloomberg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 12, 2021•25 min
Gideon Rachman talks to Chloe Cornish, the FT’s Middle East correspondent, on how decades of misgovernance have led to Lebanon’s current political, economic and social crisis. Chloe recounts how the year since the explosion in Beirut, the country’s capital city, has been one of worsening struggle for the Lebanese people. Chloe’s piece, Lebanon’s year from hell: a diary , can be read here Clips: AP Archive, Reagan Library Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 05, 2021•22 min
Pilita Clark talks to Philippe Sands, human rights barrister, professor, author and an expert in international law who recently co-chaired a panel that produced a legal definition of the crime of ‘ecocide’. He says there is growing support for the introduction of a law that could put presidents and chief executives in the dock at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Clips: CBS, ABC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 29, 2021•24 min
