The Rachman Review

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s diplomatic skills will be tested as host of both the G7 and UN COP26 climate change summit this year. Gideon talks to Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House think-tank and economist Linda Yueh, currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, about Britain’s future role on the world stage. Clips: Parliamentlive, APFurther reading; LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission Chatham House: Global Britain, Global Broker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to journalists Arkady Ostrovsky and Max Seddon in Moscow about why Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny decided to return home after he was poisoned and what his political movement can achieve if its leader is in jail. Max Seddon is the FT’s Moscow correspondent and Arkady Ostrovsky is author of The Invention of Russia, winner of the 2016 Orwell Prize, and a staff journalist for The Economist. Clips: Reuters, RFE/RL Russian Service, Al Jazeera English, “Aquadiskoteka” by Cream Soda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic, climate change and peacekeeping are all priorities for the UN in 2021, but these challenges require multilateral solutions at a time when the world's superpowers are drifting further apart. Gideon Rachman talks to António Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, about bridging security and military divides to solve pressing global problems.  Review clips: World Economic Forum Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union has chosen Armin Laschet to replace Angela Merkel as party leader ahead of September’s federal elections, paving the way for the end of the Merkel era. Gideon discusses what a post-Merkel Germany will look like with Wolfgang Ischinger, veteran diplomat and chairman of the Munich Security Conference. Clips: UK Parliament, Welt Nachrichten Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the storming of the Capitol, can America recover its democratic values? Gideon discusses what the recent lawlessness means for the US and its place in the world with Anne-Marie Slaughter, head of New America, a think-tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The former British foreign secretary championed the UK to remain in the EU. As head of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband has seen the consequence of a lack of global leadership in helping the world’s vulnerable populations. In this episode, the FT’s Gideon Rachman talks to Mr Miliband about whether a “global Britain” after Brexit and a new US administration might bring a turn towards greater international cooperation.   Review clips: BBC, IRCNote: this interview was recorded before a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building and interfered with the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Roula Khalaf, FT editor, and Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator, about the extraordinary events of 2020 - from Covid-19 to the US election and unexpected signs of reconciliation between Israel and Arab Gulf states. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EU leaders are facing showdowns on several fronts this week, with the UK over Brexit, and with Hungary and Poland over the rule of law. Gideon discusses what’s at stake with Professor Catherine De Vries of Bocconi University in Italy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Thai opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and John Reed, the FT’s Bangkok bureau chief, about the student protests that have challenged Thailand’s traditional power structures by demanding constitutional change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A country that enjoyed decades of economc growth and stability now risks being torn apart by ethnic divisions. Gideon discusses what’s behind the outbreak of violence with Gabriel Negatu, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, and David Pilling, the FT’s Africa editor.Clips: Reuters, Live Aid Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon discusses the international ambitions, and problems, of the French president with Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director of Le Monde. Are Emmanuel Macron’s views on European integration and strategic independence winning out? Clips: Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, served as US ambassador to Nato during the Obama years. He joins Gideon Rachman to talk about how Joe Biden may seek to rebuild the US’s broken alliances and project a new image to the world. Clips: CBS 60 Minutes; Reuters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans woke on November 4 to find that the result of their presidential election remained unclear. President Donald Trump’s statements about the integrity of the vote and his plan to dispute the final result at the Supreme Court signalled that the US could face days or weeks of political uncertainty. In this special early edition episode, Gideon talks to Jeremy Shapiro, a former US state department official and the current research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the razor-thin election results so far, why the Democrats did not achieve a ‘blue wave’, and why, even in the event of a Joe Biden presidency, Trumpism is not going to disappear.Review clips: Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The columnist has written about life in Trump’s Washington for The New Yorker magazine for almost four years. As voters head to the polls to elect the next US president, Gideon Rachman talks to Glasser about what to expect on November 3 — and after, if there is not a decisive victor and the election ends up in the courts.Review clips: C-SPAN, CNN, Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Western nations have tended to regard the recent history of Myanmar, formerly Burma, as a struggle between democracy and dictatorship. But the country’s colonial past and climate change have also played a key role in its complex problems, Burmese historian Thant Myint-U tells Gideon Rachman. Clips: ReutersThant’s book, The Hidden History of Burma, is published by Atlantic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to historian Margaret MacMillan about her study of warfare through the ages and why she fears that, while the manner in which we wage war has changed, our propensity to stumble into conflict remains the same. Clips: ReutersMargaret MacMillan’s book War: How Conflict Shaped Us is published by Random House   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Gordon, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is a long-time Washington insider who worked on Middle East policy for the Obama administration and is now an informal adviser to the Biden campaign. In this episode, Gideon Rachman talks to him about the US presidential election and American policy in the Middle East — the subject of his new book, Losing the Long Game. After decades of American engagement in the region, Gordon shares his thoughts on why no recent US president has been able to ignore it.Review clips: C-SPAN--Read the FT's New Cold War series here: https://www.ft.com/content/4fda1b2c-48f5-42e0-9b87-58816adf2a78 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China’s authorities have started to celebrate the country’s role in the second world war after long regarding it as a subject best forgotten. Gideon talks to the historian Rana Mitter about what’s behind this revised outlook on such a tormented period in the country’s history. Rana Mitter’s book China’s Good War is published by Harvard University Press. Clips: Reuters and ‘The Eight Hundred’ official trailer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as Amlo, took office in late 2018 he promised a fourth political transformation of the country. Gideon Rachman talks to Jude Webber, the FT’s Mexico and Central America correspondent, about how Amlo’s plans to end 'neoliberalism' and fight corruption are faring during the coronavirus pandemic.   