logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
9m 49s

The Saudis and the superpower

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Joe Biden promised to be tough on Saudi Arabia. But this week, he stopped short of punishing the kingdom's crown prince despite US intelligence holding him responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Ros Atkins looks at the President's first foreign policy test, and the Washington-Riyadh alliance.

Up next
Today
Rewriting a revolution
On 25 February 1986 the Philippines, Asia’s oldest democracy peacefully took control of its destiny. Ferdinand Marcos, a democratically elected president-turned dictator, who remains accused of widespread graft and human rights abuses, had gambled on one too many rigged elections ... Show More
49m 28s
Yesterday
Will Venezuela ditch Chavismo?
On the 3rd of January this year, Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, was removed from office by a US military intervention. He was flown to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and partnering with terrorist groups, charges he denies. His leadership and that of ... Show More
26m 29s
Yesterday
Living with Tourette syndrome
When the film I Swear won three Bafta awards, what happened at the ceremony prompted a much bigger story and wider discussion. The film portrays the life of John Davidson who grew up with Tourette syndrome – the incurable condition, which causes sudden, repetitive sounds or movem ... Show More
23m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2021
Can Biden reset US Saudi Arabia relations?
It took President Joe Biden more than a month to schedule a phone call with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, a contrast to his predecessor Donald Trump, who chose the kingdom as his first foreign destination after the election. Even though Saudi Arabia is considered a key ally in a v ... Show More
49m 38s
Oct 2018
The State Sanctioned Murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Will Shake International Relations
<div dir="ltr"> On October 2, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, seeking to retrieve some marriage documents relating to his upcoming wedding.  He never came out. Turkish authorities believe he was tortured and murdered by Saudi intellig ... Show More
29m 46s
Oct 2018
Is Saudi Arabia Heading Down a Dangerous Path?
The Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week. Amid a welter of speculation and lurid allegations, a cloud of suspicion now hangs over the Saudi Government. The record of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the Kingdom’s d ... Show More
23m 25s
Mar 2021
Biden’s Dilemmas, Part 1: Punishing Saudi Arabia
<p>Joe Biden has had harsh words for the Saudis and the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</p><p>It appeared that the period of appeasement toward the Saudis in the Trump administration was over. But the Biden administration’s inaction over a report that ... Show More
26m 4s
Apr 2024
S2: Can Saudi Money Whitewash a Murder?
In the final episode of this four-part series, Rog and Tommy trace the massive flow of Saudi money into Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and how the biggest venture capitalists and A-list celebrities seem to no longer care about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. They ... Show More
59m 51s
Oct 2018
The Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
On October 2nd, Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, never to be seen again. Details of the journalist’s brutal killing and dismemberment have since emerged, prompting an international crisis for the kingdom and its de-fa ... Show More
39m 8s