The Trump administration announced that it is taking a 10 per cent stake in troubled chipmaker Intel. It’s another interventionist move by the White House in less than a year since US President Donald Trump returned to office. What does it mean that the federal government is getting more involved in the free market? The FT’s Richard Waters and the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain discuss. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

US to take 10% stake in troubled chipmaker Intel

Why Intel investors have embraced an interventionist White House

Trump’s Intel deal is a threat to US economic liberty

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is Hosted by Marc Filippino and produced by Henry Larson. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 

CREDIT: Howard Lutnick on X

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world trade order is being remade. US President Donald Trump has led that charge with tariffs and trade deals that have upended the past 30 years of advancement towards global free trade. If that order is going away, what should replace it? Council on Foreign Relations president Michael Froman and the FT’s senior trade writer Alan Beattie talk through one option for the future of international exchange.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Read Michael Froman’s Foreign Affairs article

No, Trump is not ushering in a new global trading order

Canada cultivates Nordic connections to offset its reliance on US trade

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. This week’s show was mixed by Samantha Giovinco. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the president’s most recent executive orders paved the way for American retirement accounts to invest in cryptocurrencies and private equity. It’s a seismic change for savers and investors both. The FT’s Sujeet Indap and Duke University professor Elisabeth de Fontenay break down what it means for you and for Washington.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

Donald Trump exposes US retirees to new world of risk with 401k order

Trump opens US retirement plans to crypto and private equity investments

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry and Kent Militzer. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

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

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

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

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

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

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

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

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc your questions ([email protected])

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

The looming ‘patent cliff’ facing Big Pharma

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Triumphing under Trump: the corporate winners and losers

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

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions ([email protected])

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 

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.