The World This Week

Episodes

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  Midterms: A MAGA postmortem, Europe's 'shape-shifting' protests 06.11.2026 47m

  For a World This Week midterms special, Gavin Lee is joined by a panel of four distinguished international correspondents to assess the aftermath of the worst Republican election result since the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal. We ask: is peak MAGA over? What will now change at home and abroad? And who ends the week in pole position as presidential frontrunner for 2028?
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  Halloween protests & French promises, US midterm mood, What now for Israel? 31.10.2026 46m

  France braces for another weekend of unrest as the Yellow Vests return to the streets under the rallying cry of "Act III – Halloween", with 70,000 police and security forces deployed after the riots and looting of recent weeks. A cash-strapped French government faces mounting grievances, a rolling protest movement and little room for manoeuvre ahead of elections, as it struggles to restore order while grappling with crippling debt.
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  After French riots, curfews & calm... is a new storm brewing? Plus Ukraine & Israel 23.10.2026 46m

  This week has seen mass protests hijacked by violent rioters across France, with the looting of shops, trashing of public buildings, the burning of Lyon's Tourist Information Office and the iconic Limoges City Hall.  After the riots came the curfews and the contemplation: who did what and why weren't they stopped? French President Emmanuel Macron blamed seditious groups, ultra-left anarchists and opportunist criminals, with a qualified mea culpa: authorities made mistakes in anticipation and dropped the ball in intelligence gathering.
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  Trump vs Zelensky, From the screen to the streets, Gen Z protests from Paris to Dehli 16.10.2026 48m

  Our panel of international correspondents look back at the week's news, from protests in India to a blame game in Ukraine.
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  France protests, Israel's 'politically charged' remembrance, Ethiopia, Ukraine 09.10.2026 47m

  It’s been a week of vigils, protests and political upheaval – from Israel, where three years after the Hamas-led attacks, former hostages and mourners called for accountability over the failures of October 7, as questions grow over the stalled path to peace in Gaza; to France, where mass demonstrations over chronic underfunding and poor conditions have drawn students, unions and hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets, just months ahead of a presidential election. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made the housing crisis the centrepiece of a high-stakes electoral gamble, as protests intensify following the death of a pensioner whose eviction helped ignite the movement. And in the UK, questions remain over a suspected Iranian plot targeting US aircraft at RAF Fairford, after American B-1 bombers were hastily withdrawn amid warnings of a serious and immediate threat.
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  Barricades & the blame game: France's high school protests 03.10.2026 46m

  This week, student protests at French high schools across the country turned violent as frustrations over learning conditions boiled over, sparking clashes with police. 
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  Pope Leo in Paris, Xi Jinping in DC, AI at a crossroads 25.09.2026 45m

  It’s been a week of walkouts, power plays and diplomatic theatre – from a battle over press freedom in Washington, to a United Nations General Assembly marked by protests and departures, as leaders clashed over Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. There was also a rare red-carpet meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, as the US and China extended their trade truce and turned their attention to the race for dominance in artificial intelligence. And from the geopolitical to the spiritual, Pope Leo brought his call for restraint and regulation of AI to France, as he sought to position the Vatican as a moral voice in a rapidly changing world.
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  AI: Silicon species or Trojan horse? Riyadh calling, Russia votes and the Ed Sheeran debate 18.09.2026 47m

  This week, Saudi Arabia has turned to its allies for military support as Iran-backed Houthi rebels tighten their grip on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab shipping choke point, while drone attacks on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure deepen an emerging energy crisis. In Russia, voters head to the polls for a tightly controlled parliamentary election with little meaningful opposition, as Vladimir Putin insists there will be no new mobilisation. Meanwhile, warnings about the risks of AI are coming from inside the industry itself, with Microsoft’s AI chief Mustafa Suleyman warning against treating AI models like humans – and raising the prospect of a new “silicon species” competing with us for resources. Finally, in Britain, the royal family is back on the defensive as Earl Spencer’s new claims about Princess Diana’s funeral prompt an unusually pointed response from Buckingham Palace.
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  Can we slow down AI, and who has the right to remember 9/11? 11.09.2026 45m

  In a week that marks 25 years since 9/11, Americans paused to pay tribute. Six bells tolled to signify six fatal moments in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania– with a seventh bell rung this year to commemorate those who later died from 9/11-related illnesses.
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  Germany's 'most dangerous man': A PR gift for the AfD? 04.09.2026 44m