Review clips: Reuters, PBS News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and pressure to cancel the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, to the refugee catastrophe in Greece and headaches over Brexit, Germany has no shortage of foreign policy crises to deal with. Gideon Rachman discusses how best to handle them with Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee and a long-shot contender to replace Angela Merkel as leader of the ruling Christian Democrats. Clips: Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel’s new deal to normalise diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates comes without any concessions on the Palestinian peace process. Gideon Rachman talks to Anshel Pfeffer, author of Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, about whether this agreement is a political triumph for the Israeli prime minister. They also discuss the lingering questions it leaves about lasting peace.  Review clips: Reuters, CBS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are the biggest threats to the future of human existence on the planet? Not nuclear war or climate change as some might think, but man-made pathogens and thinking machines, the Australian philosopher Toby Ord tells Gideon Rachman. He talks about how he reached this conclusion and what can be done to avert disaster. Clips: ReutersToby Ord’s book, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, is published by Bloomsbury Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rumours about the US presidential election abound: is voting by mail secure, can Donald Trump postpone it, will the United States Postal Service be able to deliver ballots in time. Gideon Rachman sorts through what is fact and what is fiction in a discussion with Judith Kelley, Dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and Edward Luce, the FT’s US national editor. Review clips: C-SPAN, Democratic National Convention, ABC News, Reuters, Tony Orlando and Dawn - “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”  Bell Records (1973) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman discusses how America’s tech war on China has affected Beijing’s long-held plan to assert its economic and military strength on the global stage with Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute of SOAS at London University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lebanese have survived civil war, decades of rolling blackouts and even managed the influx of 1.5m Syrian refugees, about a quarter of the country's population. But the explosion in Beirut's port in early August that killed scores of people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and cost billions in property damage, have prompted a more intense reckoning about the decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country’s political elite. Chloe Cornish, the FT’s Middle East correspondent, is in Beirut and tells Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator, about the changes taking place in Lebanon in the aftermath of the blast.  Review clips: Reuters, Associated Press Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to academic and writer Sinan Ulgen about Turkey’s foreign policy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, focusing on the controversial decision to turn Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque and the rationale behind Turkish military interventions in Syria and Libya.Clips: Reuters and Anadolu Agency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many countries agreed that the best way to stem the pandemic was to shut down movement, but the US took a different path than its peers in handling the economic fallout. Instead of being kept on payrolls through furlough schemes, millions of Americans have had to seek jobless benefits. Rana Foroohar, the FT’s global business columnist, is standing in for Gideon Rachman this week. She talks with William Spriggs, a professor of economics at Howard University and chief economist of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, about how the pandemic is changing the labour market, and what happens to monopoly power, big data and faith in the free market in its wake.  Review clips: Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s “America First” policy represented a marked shift in how the US engaged with its allies. Now Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden is focusing his campaign in part on restoring US leadership on the world stage through strategic alliances. Gideon Rachman is joined by Schwarzman Senior Fellow for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mira Rapp-Hooper, who is author of Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America’s Alliances, and Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations in a debate about the future of America’s alliances.*This episode has been updated to include Mira Rapp-Hooper's title. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to FT journalist Michael Peel about the use of false and misleading narratives by world leaders in democracies and dictatorships alike, and how the pandemic may have exposed the limits of doing politics "according to the world as you spin it".  Michael’s book The Fabulists is published by Oneworld. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now in power until 2036 after a recent constitutional change, Vladimir Putin is nevertheless facing a difficult future as the Russian economy stagnates and popular unrest grows. Gideon Rachman and Catherine Belton, author and former FT journalist, discuss how the president and a coterie of close aides took over the wealth of the country on the pretext of reasserting Russia's role on the world stage, but now find themselves without a succession plan. Catherine Belton's book, Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West, is published by William Collins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent weeks people across the world have joined Black Lives Matter protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd in the US. Some activists are uniting under country-specific banners calling for racial equality. Gideon Rachman hosts a panel about the international BLM movement, featuring Dele Olojede, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from Nigeria, Divya Cherian, a professor of south Asian history at Princeton University and the FT’s Africa editor, David