The Political Cycle

Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office. How did the world – from India to the UK – react to his return to the top job? How are the first spate of executive orders being received? And will the racket around Trump and cronies like Elon Musk drown out important global stories? As ever, Emily Tamkin, Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/tale-two-caudillos
• https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2025-01-21/ty-article/.highlight/musks-fascist-salute-u-s-jewish-establishment-failed-its-first-test-with-trump-2-0/00000194-89d8-dee1-aff7-ebdf08660000
• https://forward.com/opinion/690394/trump-resistance-soviet-union-dissident/
• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/whos-afraid-america-first-bilahari-kausikan-trump

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to an ad-free version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

Wildfires are raging in California causing huge damage to property and lives, and sparking a political row. Who is to blame? Republicans are calling our the state's liberal Governor Gavin Newsom and the preparedness of the West coast state for such a disaster. But others are citing this as an example of long-standing failures to tackle climate change and the way that it exacerbates natural disasters. Emily Tamkin, in Washington DC, and Rohan Venkat, in Mumbai, discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.ft.com/content/cf876b19-8c69-498b-95f5-d018618d99ec
• https://www.epw.in/journal/2025/2/review-environment-and-development/domesticating-climate-change.html?check_logged_in=1

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

We're starting 2025 with a cheerful subject: the rise, and rise, of a new class of international oligarchs. With Elon Musk – the world's richest man and most pathological tweeter – dominating headlines in the UK, as well as the US, questions are emerging about undue influence from a minority of super-rich people. Why is Mr Musk pushing the King of England to dismiss Prime Minister Keir Starmer? And how do oligarchs, beyond the Tesla chief, exert their power around the world? Emily Tamkin, in Washington, Tom Hamilton, in London, and Rohan Venkat, in Delhi, discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-mar-a-lago.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
• https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/01/elon-musk-george-soros-biden-presidential-medal-freedom.html
• https://www.thetimes.com/article/0c1bbae8-cb04-45e8-acf9-8c420f264d82?shareToken=c02533f9c71249c53ca4adc156b57f4d
• https://www.ft.com/content/cfbfa1e8-d8f8-42b9-b74c-dae6cc6185a0
• https://www.newslaundry.com/2025/01/06/endangered-and-unpaid-mukesh-chandrakars-life-symbolised-the-bastar-media-story

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

It's been: a year. 2024, the biggest election year in the history of democracy, is almost over. In this final episode of our year, Emily Tamkin, Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton look back at elections in the US, India and the UK, as well as the trends that have dominated global political currents, and ask whether 2024 has been quite as rough as it seems.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode (a special self-indulgence roster):

• Emily: https://newrepublic.com/article/186698/october-7-anniversary-american-jewry-broken-half
• Emily: https://forward.com/opinion/675727/trump-antisemitism-america-democracy/
• Tom: https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/july-2024/keir-more-than-just-a-lucky-general/
• Tom: https://dividinglines.substack.com/p/shoddy-drafting
• Rohan: https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/casi-election-conversations-2024

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

Recent events in Georgia and Romania have exposed, once again, the influence that Russia still exerts on the world. But while it's clear that Moscow wants Russia to be a major player on the world stage (once again), it's not entirely apparent how it expects to operate in this multipolar world. Are other superpowers willing to let Vladimir Putin meddle in democracy or will interference – as is the case in Romania – lead to the disintegration of confidence in the popular vote? Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hundreds-arrests-mysterious-beatings-georgia-cracks-down-pro-eu-protests-2024-12-11/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2yl2zxrq1o
• https://vsquare.org/hungary-spying-eu-olaf-corruption-viktor-orban-intelligence/
• https://www.epw.in/journal/2024/48/general-elections-2024/oligarchisation-indias-democracy.html?check_logged_in=1

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

Overnight on Tuesday, South Korea descended into crisis. President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, which opposition leaders called "insurrection". Within a day, the threat of martial law was over, but President Yoon is now facing impeachment. How did things go so wrong, so quickly? Joining Emily Tamkin and Rohan Venkat is Steven Denney, a professor of Korean Studies at Leiden University. They discuss the situation on the Asian peninsula, as well as parallels around the world.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.ft.com/content/88525828-50fc-4b32-b929-58f742c99d72
• https://thedigradio.com/Thawra/
• https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2023.2258082 
• https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140231178724 

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

In the UK, Rachel Reeves' first budget has led to significant unhappiness within the farming community, with thousands of farmers (and supporters like Jeremy Clarkson) marching on Downing Street. Is this just a matter of tax fairness or is Reeves jeopardising food security in an already precarious industry? Tom Hamilton gives the view from London and, with Emily Tamkin away for Thanksgiving, Rohan Venkat probes the situation and discusses how India has a long history of farmers proving an influential political caucus.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/27/britain-farming-family-farm-inheritance-tax
• https://article-14.com/post/how-the-costs-of-the-adani-bribery-scandal-will-be-borne-by-india-s-electricity-consumers-may-increase-power-cuts--6741c1d1d3a18

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

In India, the Supreme Court ruled that "bulldozer justice" is illegal – forcing the BJP to come to terms with a flailing justice system. But it's not just India that is struggling with the question of due process: in the US, following the re-election of Donald Trump, people are gearing up for the controversial ignition of a mass deportation programme, and in the UK the courts system continues to struggle with horrific backlogs. As ever, Rohan Venkat, Tom Hamilton and Emily Tamkin discuss.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://denisebaron.substack.com/p/why-it-hurts-so-much
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/trump-deportations-chinese-nationals-campaign-promise-rcna180212
• https://www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/inside-bengalurus-kannadiga-vs-outsider-divide

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

Politicians and political movements are constantly reinventing themselves, and few have done it as effectively as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2019, Modi's BJP came to power with more hard-line, anti-minority rhetoric, which, in some ways, mirrors the campaign run by Donald Trump in returning to the White House. Emily Tamkin and Rohan Venkat discuss how these two leaders have managed the process of evolving their messaging and delivering triumphant restorations.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://x.com/MahuaMoitraFans/status/1797955257298825310
• https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-11-11/ty-article/.premium/why-american-jews-didnt-join-the-trump-wave/00000193-1a95-de99-a9bb-dbb599ea0000
• https://x.com/sharmasupriya/status/1855819290026319904

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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

Donald Trump will be the next US President. From Washington, Emily Tamkin reflects on an election that felt like a shock to the system – even if the result is not wildly different to what we anticipated at the start of the year. So, what happened? And where did the Democrats' campaign to prevent Trump 2.0 go astray? From Cairo and London, Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton give the international perspective on how Trump's return will impact geopolitics and macroeconomics, not to mention the fragile state of democracies.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/modis-second-term-could-be-catastrophic/604159/
• https://www.ft.com/content/e8ac09ea-c300-4249-af7d-109003afb893
• https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/us/dearborn-michigan-trump-arab-voters.html
• https://forward.com/opinion/672031/trump-reelection-american-jews/
• https://www.criterionchannel.com/no-end

Subscribe below to our contributors' Substacks:

• ET Write Home by Emily Tamkin (via Emily's Substack you can also listen to the PREMIUM version of the show)
• India Inside Out by Rohan Venkat
• Dividing Lines by Tom Hamilton

The Political Tricycle is a Podot podcast.

It's presented by Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat.

Executive Producer: Nick Hilton.

For sales and advertising, email [email protected]

To watch a video version of the show, go to COOLER.NEWS

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