The Rachman Review – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

The Rachman Review

Financial Times

News

Government

News

Frequency: 1 episode/7d. Total Eps: 377

Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist talks to the decision-makers and thinkers who are shaping world affairs.

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

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

https://twitter.com/gideonrachman
86 shares

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 59%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

Are we sleepwalking into a third world war?

Thursday, October 22, 2026 • Duration 34:47

A third world war may seem a distant prospect to the general public, but to world leaders, it’s very real. In recent years, In recent years, presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping along with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte have all alluded to the possibility of a global conflict. International wars are ongoing in Europe and the Middle East, while China’s designs on Taiwan are no secret. Are we sleepwalking into a third world war? Gideon discusses his new book, War is Interested in You with foreign editor Alec Russell. Clip: FT

Subscribe to Gideon’s show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Are we sleepwalking into World War III?

Presented by Alec Russell. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. 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.

Read moreCollapse

What’s at stake in the Saudi-Houthi conflict?

Thursday, October 15, 2026 • Duration 28:12

Saturday’s missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began in February. By bringing the conflict to the heart of Saudi Arabia, Houthi rebels are hoping to inflict economic damage on the kingdom, which is in the midst of an ambitious programme to diversify away from oil. How effective has the Houthi campaign been so far? How will Saudi’s allies, including the US, Turkey and Pakistan, react to this danger? And why are the Houthis so hard to defeat? Gideon speaks to Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Clip: BBC News

Subscribe to Gideon’s show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Military briefing: Houthis expose limits of Saudi Arabia’s vast arsenal

Houthi assault on Saudi airports strikes at MBS’s economic vision

Houthis attack Saudi Aramco headquarters

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The senior producer was Laurence Knight. Sound design is by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner.

What would a Bolsonaro victory in Brazil mean for the world?

Thursday, October 8, 2026 • Duration 29:22

Flávio Bolsonaro took a clear lead in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, and is the favourite to assume power after a run-off against the incumbent, Lula Ignacio da Silva, later this month. Will Flávio, who is the son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro, follow his father’s playbook, by cosying up to Trump and slashing environmental regulations – or will he follow a more moderate path? Gideon speaks to Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Brazil and fellow with the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, to find out how a Bolsonaro victory would change Brazil. They discuss Brazil’s relations with the US, China, and its Latin American neighbours: and they examine why whoever wins the Brazilian election is unlikely to have a long honeymoon period. Clips: APT

Subscribe to Gideon’s show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Brazil’s Bolsonaro dynasty closes in on stunning comeback

Brazil’s Bolsonaro comeback exposes Lula’s weakness

Brazil’s markets surge as investors bet on Flávio Bolsonaro election win

Could AI really end humanity?

Thursday, October 1, 2026 • Duration 31:59

High-profile AI safety incidents, as well as warnings from industry figures about AI’s rapid progress, have stoked a new wave of fear about the future of humanity. Artificial intelligence systems are becoming more and more capable. Can we regulate this technology effectively – or is it too late to put the AI genie back in the bottle? Gideon speaks to Toby Ord, senior researcher at Oxford university’s AI Governance Institute, and author of ‘The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity.’

Clip: C-Span

Subscribe to Gideon’s show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Anthropic warns of ‘existential risks to humanity’ in IPO prospectus

Why the AI race has its creators fearing human extinction

Donald Trump praises tech bosses’ ‘self-regulation’ of AI

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval.

Francis Fukuyama on democracy, AI and his own intellectual journey

Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 30:58

More than three decades after The End of History and the Last Man made Francis Fukuyama one of the world’s best-known political thinkers, he is still correcting misconceptions about what he actually meant. In a wide-ranging conversation with host Gideon Rachman, Fukuyama revisits his original thesis and explores how resentment and the search for recognition are reshaping liberal democracy. They also discuss whether US institutions can withstand Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses, why Fukuyama remains optimistic about American democracy, China and Russia’s quest for status, and his own intellectual journey away from neoconservatism. Cip: BBC

Free links to read more on this topic:

In the Realm of the Last Man — how the future disappeared from politics

A German election result heard around the world

A spreading war threatens Trump and MBS

Supreme Court rejects Donald Trump’s restrictions on mail-in ballots for midterms

David Miliband: ‘Peacemaking has gone into retreat’

Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 29:07

The world is experiencing a record number of conflicts, just as governments retreat from international aid and diplomacy to leave a more politically fragmented international landscape in their wake. That is the view of David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary and president of the International Rescue Committee, in conversation with host Gideon Rachman. They discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the collapse in humanitarian funding and whether middle powers can ever fill the vacuum left by the US. Clip: Al Jazeera

Want more? Free links:

Fragile states in Africa and Middle East hit by more than 40% cut in UK direct aid

Life on the frontline against Ebola

How will UK foreign policy change under Ed Miliband?

