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

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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

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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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.

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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

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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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

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Jean-Marc Eck and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China could 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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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