The Rachman Review

Gideon and guests look back at 2025 as well as forward to the year ahead in an FT Live discussion for the Global Boardroom. Donald Trump set the tone of world politics this year from his tariff wars to his efforts to make peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, while also bombing Iran and threatening Venezuela. In a bid to make sense of the contradictions, Gideon is joined by Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Dan Drexner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher school at Tufts university in Boston, and James Crabtree, author of an acclaimed book on Modi's India and a forthcoming book on US-China tensions in the Pacific. Clip: PBS Free links to read more on this topic: When business and democracy don’t mix The AfD’s love-in with Maga Open source could pop the AI bubble — and soon China is making trade impossible 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has accused South Africa of carrying out a genocide against its white population. He also says the nation does not deserve to be a member of the G20, which it hosted last month. FT Africa editor David Pilling - standing in for Gideon - puts these allegations to two South Africans, Lawson Naidoo, a civil society activist, and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, a foreign policy expert. What is the state of race relations in the country and how are South Africans reacting to the allegations? Clip: CNN Free links to read more on this topic: South Africa arrests Kenyans working at US-run Afrikaner ‘refugee’ centre The ‘pampered princess’ accused of trafficking South Africans to Russia How South Africa’s underworld infiltrated its government South Africans question future of Black empowerment policies South Africa’s credit rating upgraded for first time in two decades Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe. Presented by Devid Pilling. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Jens Stoltenberg, Nato's former secretary-general, about Ukraine and Europe's strategic priorities after recent scathing criticism from US president Donald Trump over its failure to end the war: ‘They talk but they don’t produce.’ Clip: Politico Free links to read more on this topic: The White House’s rupture with the western alliance Trump pushes for ‘free economic zone’ in Donbas, says Zelenskyy Friedrich Merz offers to host Ukraine talks so deal not done ‘above Europe’s head’ Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ that Donald Trump wants to trade for peace 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest, about the rows over racism, Epstein and Israel that have broken out in Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. Clips: Tucker Carlson, Right wing watch, Dana Loesch Free links to read more on this topic: Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress after clash with Donald Trump Trump’s Maga coalition fractures over far-right interview Maga vs AI: Donald Trump’s Big Tech courtship risks a backlash Donald Trump’s Maga base split over handling of Jeffrey Epstein files 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the US Senate Committee on foreign relations, about Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Can Congress stop the president from making big concessions to Russia and attempting regime change in Caracas? Clip: ABC News Free links to read more on this topic: Ukraine has no choice but to engage with US peace plan Russia pursues peace deal — on its own terms Donald Trump’s affordability problem: in charts What is Venezuela’s ‘Cartel of the Suns’? Mohammed bin Salman, the autocratic Saudi moderniser trying to escape his past Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved from the super rich to a mass market consumer industry. In this series, we’re covering the past, present and future of the longevity movement. We’ll be looking at where the fixation on longevity is coming from, and trying to understand the practical and ethical issues at the heart of this cutting-edge field of research. From Silicon Valley fantasies, to Singaporean health spas, to Colombian genetic clinics and beyond, the FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Michael Peel ask whether breakthroughs in science and technology can really help us live longer, and even stop us aging altogether. Free to read: US ‘wellness’ industry scents opportunity to go mainstream The quest to make young blood into a drug This season of Tech Tonic was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Fact checking by Simon Greaves, Lucy Baldwin and Tara Cromie. Original music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The French pioneer of European integration Jean Monnet believed that Europe would be ‘built in crisis’. The war in Ukraine is putting this theory to the test, once again. Gideon discusses with historian Timothy Garton Ash how European leaders are responding to this latest crisis after the brief ‘holiday from history’ that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Clip: ITV Free links to read more on this topic: US and Russian officials draft new peace plan for Ukraine The scramble for Europe is just beginning Ukraine secures winter gas support from Greece Poland blames Russia-linked operatives for rail explosion 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman sits down with the FT's innovation editor John Thornhill and Caiwei Chen, China reporter for the MIT Technology Review, to discuss the race between China and the US to become the 21st-century AI superpower. The west is used to hearing about the might of the Silicon Valley giants, US cutting-edge research and chip dominance. But China has a different approach. Will its use of a cheaper and more efficient open AI model allow China to overtake the US with this era-defining technology? Want more? Join John and the FT’s Chinese technology correspondent Eleanor Olcott in a live Q&A on November 13 at 1pm GMT where they will be answering your questions on the tech battle between Silicon Valley and Beijing. Submit your question: Will China win the AI race? And subscribe to a new six part newsletter series - 'The State of AI'. It's a collaboration between the FT and MIT Technology Review where writers from both publications debate the defining questions of the AI era. Sign up here More on this topic: The State of AI: is China about to win the race? China offers tech giants cheap power to boost domestic AI chips AI pioneers claim human-level general intelligence is already here The AI race Who’s right about AI: economists or technologists? Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Subscribe to the Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe. The Rachman Review is presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Flo Phillips and the sound design is by Simon Panayi. Clip: Axios Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to historian and author Anne Applebaum about the Trump presidency. The US president is increasingly accused of being a would-be dictator, but is it fair to compare Donald Trump to authoritarian leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping? This episode is an edited recording of an event organised by Intelligence Squared that took place in central London last month. Clips: CBS 60 Minutes Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman More on this topic: Trump’s fawning cabinet and the threat to US democracy The Trump doctrine: don’t rely on America The Trump Supremacy Saudi Arabia in talks for US defence pact How the Trump companies made $1bn from crypto Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe. Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Flo Phillips and 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.

