Donald Trump’s “America First” policy represented a marked shift in how the US engaged with its allies. Now Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden is focusing his campaign in part on restoring US leadership on the world stage through strategic alliances. Gideon Rachman is joined by Schwarzman Senior Fellow for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mira Rapp-Hooper, who is author of Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America’s Alliances, and Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations in a debate about the future of America’s alliances.*This episode has been updated to include Mira Rapp-Hooper's title. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gideon Rachman talks to FT journalist Michael Peel about the use of false and misleading narratives by world leaders in democracies and dictatorships alike, and how the pandemic may have exposed the limits of doing politics "according to the world as you spin it".  Michael’s book The Fabulists is published by Oneworld. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now in power until 2036 after a recent constitutional change, Vladimir Putin is nevertheless facing a difficult future as the Russian economy stagnates and popular unrest grows. Gideon Rachman and Catherine Belton, author and former FT journalist, discuss how the president and a coterie of close aides took over the wealth of the country on the pretext of reasserting Russia's role on the world stage, but now find themselves without a succession plan. Catherine Belton's book, Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West, is published by William Collins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent weeks people across the world have joined Black Lives Matter protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd in the US. Some activists are uniting under country-specific banners calling for racial equality. Gideon Rachman hosts a panel about the international BLM movement, featuring Dele Olojede, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from Nigeria, Divya Cherian, a professor of south Asian history at Princeton University and the FT’s Africa editor, David Pilling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brazil this week became the second country after the US to register more than 50,000 deaths from Covid-19. President Bolsonaro’s mis-handling of the pandemic has led to calls for his impeachment and even fears of a military coup. Gideon Rachman discusses what happens next with Oliver Stuenkel, professor at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo.Sign up to our coronavirus briefing at www.ft.com/rachmanreviewcovidTake part in our survey to offer your views on the show at www.ft.com/rachmansurvey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India is facing two crises: coronavirus and China. Despite one of the toughest lockdowns in the world, the country has not been able to bring the pandemic under control. Hospitals in New Delhi are overwhelmed. Now a long-standing border dispute with China has turned deadly, with multiple Indian casualties reported. Gideon Rachman talks to Pratap Bhanu Mehta of Ashoka University about how the Modi government is handling the pandemic and the biggest foreign policy crisis the country has seen in decades. --- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the current pandemic hasten the end of the oil era, and if so what impact will this have on the global economy and geopolitics? Gideon Rachman discusses the future of energy with former BP chief executive Lord Browne and the FT's energy editor David Sheppard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers sparked protests in cities across the United States and a government crackdown after nights of unrest. Gideon Rachman talks to Omar Wasow, a professor at Princeton University, about how narratives about rights, justice and crime shape our understanding of protest movements.--- You can find more on Dr. Wasow’s research here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/agenda-seeding-how-1960s-black-protests-moved-elites-public-opinion-and-voting/136610C8C040C3D92F041BB2EFC3034CFor more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia is in the crosshairs of China’s ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. Gideon Rachman talks to Michael Fullilove, director of the Lowy Institute, about what the rest of the world can learn from how Australia manages a more aggressive China.--- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A German court’s challenge to the supremacy of EU law has brought Chancellor Angela Merkel back into the limelight after she had been regarded as a spent force. Gideon Rachman talks to Constanze Stelzenmüller of the Brookings Institution about Angela Merkel’s resurgence as a leader for the European project. --- For more insight and analysis into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing global markets and geopolitics subscribe to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update. Follow this link to sign up and enjoy a 30-day trial to FT.com: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=5af4021f-9697-677a-32eb-b119977b2770 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.