Swamp Notes

Congress moved quickly to pass a bill asking the Department of Justice to release documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It’s a move that the president was opposed to for much of the year. The FT’s Lauren Fedor and Chris Cook break down what’s changed for the White House, and what’s different about these new documents. Mentioned in this podcast: Donald Trump signs bi...

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 fixatio...

When Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and Holocaust denier, appeared on a podcast with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, it set off a firestorm in conservative circles. The FT’s Joe Miller and Edward Luce explain how this faction on the far-right is gaining power and what it means for the future of the Republican party. Mentioned in this podcast: Trump’s Maga coalition fractures over far-right...

Over the next several years, the Financial Times is diving in deep on some of the US’s biggest economic and political issues, all through the lens of one city: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem is a politically divided area in one of the most critical swing states in the country, and it encapsulates lots of different stories that American politicians are telling about the US and who it's for. We’...

Democrats won the three largest races and a smattering of others on Tuesday’s off-year elections. They are the biggest electoral wins since Donald Trump took the Oval Office a year ago. The FT’s Lauren Fedor and Guy Chazan discuss which races stood out, and how each party may interpret how the results will affect other races. Mentioned in this podcast: Donald Trump tries to brush off election loss...

The US military has killed more than 60 people in attacks on boats they say are running drugs in Latin America. Its navy has moved its most powerful warship to the Caribbean. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is increasing its rhetoric against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. James Story, the former top US diplomat to Venezuela, and the FT’s Michael Stott, puzzle out what the Pentagon and Ma...

US President Donald Trump and his family have made at least $1bn since he was elected to serve a second term, thanks to their rapidly growing cryptocurrency empire. That’s according to an FT investigation which also found that at least 30 individuals or companies that collectively donated to the president’s causes have received benefits or advantages. The FT’s Joe Miller and Alex Rogers unpack the...

Stephen Miller has played a central part in shaping White House policy since Donald Trump’s first term as president. But with less opposition this time around from Congress or other figures inside the administration, Miller’s hardline agenda has started to come to life. The FT’s US national correspondent Guy Chazan and US national editor Ed Luce join this week’s Swamp Notes to explore what Trump’s...

US President Donald Trump has long campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he seemed closer to that goal earlier this week when he helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza. But the Nobel Committee had other plans. So what exactly is Trump’s track record on peacemaking and what does it take to actually win the Nobel Peace Prize? Norwegian humanitarian studies professor Kristin Sandvik and the FT’s US-Mi...

For the first time in nearly seven years, the US Congress was unable to come to a spending agreement in time. The government shut down. Democrats want to challenge President Donald Trump and extend healthcare subsidies. Republicans don’t want to budge. The Financial Times’ Washington bureau chief James Politi and deputy chief Lauren Fedor break down how it all went down and the position Democrats...

Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show is back on the air. The president of the US isn’t happy about it. He’s threatened to revoke licenses from broadcast networks that air negative programming about him. The former counselor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, and the FT’s Los Angeles bureau chief Christopher Grimes unpack what’s at stake for America’s television industry...

On Monday, Donald Trump posted on social media that he wanted US public companies to ditch quarterly reporting. It is yet another move by his administration to hand more power to corporate executives and take power away from investors. The FT's Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and global business columnist Rana Foroohar break down the arguments for and against the president’s efforts, and what it’l...

The US Supreme Court’s next term is just weeks away, and the decisions facing the court’s nine justices could define the future of President Donald Trump’s second administration. The FT’s Brooke Masters and Stefania Palma break down what makes this new era of the Supreme Court so unique and controversial. Mentioned in this podcast: US Supreme Court to decide how far Donald Trump’s power really goe...

US President Donald Trump is coming to the UK next week. What can we expect from his visit? And where do things stand between the US and the UK?  In this special bonus episode, our two FT political chat shows, Political Fix and Swamp Notes, team up to unpack relations between the two longtime allies. Marc Filippino, host of the Swamp Notes podcast, and US managing editor Brooke Masters are jo...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest round of jobs numbers this week. A former BLS commissioner, Erica Groshen, and the FT’s US economics correspondent Myles McCormick break down what’s inside that report and what it means for a federal agency preparing for a controversial new leader. Mentioned in this podcast: US adds just 22,000 jobs in August as labour market sputters Donald Trump...

The Trump administration announced that it is taking a 10 per cent stake in troubled chipmaker Intel. It’s another interventionist move by the White House in less than a year since US President Donald Trump returned to office. What does it mean that the federal government is getting more involved in the free market? The FT’s Richard Waters and the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain dis...

The world trade order is being remade. US President Donald Trump has led that charge with tariffs and trade deals that have upended the past 30 years of advancement towards global free trade. If that order is going away, what should replace it? Council on Foreign Relations president Michael Froman and the FT’s senior trade writer Alan Beattie talk through one option for the future of international...

One of the president’s most recent executive orders paved the way for American retirement accounts to invest in cryptocurrencies and private equity. It’s a seismic change for savers and investors both. The FT’s Sujeet Indap and Duke University professor Elisabeth de Fontenay break down what it means for you and for Washington. Mentioned in this podcast: Email Marc with your questions (Marc. Filipp...

Six months after the Trump administration gutted the US Agency for International Development, experts are tracking the impact of its absence. The FT’s David Pilling and the Brookings Institution’s George Ingram describe the surprising ways countries are adapting to a world with less resources for the poor, sick and starving. Mentioned in this podcast: Email Marc with your questions (Marc. Filippin...

On a visit to the UK this week, Trump broke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance on the war in Gaza. The FT’s Edward Luce and US foreign affairs correspondent Abigail Hauslohner unpack how the situation in the region became so dire, and why world leaders are pressuring Trump to act.  Mentioned in this podcast: Has Gaza tested the limits of Donald Trump’s support for Benjami...

The US president is angry with the chair of the Federal Reserve over interest rates. He’s applying a lot of pressure on Jay Powell to lower them or leave his job. The FT’s Claire Jones and Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, break down what will happen if Trump succeeds in either of those goals. Mentioned in this podcast: Email Marc with your questions (Mar...

Zohran Mamdani shocked a city, and his own political party, when he soundly defeated his influential rival in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary election. Now, as the second leg of the race reveals itself, Mamdani has a chance to redefine how the party talks about its critical issues. The FT’s Rana Foroohar and the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain discuss what the party can l...

When US President Donald Trump threatened 200 per cent tariffs on foreign-made pharmaceuticals, investors responded like it was a placebo. It’s the latest spat between drugmakers and an administration that share a complicated relationship. The FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Patrick Temple-West explain why Trump and Big Pharma aren’t getting along, and what that prescribes for the future of the industry....

US President Donald Trump’s approach to the economy has left investors on edge and markets unsure how to react. But his tariffs, trade deals and Truth Social posts have left some corporations better off than others. The FT’s Derek Brower and Gregory Meyer break down who is coming out on top, and who is getting left behind. Mentioned in this podcast: Triumphing under Trump: the corporate winne...

After more than a week of fighting between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump bombed the Islamic republic and then announced a ceasefire. Former national security adviser John Bolton and the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman share their views on what America’s relationship with Iran should look like next and what will happen to the embattled regime. Mentioned in this po...