Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, has made a life-long study of China’s leadership. He tells Gideon how an understanding of Communist ideology helps explain Xi Jinping’s decision to roll back on the market reforms of his predecessor Deng Xiaoping. They are also a crucial guide to what could happen next. Clip: Sky News Australia

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US-China relations will depend on which Trump shows up

US Space Force warns of ‘mind-boggling’ build-up of Chinese capabilities

Why Xi Jinping changed his mind on China’s fiscal stimulus

Sinologist Li Cheng: ‘America is not in the mood to study China’

‘Too boring’: Chinese students are sleeping through propaganda

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to his colleague Ed Luce and to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what to expect from a second Trump presidency. Clip: Fox News

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How Trump won in maps and charts

Trump’s new world order

Elon Musk’s gamble on Donald Trump pays off

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Samantha Giovinco.

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Gideon talks to Ivo Daalder, a former American ambassador to Nato and chief executive of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, about the potential threat to US democracy if Donald Trump wins next week’s presidential election. Clip: Politico

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How Trump learnt to love big business

Trump is the man who would be king

America isn’t too worried about fascism

Kamala Harris warns of ‘more chaos’ under Donald Trump and vows ‘different path’

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Sigrid Kaag, the UN’s Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, about her efforts to keep hope alive during a humanitarian catastrophe. Clip: United Nations

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Israel ‘starting to implement’ north Gaza starvation plan, say rights groups

Hamas chief’s death opens up choice for Benjamin Netanyahu over Gaza war

US warns Israel humanitarian crisis in Gaza could threaten military aid

Israel, Lebanon and the mirage of a new Middle East

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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After three years of sanctions, women's lives in Afghanistan are highly restricted and hunger is widespread. So if sanctions have failed, is it time for the outside world to change its approach and re-engage with the country's Taliban rulers? Gideon discusses this question with Saad Mohseni, chair of Afghanistan’s largest television station and co-author of a new book Radio Free Afghanistan, and Afghan women's rights activist Fatima Gailani. Clip: CBS News

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Leaving Kabul: what happened when the Taliban returned

Taliban’s closer ties with UAE signal global divide over Afghan regime

How the Taliban’s return made Afghanistan a hub for global jihadis

Singer Elaha Soroor on her anthem for Afghan women

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Norbert Röttgen, a CDU member of the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament and author of a new book called Democracy and War. Röttgen criticises Chancellor Olaf Scholz for failing to live up to his early pledges of support for Ukraine. He laments the country's 'deplorable' divide on the Ukraine war, but says he is convinced that most Germans recognise that a victory for Russia would be disastrous for Europe. Clips: SPD; Info fur die Welt

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Germany, political extremism and the risks to Ukraine

Victory for the AfD raises difficult questions about east Germany

Germany to launch limited military service in push to be ‘war ready’

Ukraine’s shifting war aims

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East programme at Chatham House in London, about what Israel and Iran may be planning for their next move as the region slides towards all-out war. Clips: The Telegraph; BBC

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Middle East at war: 12 key moments

Oil prices climb as Iran missile attack prompts supply fears

Israel steps up offensive against Hizbollah as region braces for retaliation

How Israeli spies penetrated Hizbollah

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Kim Ghattas, an FT contributing editor based in Beirut, about Israel’s decision to step up its war against Lebanon’s Hizbollah. How will the militant group and its allies respond, and can the war be contained? Clips: Sky News; The Guardian

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Israel tells troops to prepare for possible ground offensive in Lebanon

Military briefing: Israeli intelligence and air force use ‘victory doctrine’ against Hizbollah

‘Leave your homes now’: Lebanon endures bloodiest day in decades

Its strategy may lie in ruins, but Hizbollah will not admit defeat

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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