The Fourcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The shooting of a couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC has sent shockwaves around the world, while in Gaza the UN says thousands of men, women and children are in danger of severe starvation after an 11-week aid blockade.

For this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to The Economist's Israel Correspondent Anshel Pfeffer and Palestinian journalist Nour Odeh.

They discuss the shooting of Israeli embassy staff in DC, growing condemnation of Netanyahu by Western leaders and mounting international calls to recognise a Palestinian state.

Produced by Freya Pickford, Calum Fraser and Alice Wagstaffe

It was one of the most shocking moments of the 2024 presidential campaign. President Joe Biden, at times appearing incoherent and confused, effectively ended his hopes of reelection as he stumbled through a debate against rival Donald Trump. It marked the beginning of the end of his campaign. He was ultimately replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris - a last-minute switch that failed to deliver the Democratic Party the White House.

To many voters, it was a shocking turn of events. But, as a new book argues, for White House and Biden family insiders, it was the public exposure of a secret they had long been trying to keep. Publicly, Biden’s team have refuted claims that he was unfit for reelection, insisting that “he was a very effective president.” But the question remains: did Team Biden cover up his declining health?

In an interview that was recorded before the announcement of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis this weekend, Matt Frei speaks to CNN anchor Jake Tapper about his explosive new book, Original Sin, which examines the former president’s apparent cognitive decline and includes testimony from White House insiders who claim there was a deliberate “cover-up” to keep the truth from the American people.

President Donald Trump’s second term is almost at 100 days. Unlike 2016, he is now surrounded by passionate supporters and close allies. One key figure in the second series of Trump is Vice President JD Vance, a pure believer in the MAGA movement. 

On this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Dr James Orr, JD Vance’s ‘British sherpa’, self-described ‘national conservative’ and leading intellectual figure of the right. Orr is the UK Chairman of the Edmund Burke   Foundation and an Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge. 

Produced by Ka Yee Mak, Tom Gordon-Martin, Vik Patel, Holly Snelling and Rob Thomson.

Economic relations between the US and China are effectively over as the world’s two largest economies trade blows in a tit-for-tat trade war that’s brought the global world order into a new era.

As Xi Jinping calls on the EU to join him in opposing President Donald Trump’s ‘bullying’, where does this leave the rest of the world? Is globalisation over? 

On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, former adviser of Bill Clinton and former chief economist of the World Bank. 

Produced by Ka Yee Mak, Tom Gordon-Martin, Simon Stanleigh and Michael Saliba

President Donald Trump has authorised a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all countries except for one, China. The president slapped a bespoke 145% tariff on Beijing, effectively ending trade between the world’s two largest economies. 

What does this new world order mean for the rest of us? Where will this tit-for-tat trade war end? Will there be any winners? Or could it escalate into something much worse?

On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Fiona Hill, who was senior director for European and Russian affairs on the US National Security Council during the first Trump presidency and is now a senior fellow in the Centre on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.

Produced by Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak, Tom Gordon-Martin, Rob Thomson

Donald Trump has announced global tariffs on an unprecedented scale, holding up a chart in the White House Rose Garden outlining what each country will pay and while the UK seems to have got off relatively lightly, almost nowhere has escaped America's determination to bolster its home-grown trade and manufacturing.

Even the penguins that are the only inhabitants of a chain of remote Antarctic islands have been slapped with a 10 percent tariff. Prices in the US are likely to go up. The global economy faces a period of chaos amid plunging markets. But is a trade war inevitable? And could it spiral out of control and escalate into something much worse?

For this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by the American author and commentator Robert Kaplan whose writing examines the nature of US power, and Channel 4 News Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi.

Produced by Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson

Benjamin Netanyahu has said his intention is to implement Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, while Israel comes under intense criticism after the bodies of 15 emergency workers were discovered dead in southern Gaza and the UN says they were killed “one be one” by Israeli forces.

Sharon Haskell is from the New Hope party in the Israeli parliament and she is the deputy foreign minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government. 

She spoke to Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the latest episode of the Fourcast. 

Produced by Ka Yee Mak, Calum Fraser, Girish Juneja, Rob Thomson

The Fourcast breaks down a huge day for the UK economy and British politics, as Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring Statement with cuts to welfare and a new forecast from the OBR slashing the UK’s prospect for growth.

 Krishnan Guru-Murthy was joined by our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi and our Senior Political Correspondent Paul McNamara to explain what this means for you and explore the political fallout.

Produced by Girish Juneja, Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak, Calum Fraser

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone for over 90 minutes thrashing out a deal to halt the bloodshed in Ukraine, and Russia has now agreed to a 30 day energy and infrastructure ceasefire as well as negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.

In this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Russia’s Ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, about the talks between Russia and the USA over Ukraine, Europe's attempts to provide security guarantees and what there is to stop Russia wanting more territory if it gets everything it wants in this negotiation.

Produced by Mariaelena Agostini, Helene Cacace, Calum Fraser and Ka Yee Mak.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been broken, as Israel launched overnight air strikes on Gaza that Hamas says has killed more than 400 people - sparking fears the region could be plunged into all out war once again.

Francesca Albanese is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and her opinions have sparked controversy in the past. 

Israel officially banned her from entering the country in February 2024 after she wrote in a tweet “the victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression”. Israeli officials condemned these words as “anti-semitic” and called on the UN to “public disavow” Ms Albanese.

In this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Ms Albanese about how she came to her conclusion that Israel is committing genocide, whether Hamas’ attack on October 7th was an act of genocide and what the international community can do to stop the bloodshed.

Produced by Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson and Ka Yee Mak.