Gideon talks to former US trade representative Michael Froman about Donald Trump’s visit to Asia this week, culminating in a meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in South Korea. What does it tell us about US trade priorities in the region and who is best placed to win the contest of strength between the US and China? Clips: NST online; Times Now Free links to read more on this topic: Will Trump push south-east Asia towards China? China calls for ‘extraordinary measures’ to achieve chip breakthroughs Why China keeps winning the trade war China doubles down on industrial policy 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to the historian and author Serhii Plokhy about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed our calculations about the risk of nuclear war. They discuss the history of the atom bomb from its first use in 1945 to the risk of a resurgence of proliferation. Clip: Harry S Truman Library Free links to read more on this topic: The Nuclear Age by Serhii Plokhy — why nations want the bomb US offers nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium The covert trip by Iranian nuclear experts to Russia The old nuclear rules won’t stop proliferation 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Toxic Legacy, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Laura Hughes uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. You might be living with lead and not know it: the toxin is often invisible to the human eye, but wreaks havoc on our bodies once we’re exposed. The first episode of Untold: Toxic Legacy launches October 22. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts. For information on how to live safely with lead, please visit the LEAPP Alliance website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Taipei-based policy analyst J Michael Cole about how the Taiwanese are handling the threat of invasion from Beijing. Clips: APT News; RTI English. Free links to read more on this topic: TSMC’s stock market rally is a triumph of need over fear Taiwan accelerates ‘T-dome’ missile plan against China threat Taiwan backtracks on chip export curbs to South Africa after China spat Taiwan becomes largest importer of Russian naphtha 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to former White House official and Middle East expert Philip Gordon about Donald Trump’s plan for a peaceful end to the Gaza conflict. What are the chances that it can succeed and what are the main stumbling blocks? Clip: TRT World Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join Israel-Hamas talks in Egypt What remains of Gaza? Trump goes mainstream on the Middle East How Donald Trump’s Gaza deal came together 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 Jean-Marc Eck and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China says it will send its first crewed mission to Mars within a decade, and Elon Musk wants people to actually settle on Mars, transforming the human race into an interplanetary species. In a new series of Tech Tonic, the FT’s Peggy Hollinger asks if we’re really about to land, and even live, on the red planet. Free to read: Musk’s mission to Mars Three days with America’s rocket chasers Tech Tonic is produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon interviews Britain's deputy prime minister David Lammy at the Labour Party conference at a meeting hosted by the Tony Blair Institute. They discuss how the Starmer government, which has had a tough first year in office, can turn things around, as well as the Gaza peace plan, ties with the Trump administration and how to fight 'the politics of grievance'. Clip: Keir Starmer Free links to read more on this topic: Starmer urges Labour to launch ‘patriotic’ fight against Reform How Donald Trump’s Gaza deal came together Trump goes mainstream on the Middle East ‘Lost the plot’: Tony Blair’s Gaza role prompts incredulity — and some hope 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Matt Duss, former adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders and executive vice-president of the Washington-based Center for International Policy. They discuss recent curbs on free speech, former president Joe Biden’s foreign policy mistakes, and how identity politics has been used to distract voters from the ever widening gap between rich and poor. Clips: DRM News; Forbes Free links to read more on this topic: Jimmy Kimmel hits out at ‘anti-American’ threats to free speech as show returns Inside Disney’s decision to bring back Jimmy Kimmel America’s accelerating exit from itself 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis about Russia’s recent drone incursion into Polish airspace. What message should Europe and Nato take from this? How worried are the Baltic states about a possible expansion of Vladimir Putin’s war aims? And how vulnerable are they to attack? Clips: BBC, BFBS Free links to read more on this topic: What is Vladimir Putin’s game plan against Nato’s eastern flank? Russians lose internet access as Ukrainian drones hit close to home Baltic states know Russian occupation is never temporary Moscow holds Ukrainian children at hundreds of sites across Russia Europe turns to Ukrainian tech for ‘drone wall’ against Russia Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to journalist Anshel Pfeffer about Israel’s ‘strongman’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They discuss how his ‘brazen disregard’ for international norms has helped him to cling to power, but also left him at the mercy of more and more extreme forces in Israel. This episode is an edited recording of an event organised by Intelligence Squared that took place in central London earlier this month. Clips: LBC; CNN; BBC Free links to read more on this topic: Israel unbound: was Qatar a strike too far? EU moves to freeze some funding to Israel over war in Gaza Israeli annexation of the West Bank would be ‘red line’ for UAE Netanyahu’s disastrous plan to take control of Gaza 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to Albanian academic Lea Ypi about her book Indignity. In the book, she describes how living first under the Ottoman empire, then as part of fascist Italy and later in a post-war communist state affected the lives of her grandparents. They discuss possible parallels between the first half of the 20th century and the times we are living in today and ask what lessons can be drawn from this history to avoid making the same mistakes. Clip: AQSHF Free links to read more on this topic: Kant and the case for peace Albania’s ‘old sheriff’ on course to win fourth term as prime minister Why the EU’s migration dilemma is pushing the bloc further right 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 and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.