The Rachman Review

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Francis Fukuyama on democracy, AI and his own intellectual journey

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 misconcep

Sep 24
30 min

David Miliband: ‘Peacemaking has gone into retreat’

The world is experiencing a record number of conflicts, just as governments retreat from international aid and diplomacy to leave a more politically fragmented internatio

Sep 17
29 min

The world at war

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 resp

Sep 10
32 min

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

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

Sep 3
31 min

Making the UN great again

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 se

Aug 27
25 min

The making of the modern Middle East

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

Aug 20
26 min

Iran’s growing strategic ambitions

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 th

Aug 13
29 min

The cockroach rebellion in India

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 Mukuli

Aug 7
30 min

The weaponisation of trade

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 geopolit

Jul 30
31 min

Does Nato have a future without US leadership?

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

Jul 23
28 min

Trump, Infantino and the political history of the World Cup

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 play

Jul 15
23 min

What would a far-right government in France look like?

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 a

Jul 9
29 min

Lebanon peace deal: can it hold?

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 milli

Jul 2
20 min

Bonus episode: Rahm Emanuel on how to fix America

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, ab

Jun 28
27 min

America's waning power

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 qu

Jun 25
26 min

Jaishankar and Nusseibeh on the challenges of a world at war

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? Gide

Jun 18
27 min

Britain’s post-Brexit policy options

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

Jun 11
33 min

Mideast war: The view from Tehran

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

Jun 4
25 min

The backlash against AI

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

May 28
31 min

Mitsotakis on Hormuz, Iran and how to escape a debt trap

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 Gre

May 21
27 min

Chart trend

Position in the Politics chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#100#199JunJulAugSep

#75

all-time peak

days in the top 100 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where The Rachman Review ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 25, 2026).

#166 ▼ 15 Politics US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Rachman ought to be to geopolitics journalism what his colleague Martin Wolf is to economics comment and analysis. Yet somehow he doesn’t quite pull it all together. I have wondered why, both for his written pieces and for his podcast (which is now more than a couple of years old). He has amazing connections in the world of boffins and pointy-headed grand strategists as well as hardboiled politicians. Yet what he produces week after week both in print as well as audio are narrow and siloed views. The great non-reporter journalists are those who can give us a cross-cutting view of politics and economics, across space and across time. In other words, Gideon, using your fantastic connections to make connections so that we get a panoramic view of world affairs

sidneyhart · May 2023

I have not heard a more cogent and thoughtful analysis of Afghanistan till this podcast. Too bad so many Afghans had to die for what was essentially a war that was designed/prolonged by American corruption. She also has a blog where she describes this train wreck happening (a few years ago). Upon listening to her, the collapse of the Afghan Govt seems inevitable. Sad that so many people who were given 'hope' have been dropped back into the medivieal Taliban regime's second innings...

rdama · Sep 2021

Sober analysis; reveals contradictory nature of events. Good selection of guests, excellent questions. Political journalism can be good.

Will&A · Jul 2021

Always relevant, resonant, learned podcast with fascinating subjects. A thoroughly interesting dive into the nexus of economics and foreign affairs, policy, and culture.

Zigzag Seven · Aug 2020

Gideon features commentators who appear more concerned about discrediting the Trump administration than conveying thoughtful analysis. In the most recent example, a commentator claims that the administration‘s actions are purely the result of Marco Rubio’s personal agenda. He doesn’t mention that this is consistent with Trump’s first administration. In the same episode, the unsubstantiated claims that the administration has a racial agenda go unchallenged. This show is a prime example of why the media has lost credibility.

allothernamesaretaken23 · Jan 2026

I’ve been listening to the show for months now. Hoping that I will actually hear something interesting and engaging. Boy was I wrong. Most of the episodes are way too long and boring with people calling on bad audio lines from their shoddy mobile phones. This is not a quality show. Even the host sounds like he’s sitting in the bathroom with his laptop, that’s how much it reverberates. Generally lacks quality content and I can’t stand listening to the audio quality, especially not for the length of time that this would require.

Kékcsillag · Mar 2023

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.