Gideon Rachman is joined by a panel of colleagues: FT editor Roula Khalaf, Moscow correspondent Max Seddon and US editor Edward Luce. This year was defined by Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Will 2023 be any different? Meanwhile, in China, Xi Jinping was confirmed for a third term as the country's leader, with many believing he's now set to rule for life. Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon and Howie Shannon. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. -Read the latest on https://www.ft.com/world/uk-Follow @gideonrachman-Subscribe to https://www.ft.com/newslettersRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Qatar’s decision to host the World Cup was mired in controversy from the start but ultimately seems to have paid off, bringing the tiny Gulf emirate new friends and winning over old enemies. Gideon talks to Simeon Kerr, the FT’s Gulf correspondent, about what motivates the emirate to seek to deploy its vast wealth for political ends.Clips: Qatar Airways; France 24 More on this topic:Qatar wooed EU lawmakers ahead of football World CupHow the unlikeliest World Cup ever came to beQatar faces the harsh glare of World Cup publicityQatar World Cup provides rare source of unity to Arab statesSubscribe 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 TurnerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia’s relations with China have taken a dive in recent years, forcing Canberra to reassess regional security and trade ties. Gideon talks to Michael Fullilove, director of the Lowy Institute, Australia’s leading foreign-policy think-tank, about how Australia is adapting to the new reality.Clips: ABC, ChannelNewsAsia More on this topic:Australia, China and the judgment of the SolomonsAustralia’s defence dilemma: projecting force or provoking China?US to ‘deepen’ defence ties with Australia in face of China threatAustralian business hopeful of better ties with ChinaSubscribe 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 TurnerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Severe lockdowns associated with China’s zero-Covid policy have combined with economic woes to incite the most widespread protests since Tiananmen Square. President Xi Jinping is now under pressure to address this discontent. Gideon discusses what his options are with the FT’s Yuan Yang, who has recently returned to London from Beijing.Clips: BBCMore on this topic:Xi’s pandemic triumphalism returns to haunt himGuangzhou eases restrictions despite worsening Covid outbreakChina’s high youth unemployment stokes student Covid protestsRestless Beijingers rise up against Covid controlsSubscribe 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 TurnerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Italy has become one of the main entry points to the EU for irregular migrants but its new nationalist prime minister Giorgia Meloni has taken a hard line and is demanding Europe do more to help.Why has Meloni taken such a confrontational approach? Ben’s guest is Nicoletta Pirozzi, head of the EU programme at Italy’s Institute for International Affairs in Rome.Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.Presented by Ben Hall. Produced by Fiona Symon and Howie Shannon. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. -Read the latest on https://www.ft.com/world/uk-Follow @gideonrachman -Subscribe to https://www.ft.com/newslettersRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brazil joins a group of Latin American countries that have elected leftwing leaders. What kind of change will they bring to the region and its relations with the rest of the world? Michael Stott, the FT’s Latin America editor, discusses these questions with Andrés Velasco, dean of the school of public policy at the London School of Economics and a former finance minister of Chile, and Chris Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House in London.Clips: AP, VOA, BBC More on this topic:Lula seeks Brazil constitutional change to fund campaign pledgesAmazon destruction woes overshadow Brazil’s farming advancesChile’s Boric seeks ‘new path forward’ after voters reject constitutional changesLatin America moves to bring Venezuela’s Maduro in from the coldSubscribe 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 TurnerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Wright, director of strategic planning at the National Security Council in the Biden White House, tells Gideon how the war in Ukraine changed US thinking about the need for broader alliances.Clips: The White House, Channel 4 News More on this topic:Xi Jinping’s China and the rise of the ‘global west’US coal phaseout plan meets divided response at COP27China and the US remain locked in mutually assured co-operationSubscribe 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 TurnerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Biden’s Democrats look set to lose control of Congress in this month's elections. But many of the Republicans poised to take office support Donald Trump's claim that the last presidential election was stolen. Gideon discusses his prospects for a return to the White House with journalist Susan Glasser, co-author of The Divider, a history of the Trump presidency.Clips: CNN, Forbes Breaking News More on this topic:Joe Biden fights to revive Democrats one week before midterm electionsThis will be the mother of all American midterm electionsBritain and America’s electoral geographies are brokenSubscribe 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.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon talks to economist Linda Yueh of Oxford university about recent dramatic developments at the Chinese Communist party’s congress in Beijing. They discuss what the growing centralisation in China tells us about how Xi Jinping will handle the private sector, the property crisis and international tensions over Taiwan.Clips: CGTN; CNAMore on this topic:China’s limitless presidency means limited diplomacyChina’s growth stutters as exports fail to rescue economyChina’s wealthy activate escape plans as Xi Jinping extends ruleHit film Return to Dust has vanished from China’s cinemas. Why?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.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was outrage in Washington over Saudi Arabia’s decision to back Opec output cuts during a global energy crisis. What was the kingdom’s motive for putting its strategic partnership with the US at risk? As a regular visitor to Saudi Arabia, Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London offers his view of the Saudi leader’s calculations and plans for a new global role for the country.Clips: France 24; CNN; Fox newsMore on this topic:The plight of expat workers at KPMG Saudi ArabiaJoe Biden’s limited room for manoeuvre on Saudi ArabiaThe new oil war: Opec moves against the USSubscribe 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.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.