Today

Saudi under siege: Houthis attack airport

This weekend, Yemeni rebels struck Saudi Arabia’s international airport in the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the Iran war began in February. Our correspondent reports from Riyadh. How European manufacturers are adjusting to high energy prices and war. And the revi ... Show More

22m 38s

Oct 9

Saving your bacon: healthy-eating policy evolves

Decades of messaging have not worked, so governments are trying new ways to get citizens to eat well, from scary labelling to taxing the junkiest foods. Will it work? The death of a plague researcher in Russia is made more mysterious by the government’s resolute lack of transpare ... Show More

24m 42s

Oct 8

Valley of the shadow of debt: bond-market jitters

Bond yields across the rich world keep ticking up. We take a global look at where the risks are mounting most, and just how much worry is warranted. What might have once seemed fanciful is becoming real: delivering daylight to dark parts of the world using mirrors in space. And t ... Show More

21m 39s

Apr 2025

Trump’s fickle, Xi’s pickle: the dynamic driving US-China tensions

President Xi Jinping’s style of negotiating is staid, distanced, a quiet projection of power. President Donald Trump’s is not. That dynamic is complicating their gargantuan standoff. Spain ends up with more and more remains of migrants who die on their journeys—and its morgues ca ... Show More

24m 57s

Oct 2025

Truce story: (a sketch of) a Trump-Xi trade deal

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to holster their trade weapons for now. But even if the deal holds, it does not address the deeper problems in the relationship. We examine why mercenaries—and slick international firms that employ them—are doing a roaring trade these ... Show More

27m 13s

Dec 2016

What's at stake in Trump vs China?

The U.S. president-elect upended decades of diplomacy by taking a call from Taiwan's leader. But some U.S. companies will welcome his stance. And China has much to lose from any escalation. Also: Italy PM Renzi gets his marching orders. And there's no easy move to monetize chess. ... Show More

28m 28s

Apr 2025

Trump’s tariff war with China

China has adopted a “wartime footing” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s triple digit tariffs. But both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a lot to lose in this fight. So who will blink first? On this weekend episode, our correspondents in Washington and Beijin ... Show More

20m 55s

Oct 2025

Is China Beating Trump?

<p>President Trump’s trade war against China has so far proved harder to win than his administration ever let on. And it reached new levels of tension this month when China said it would further restrict exports of rare-earth minerals to the United States and Europe.</p><p>Keith ... Show More

24m 2s

Feb 2024

The Intelligence: Troubled waters

Squabbles over the seas and their tributary waterways are becoming more tense as rivalries deepen and the climate changes. How should the West prepare? An opinion poll with a twist suggests that Xi Jinping is not as popular as he thinks he is (11:29). And, a tribute to the queen ... Show More

24m 52s

Oct 2025

Has China won the trade war?

Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, while Xi Jinping hit back with export limits on rare earth minerals. As the two leaders come face to face in South Korea to make a deal, the stakes are high.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers ... Show More

31m 9s

Jun 2025

“Thank You Media” - Trump’s STRANGE Reaction To Elon’s Epstein List Tweet

The Trump–Elon feud hits new levels as silence, strategy, and legacy dominate the headlines. The PBD Podcast digs into possible blackmail, Epstein ties, JD Vance fallout, and fears of civil war inside MAGA. This isn’t just drama—it’s a political power quake.

11m 17s

Trump’s fickle, Xi’s pickle: the dynamic...