Today

Strait of shock: Iran economic fallout

Overnight, the Pentagon said it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying ships, raising further jitters about the global impact of the war in Iran. Fifteen years after a tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan is restarting reactors. And our correspondent meets Jafar Pana ... Show More

24m 57s

Yesterday

Oil rise: Trump gets the jitters

After oil prices climbed to nearly $120 a barrel yesterday, Donald Trump signalled a possible abrupt end to the conflict in Iran. Markets calmed, but the course of the war remains unclear. Why China’s government has said little about Iran. And how a hippy grocery store became Ame ... Show More

23m 16s

Mar 9

Follow the leader: Iran picks the son

After Iran appoints a new supreme leader, what does the choice tell us about the resilience of the regime and how the war will progress? Scientific research in America has taken a battering in Donald Trump’s second term. And why British choirs face a shortage of tenor voices.Gues ... Show More

26m 38s

Jul 2024

Lurch in the left: France’s election shock

A tactical ploy to diminish the chances for Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally has worked—a surprise result that puts the left in front, but no party in charge. Despite sporting passions in Africa, continental leagues have fizzled; a passion for basketball may soon change ... Show More

24m 47s

Jan 2025

Towards Russia with love: Austria’s political tilt

A once-fringe far-right party looks close to power—and serves as another sign of a broad and worrying pro-Russia trend in central European politics. Meanwhile Jean-Marie Le Pen, who established the far-right party now close to power in France, has died; our correspondent reflects ... Show More

22m 13s

Dec 2024

Ashes to Masses: Notre Dame’s stunning return

Many thought a five-year timeline was too ambitious. But even as France’s politics falls apart, it has managed to put the cathedral back together with aplomb. As an election takes place in Ghana, its status as a leading light of African democracy is looking shaky (10:11). And rem ... Show More

24m 47s

Jun 2024

What Australia can learn from the far-right surge in Europe

<p>The European Parliament held its elections over the weekend, with provisional results showing significant victory for radical-right political parties across the continent.</p> <p>As preliminary election results rolled in, French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap parliame ... Show More

20m 48s

Sep 2025

States of disarray: the UN at 80

Coffers running low and an increasingly absent principal member: the United Nations has never looked so precarious. We discuss its future amid uncertain geopolitics. The generative-AI explosion has mostly been driven by so-called large language models—but small ones look ever mor ... Show More

25m 13s

Sep 2024

Grand Barnier: France’s new prime minister

Two months ago, French politics was thrown into crisis after a snap election left no party with a clear majority. Michel Barnier, the new prime minister, has a huge task ahead. Donald Trump’s campaign took time to adjust to the nomination of Kamala Harris. Now he’s on the attack ... Show More

25m 5s

Jul 2024

Why the far right is winning in Europe, with Yanis Varoufakis

In the recent European elections, the far right won unprecedented gains. From the success of the AfD in Germany, to Le Pen’s National Rally in France, the elections saw nationalist and eurosceptic parties sweep up nearly a quarter of the seats in the European parliament. In the U ... Show More

42m 42s

Oct 2025

Chainsaw out of gas? Milei’s experiment wobbles

A telling local-election loss, persistent allegations of scandal and an American pledge to prop up the peso: much is chipping away at the experiment of Argentina’s President Javier Milei. Long after the twin troubles of a pandemic and interest-rate rises, America’s commercial-pro ... Show More

25m 43s

Feb 2025

Leeward: we meet South Korea’s probable president

We meet the opposition leader who is likely to be the next president. Cleaning up the domestic mess after an alleged coup would seem easy compared with his tasks on the international stage. Our correspondent reports on renewed violence in Colombia; again, or still, it is about co ... Show More

25m 4s

Feb 2025

Ode to dread: Europe after Trump

This week European leaders have lined up to charm Donald Trump. But the broad smiles belie a bigger fear: what would it mean for the continent’s security if America forsakes its security guarantees? What the pull-out of French forces will mean for Africa (10:56). And the Maha Kum ... Show More

24m 2s

Lurch in the left: France’s election sho...