  This week, the Ukrainian capital was hit by Russia's most intense wave of air attacks on Kyiv, reportedly in four years, with Reuters describing air raid sirens, drones, cruise and ballistic missiles exhausting Ukraine’s defence system, with 12 people killed and the Ukrainian foreign minister making a direct appeal to Western allies for more Patriot interceptor missiles.
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  Dismissal of top Ukrainian official sparks unrest while UK Labour gets a new PM 17.07.2026 46m

  In this edition, we look at rare wartime demonstrations in Ukraine protesting the ousting of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. After six months on the job, he has been credited with making a difference both on the battlefield and in an anti-corruption drive. However, he had reportedly clashed with Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, over how the war should be waged.
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  Iran: Forewarnings and a Funeral, NATO, Le Pen 10.07.2026 47m

  It’s been a week of shifting alliances, escalating tensions and political drama. NATO leaders gathered in Turkey for a pivotal summit, where President Trump arrived questioning the alliance’s unity before leaving in a markedly warmer mood, as attention also turned to his relationship with President Zelensky and the future of Western support for Ukraine. In the Middle East, Iran held days of public mourning for its late Supreme Leader, while fresh exchanges with the United States cast further doubt on hopes for a lasting ceasefire. In France, Marine Le Pen’s political fortunes were transformed by a landmark appeal court ruling that revived her presidential ambitions. And on the football pitch, Les Bleus moved a step closer to a third World Cup title as Kylian Mbappé hit back at racist abuse from a Paraguayan senator.
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  Is Putin suffering from ‘Drowning Man Syndrome’? 03.07.2026 47m

  From intensifying drone warfare between Ukraine and Russia to mounting fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, anti-immigration protests in South Africa and a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court, this week has been shaped by conflicts over power, identity and international law.
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  Iran's 'Guardian Angel' route, Britain awaits Burnham 26.06.2026 49m

  Political change in Britain has dominated the headlines this week with Keir Starmer’s resignation paving the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister, while the country also marks 10 years since the Brexit vote. Also, fresh peace talks between the US and Iran have begun amid continuing tensions and sharply different accounts of progress from both sides.
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  G7 & co: Who rules the new world? 19.06.2026 46m

  This week, an interim peace agreement was signed between the US and Iran, bringing a temporary end to the conflict and the beginning of a 60-day window to negotiate the many unresolved issues between the two sides. 
• 
  Iran war, Belfast and Albania's 'Flamingo Revolution' 12.06.2026 47m

  This week began with US President Donald Trump pronouncing that a ceasefire extension was so close with Iran, two or three days max, that it would only take an hour to finalise. Hours later, Tehran downed a US Apache helicopter off the Gulf of Oman, with the crew rescued from the sea. The attack was reportedly an attempt to deter the US's evolving efforts to increase air patrols that target Iranian drones in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 
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  Ukraine: Dear Putin, Lebanon: A Crude Call, Colombia's 'Tiger' 05.06.2026 47m

  This week, a renewed ceasefire was proclaimed between Israel and Lebanon; a deal that hinges on the complete cessation of attacks from the Iranian-backed militants Hezbollah and withdrawal from the south of the country. But 24 hours later, Hezbollah rejected the agreement that is closely tied to the wider temperamental talks between Iran and the US, with the Iranian regime threatening to abandon negotiations with Washington over the events in Lebanon and growing occupation by Israeli forces, including the capture of a medieval crusader castle on Sunday. 
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  Iran: Is Trump 'bored'?, Bolivia at 'breaking point', A Spanish scandal 29.05.2026 49m

  It's been a week where, 90 days into the conflict and ceasefire stand-off with Iran, both Tehran and Washington are insisting time is on their side – each claiming the other needs a deal more urgently. Pressure is growing on the Trump administration with soaring energy prices and midterm elections approaching, while Iran is reportedly losing huge oil revenues with tankers backed up in port.
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  Putin and Xi, To catch a Castro, Red carpet rebellion 22.05.2026 47m

  It's been a week marked by major geopolitical and cultural developments across several fronts, from Beijing to Havana to Cannes. 
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  Trump and Xi, Carry on Westminster, A French pivot in Africa 15.05.2026 47m

  This week has seen the world's superpowers take centre stage with US President Donald Trump in Beijing for the first state visit of a US leader in almost a decade. With tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan, what stayed tacitly implied was the deeper, more difficult question of whether the two alpha powers of world order can share the 21st century. Or is confrontation ultimately unavoidable?