The Rachman Review

Benjamin Netanyahu emerged from this week’s Israeli elections with a slender lead over his closest rival, Gadi Eisenkot, but his far-right coalition fell short of an overall majority. The prime minister’s performance was better than pre-election polls had predicted, and sets up weeks (or even months) of political gridlock in the country. Host Gideon Rachman speaks to Dahlia Scheindlin, a political...

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 s...

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 c...

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...

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 universit...

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 a...

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 i...

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 Wa...

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...

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 challenge...

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...

Gideon talks to Vali Nasr, author of Iran’s Grand Strategy and professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, about how the balance of power in the Middle East is changing. After six months of on-off hostilities, Nasr argues, Iran’s core aims are unchanged - ending the US threat and securing economic relief. But Iran now looks to have the upper hand and is using its leverag...

What began as outrage over a senior judge's comments has become one of the most striking youth protest movements India has seen in years. Gideon talks to Professor Mukulika Banerjee of the London School of Economics about why so many young Indians have taken to the streets, what the "cockroach movement" says about the country's economic and educational pressures, and whether it poses a genuine cha...

Tariffs, sanctions and chokepoints have become the weapon of choice to punish political rivals - but what happens when these fail? Gideon discusses the impact of geopolitical disputes on global trade with Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. Clip: Al Jazeera Free links to read more on this topic: Trump vows to deliver ‘beating’ to Iran in retaliatio...

Gideon talks to Julianne Smith, former US ambassador to Nato about the future of the alliance. There seems to be greater transatlantic agreement on Ukraine, but tensions remain over Europe’s stance on Donald Trump’s war on Iran. So can the alliance survive without the US at the helm? Clip: ANI News Free links to read more on this topic: Nato’s carnival of Trumpian caprice Why the world trusts...

Gideon talks to Simon Kuper, FT columnist and author of World Cup Fever, about what distinguishes this World Cup from previous tournaments. What role has geopolitics played historically in the World Cup and is there any truth to some of the conspiracy theories surrounding this year's events? Clip: ITV Sport Free links to read more on this topic: Bellingham brace carries England past Norway into Wo...

Marine Le Pen has run for the French presidency several times before, but her chances of winning next year look better than ever.  Gideon talks to the FT's Victor Mallet about the source of her growing popularity and what a far-right government would mean for France and the EU. Clip: The Guardian Free links to read more on this topic: Le Pen revives presidential bid echoing Trump French...

The war in Iran triggered a new round of conflict between the Hizbollah militia in Lebanon and the Israeli army. More than 4,000 people have been killed and about a million displaced. Lebanon and Israel signed a peace deal in Washington at the weekend to end the fighting, but without Hizbollah’s participation, can the deal hold? Gideon puts the question to the FT's editor Roula Khalaf and Andrew E...

In this special edition of the Rachman Review, Edward Luce , the FT's Washington commentator, talks to Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff for Barack Obama, about where the Democratic party has gone wrong in recent years and how to win back the confidence of middle America. This is an edited version of a discussion that took place at the recent FT Weekend Festival in New York. Free lin...

What are the repercussions of the Iran war for American power? How will the outcome be viewed by America’s allies and the leadership in Beijing?  Gideon discusses these questions with Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia, Katherine Thompson, who until recently was a senior official in the Pentagon under President Trump, and Philip Gordon, who was national security adviser t...

How much should we care about wars that are not in our neighbourhood? What role can countries not directly involved play in paving the way for a more peaceful world? Gideon discusses these questions with India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, Lana Nusseibeh, minister of state for foreign affairs for the United Arab Emirates, and Finland’s foreign minister, Elina Valtonen. The discussion was r...

Where should Britain stand in the great power struggle between the US and China? Does the special relationship with Washington mean anything anymore or do all roads lead back to Europe? Gideon discusses these questions with Ben Judah, former special adviser to deputy prime minister David Lammy. Clip: Channel 4 News Free links to read more on this topic: Donald Trump warns US will soon hit Iran ‘ha...

What is life like in the Iranian capital and is the regime ready to compromise to achieve a lasting peace? Gideon discusses the mood in Tehran and the changing political landscape in the country with the FT’s Tehran correspondent, Najmeh Bozorgmehr. Clips: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg. Free links to read more on this topic: Greek shipping tycoon Evangelos Marinakis ready to pay Strait of Hormuz transit...

Gideon talks to Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine , a book about the career of Demis Hassabis and his AI company, Google DeepMind. They discuss the growing backlash against AI, why people are worried, and what governments can do to mitigate the risks of the coming technological revolution. Clip: WSJ Free links to read more on this topic: OpenAI’s foundation to spend $250mn on resea...

Gideon talks to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on Greece as a leading shipping nation. They discuss Greece’s recovery from the financial crisis of 2015, how to achieve European strategic autonomy and the best way to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Clip: France 24 Free links to read more on this topic: Three supertankers attempt...