Six months after the Trump administration gutted the US Agency for International Development, experts are tracking the impact of its absence. The FT’s David Pilling and the Brookings Institution’s George Ingram describe the surprising ways countries are adapting to a world with less resources for the poor, sick and starving.

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What the closure of USAID is really costing the world

USAID cuts threaten 14mn extra deaths by 2030, warns study

The shifting future of foreign aid

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. Samantha Giovinco mixed this week’s episode. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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On a visit to the UK this week, Trump broke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance on the war in Gaza. The FT’s Edward Luce and US foreign affairs correspondent Abigail Hauslohner unpack how the situation in the region became so dire, and why world leaders are pressuring Trump to act. 

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Has Gaza tested the limits of Donald Trump’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu?

‘Worst-case scenario’ of famine unfolding in Gaza, says global hunger monitor

The west’s complicity in Gaza

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson and mixed by Samantha Giovinco. We had help from Marc Filippino. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: CNN, Times News, France24

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The US president is angry with the chair of the Federal Reserve over interest rates. He’s applying a lot of pressure on Jay Powell to lower them or leave his job. The FT’s Claire Jones and Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, break down what will happen if Trump succeeds in either of those goals.

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Donald Trump and Jay Powell spar as US president visits Federal Reserve

Why a $2.5bn refurbishment of the Federal Reserve could be Jay Powell’s undoing

Donald Trump brings war against the Fed to Jay Powell’s home turf

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson and mixed by Samantha Giovinco. We get help from Lauren Fedor. The FT’s acting co head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: CNBC

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Zohran Mamdani shocked a city, and his own political party, when he soundly defeated his influential rival in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary election. Now, as the second leg of the race reveals itself, Mamdani has a chance to redefine how the party talks about its critical issues. The FT’s Rana Foroohar and the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain discuss what the party can learn from its nominee and what it would mean if he won.

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New York’s Zohran Mamdani wins over some of the city’s business elite

Make America affordable again

Zohran Mamdani is wrong — of course billionaires should exist

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson and mixed by Samantha Giovinco. We had help from Lauren Fedor. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: Zohran Mamdani For NYC, NBC News, NPR, NY1, CNBC

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When US President Donald Trump threatened 200 per cent tariffs on foreign-made pharmaceuticals, investors responded like it was a placebo. It’s the latest spat between drugmakers and an administration that share a complicated relationship. The FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Patrick Temple-West explain why Trump and Big Pharma aren’t getting along, and what that prescribes for the future of the industry.

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Investors shrug off Donald Trump’s 200% tariff on pharma

The looming ‘patent cliff’ facing Big Pharma

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: The White House, Roll Call

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US President Donald Trump’s approach to the economy has left investors on edge and markets unsure how to react. But his tariffs, trade deals and Truth Social posts have left some corporations better off than others. The FT’s Derek Brower and Gregory Meyer break down who is coming out on top, and who is getting left behind.

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Triumphing under Trump: the corporate winners and losers

Is Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ a political curse for Republicans?

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. This week’s episode was mixed by Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s acting co head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: The White House, LiveNOW from Fox, Forbes

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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After more than a week of fighting between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump bombed the Islamic republic and then announced a ceasefire. Former national security adviser John Bolton and the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman share their views on what America’s relationship with Iran should look like next and what will happen to the embattled regime.

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How Israel inadvertently reawakened Iranian nationalism

Early intelligence suggests Iran’s uranium largely intact, European officials say

Trump’s fragile peace in the Middle East

Listen to the Rachman Review podcast 

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. Kelly Garry mixed this week’s episode. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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As the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its second week, US President Donald Trump is openly considering bombing the Islamic republic. If he does, he runs the risk of angering a faction in his coalition that has long derided US military intervention overseas. The FT’s Edward Luce and Guy Chazan unpack the conservative power players and Maga influencers who now find themselves on opposite sides. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump’s anti-war pledge tested as Israel’s attack on Iran splits Maga base

Maga’s battle with Israel for Trump’s mind

How Trump can offer Iran a way out

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson and Lauren Fedor. This week’s show was mixed by Kelly Garry. The FT’s acting co head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: Tucker Carlson, OANN, Christian Science Monitor, Fox News

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US President Donald Trump deployed federal troops to quell protests in Los Angeles the same week of a massive military parade in Washington, DC. How might this change the relationship between the country and its military? James Politi, the FT’s Washington bureau chief, and Chris Mirasola, law professor at the University of Houston, break down how the administration is defending its growing comfort with displays of armed force.

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Donald Trump tests limits of presidential authority by sending troops into Los Angeles

US court halts order demanding Donald Trump return control of California’s National Guard

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Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson, Katya Kumkova and Lauren Fedor. Kelly Garry mixed this episode. The FT’s acting co head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on steel to 50 per cent this week. He’s also allowing Japan’s Nippon to buy the US Steel Corporation. The moves are meant to bring back manufacturing to America’s steel industry. But will they? FT senior trade writer Alan Beattie and Zehra Munir, the FT’s industrial reporter, discuss whether Trump can make good on a popular promise. 

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It’s always steel — tariffs provide Trump with a familiar trade weapon

Donald Trump’s US Steel gamble: Pennsylvania workers warm to Nippon tie-up

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Credit: The White House YouTube channel

Swamp Notes is produced by Katya Kumkova, Henry Larson and Lauren Fedor. The FT’s acting co head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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