Donald Trump reboots foreign aid with cash-for-data strategy

Presented by Gideon Rachman. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco

The world at war

Thursday, September 10, 2026 • Duration 32:47

War is raging in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan, while tensions are rising between China and Taiwan. What is driving this surge in global conflict, how should we respond and where, if anywhere, are the prospects for peace? Gideon is joined by Sir John Sawers, former head of MI6; Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s new shadow foreign secretary; and Kim Ghattas, FT contributing editor and author of Black Wave. They discuss how today’s conflicts are connected, the risk of further escalation and the importance of ending a war well.

This episode is an edited recording of an event organised by FT Weekend Festival. Clip: CBS News

Free links to read more on this topic:

Trump envoys take Ukraine peace proposal to meeting with Putin

Trump envoys hold talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv after meeting Putin in Moscow

Russia launches missile strikes against Kyiv as pause in raids ends

Why the US and Iran keep escalating

Will Bessent’s ‘economic D-Day’ break Iran?

Thursday, September 3, 2026 • Duration 31:59

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is calling for an “economic D-Day” for the Iranian regime while threatening secondary sanctions on countries that do business with the country. Will this be more effective than previous attempts at economic pressure? What impact will this have on US relations with China? And how will energy markets react? Sasha Polakow-Suransky, executive opinion editor, speaks with Emma Ashford, Stimson Center senior fellow and Foreign Policy columnist, about Washington’s latest Iran sanctions push dubbed Operation Economic Outcast. Clip: CBS News

Join us at the FT Weekend Festival on Saturday, September 5 at Kenwood House Gardens in London, and spend the day with FT journalists and leading voices across business, politics, economics, culture and the arts. FT podcast listeners can save 10% off tickets with the code FTPODCAST. Click on this link to find out more.

Free links to read more on this topic:

US launches further strikes on Iran as conflict flares up

Energy price surge hits bond markets as European gas reaches three-year high

Donald Trump says US will hit Iran ‘hard’ as conflict reignites

Making the UN great again

Thursday, August 27, 2026 • Duration 25:15

The UN is choosing a new secretary-general at a time when it’s struggling to remain relevant. Sidelined in the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East, and facing a severe funding crisis, the organisation is under growing pressure. This week, guest host Alec Russell speaks to Thant Myint-U, a former UN official, author and the grandson of former UN secretary-general U Thant, about the challenges its new leader will face. Clip: AP Archive

Free links to read more on this topic:

António Guterres on the future of the UN

Superpowers are discovering their limits, says UN chief

The new world order? Every man for himself

Wanted: a leader to rescue the UN

Nuclear watchdog chief pitches ‘leaner’ UN in secretary-general bid

The making of the modern Middle East

Thursday, August 20, 2026 • Duration 26:41

Gideon Rachman speaks to historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore about his new book, The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. They discuss the forces that shaped the region, from the Ottoman Empire and Ataturk to the ongoing tensions between the US, Israel and Iran. Gideon and Simon examine the region's complexities and interconnectedness and whether lessons from the past can offer a glimpse into the future. CLIP: British Pathé

Join us at the FT Weekend Festival on Saturday, September 5 at Kenwood House Gardens in London and spend the day with FT journalists and leading voices across business, politics, economics, culture and the arts. FT podcast listeners can save 10% off tickets with the code FTPODCAST. Click on this link to find out more.

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

Want more? Free links:

Israeli settlers besiege Palestinian homes

The exodus from Israel

Egypt deploys jets to UAE as Iran war strains Arab alliances

The Rachman Review – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Rachman Review – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Financial Times99+

X1

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Financial Times99+

X1

Bluesky1

Apple Podcasts

Spotify