Pilling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brazil this week became the second country after the US to register more than 50,000 deaths from Covid-19. President Bolsonaro’s mis-handling of the pandemic has led to calls for his impeachment and even fears of a military coup. Gideon Rachman discusses what happens next with Oliver Stuenkel, professor at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo.Sign up to our coronavirus briefing at www.ft.com/rachmanreviewcovidTake part in our survey to offer your views on the show at www.ft.com/rachmansurvey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India is facing two crises: coronavirus and China. Despite one of the toughest lockdowns in the world, the country has not been able to bring the pandemic under control. Hospitals in New Delhi are overwhelmed. Now a long-standing border dispute with China has turned deadly, with multiple Indian casualties reported. Gideon Rachman talks to Pratap Bhanu Mehta of Ashoka University about how the Modi government is handling the pandemic and the biggest foreign policy crisis the country has seen in decades. --- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the current pandemic hasten the end of the oil era, and if so what impact will this have on the global economy and geopolitics? Gideon Rachman discusses the future of energy with former BP chief executive Lord Browne and the FT's energy editor David Sheppard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers sparked protests in cities across the United States and a government crackdown after nights of unrest. Gideon Rachman talks to Omar Wasow, a professor at Princeton University, about how narratives about rights, justice and crime shape our understanding of protest movements.--- You can find more on Dr. Wasow’s research here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/agenda-seeding-how-1960s-black-protests-moved-elites-public-opinion-and-voting/136610C8C040C3D92F041BB2EFC3034CFor more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia is in the crosshairs of China’s ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. Gideon Rachman talks to Michael Fullilove, director of the Lowy Institute, about what the rest of the world can learn from how Australia manages a more aggressive China.--- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A German court’s challenge to the supremacy of EU law has brought Chancellor Angela Merkel back into the limelight after she had been regarded as a spent force. Gideon Rachman talks to Constanze Stelzenmüller of the Brookings Institution about Angela Merkel’s resurgence as a leader for the European project. --- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China was once the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, but now the country is coming out of lockdown. Gideon Rachman talks to FT correspondents Yuan Yang and James Kynge about how quickly China can find a new normal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to American political scientist Joseph Nye about how the moral stances adopted by past US presidents boosted the country's soft power and why Donald Trump is squandering this legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman discusses how African countries are coping with the pandemic with Donald Kaberuka, a Rwandan economist and former president of the African Development Bank, who has been appointed by the African Union to be one of its four special envoys, mobilising international support for the continent Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, former WHO chief, talks to Gideon Rachman about how she handled the SARS pandemic, why the world was not prepared for coronavirus and the lessons we need to learn to avert another disaster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to writer Francis Fukuyama about the way different political systems have responded to the pandemic and about the crisis of trust that has undermined some countries’ efforts to tackle the disease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to journalist and historian Anne Applebaum about the threat to democracy as authoritarian leaders like Viktor Orban in Hungary exploit public willingness to have freedoms curtailed during the coronavirus crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to the FT's Gillian Tett about New Yorkers' battle to contain the coronavirus pandemic and the shock to the US financial system that the virus has carried in its wake. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman discusses how the coronavirus epidemic has been handled in Italy and Spain with the local FT correspondents, Miles Johnson in Rome and Daniel Dombey in Madrid. How are citizens reacting to the lockdown and what will be the long-term political and economic impact?You can listen to The Rachman Review for free on Spotify, soon on Apple Podcasts, Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Rachman Review, Gideon Rachman speaks to Ian Goldin of Oxford University - an economist who has long warned of the dangers of pandemics. Professor Goldin explains his theory of "the butterfly defect" in globalisation - in which a hyper-connected world is vulnerable to global emergencies.You can listen to The Rachman Review for free on Spotify, soon on Apple Podcasts, Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why has the Middle East been in turmoil for decades? Author Kim Ghattas argues that the contest for supremacy between the Saudis and the Iranians is key to understanding the region's troubles. In conversation with Gideon Rachman, she explains why the Saudi-Iran dispute is about much more than politics or even religion, and has transformed lives and whole societies across the region.You can listen to The Rachman Review for free on Spotify, soon on Apple Podcasts, Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to Andrew Gilmour, former UN assistant secretary-general for human rights about the increase in human rights violations over the past ten years and the UN ambassadors and countries politicising their human rights work.You can read Andrew Gilmour’s article here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ideology shaping India today is markedly different from the time of its first post-independence prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Narendra Modi and his Bharitaya Janata Party, the BJP, are leading with a Hindu nationalist philosophy, which is sparking protests across the country. Gideon Rachman discusses the ideology and its history with Shruti Kapila, director of studies in history at Corpus Christi college Cambridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Democratic primaries underway and Super Tuesday on the horizon this week's episode takes a look at the US presidential election. Is there a Democratic frontrunner? Can we predict how the public will vote? How likely is it that Donald Trump will be re-elected?Gideon Rachman talks to Miriam Estrin, former US state department official and current policy manager at Google, and Jeremy Shapiro, also a former US state department official and currently the head of research for the European Council on Foreign Relations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.