The Fourcast

The crisis in the Middle East is deepening by the day. The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader has triggered a regional shockwave, from missile launches to unrest in neighbouring states. But what does this moment really reveal about the Iranian state, its capacity for survival, and the calculations being made in Washington, Jerusalem, and Tehran?

In this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to journalist Anshel Pfeffer ...

'Something massive is happening.' The words of the Green Party's new MP Hannah Spencer after her decisive win in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Is she right? Labour came a distant third and neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats managed to get even two percent of the vote. Arguably none of that was unexpected. But Reform UK, up until now seen as the populist insurgents ready to replace the mainstream pa...

It’s the Bafta row that only deepens - sitting at the intersection of disability rights, broadcasting standards, the harm caused by offensive language, and the treatment of Black talent.

A racist slur shouted by a guest with Tourette's syndrome was broadcast during the recent Bafta ceremony, despite the TV event airing on a two-hour delay. The incident triggered widespread criticism, urgent questions for the BBC and Bafta , ...

A $15 million bounty, a failed capture, and a dead cartel leader. The killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes aka El Mencho by Mexican special forces has triggered a violent backlash across the country, with the CJNG torching businesses, blocking highways with burning vehicles, and spreading panic in major cities including Guadalajara, one of the host locations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. Tourists have been told to stay indoors...

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, has been arrested and his brother, King Charles, says the police have his “full and wholehearted support” and the “law must take its course”.
So, what happens next for both Andrew and the Crown? Is this the biggest crisis the royal family has faced in modern history?
The King says it “would not be right” to comment further on the matter, but how long will he be able to hold ...

In a week when a convincingly lifelike AI video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt slugging it out went viral and caused a meltdown in Hollywood, unemployment stats in the UK have hit a five-year high with young people the biggest losers.

Are these two clear examples of how AI could threaten all jobs and livelihoods, no matter how much of a megastar you are? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves, and the UK’s employment slump is just th...

The trial of Gisèle Pelicot shocked France - a case so disturbing it forced a national reckoning about consent, complicity, and the terrifying ordinariness of the men accused.But as the world continues to confront the vast scale of abuse linked to billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, it raises a deeper question: are these crimes the work of monsters, or do they reveal something far more disturbing about power, entitlement, and me...

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is once again at the centre of serious allegations connected to Jeffrey Epstein, with police now assessing whether a criminal case will follow over allegations he leaked documents to Epstein during his time as a trade envoy for the government. So could the former prince really face jail time?But beyond the legal questions lies a deeper one about power, privilege and accountability. Will this just be anoth...

The government is in full-on leadership crisis - with pressure building on Keir Starmer to resign. 

The Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was the first major figure to go over the top - saying there have been too many mistakes and Starmer should go. A lot of the cabinet are out declaring their support for the PM but it is clear things are moving fast. Starmer's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney quit on Sunday over his advice to a...

The Peter Mandelson Epstein files emails is the biggest scandal of Keir Starmer's time as Prime Minister, but is it the one to finish him off?The PM admits Peter Mandelson's ongoing relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came up as part of the vetting process to appoint the disgraced peer as the UK's man in Washington, but he says Mandelson 'lied and lied again’, adding, ‘he betrayed our country and ...

Elon Musk has stunned the tech and finance worlds by merging SpaceX with his AI company xAI, creating the most valuable private firm in history. The deal folds rockets, satellites, AI models, robotics, and even X, the social platform formally known as Twitter, into one sprawling empire ahead of a blockbuster IPO.

In this episode, Ciaran Jenkins speaks to economics correspondent Helia Ebrahimi, and Jacob Silverman, author of “Gilded ...

If you thought the Epstein Files would damage Donald Trump it is here in Britain where they have caused the most devastation. The most damning material yet about the former Prince Andrew include photographs that seem to show him on all fours over a woman on the floor, as well as humiliating emails from his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to Epstein in which she appears to suggest he marries her. It all raises new questions about the conduct...

A US carrier group is racing toward Iran. Trump’s statements are swinging between threats and vague offers of a nuclear deal. Inside Tehran, unrest is spreading, and the regime’s most powerful security institutions are showing strain. But how much do Western intelligence services really know about what comes next, and how dangerous is this moment?
In this episode of The Fourcast, Paul McNamara talks to David McCloskey, a former ...

Keir Starmer is in Beijing meeting Xi Jinping, as Britain looks to reset ties with China. Is this a glimpse of a new world order - one where America’s traditional allies start to look elsewhere? 

For some, it’s an inevitable response to the breakdown of the US-led order that could usher in a more balanced world that reflects growing power outside of the West. For others, it’s a dangerous shift accelerated by President Trump, that in...

Keir Starmer has blocked Andy Burnham’s bid to run in the Gorton and Denton by-election, but has he just delayed the leadership challenge many in Westminster believe is inevitable?

If there is a challenge, does the Labour Party risk descending into the same internal conflicts that helped bring down the Conservatives?

Starmer's latest foreign destination is China for a meeting with President Xi but is travelling the globe ...

The government is weighing up whether or not to follow in Australia’s footsteps and ban social media for under-16s. Supporters argue that online safety efforts have failed and that children are being exposed to increasingly harmful content. Critics warn that a ban would isolate young people, let tech companies off the hook, and create a dangerous cliff-edge at 16.

Companies across the Big Tech sector have consistently said that prot...

It was hoped the fall of Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad would usher in a period of stability, unity and perhaps - eventually - democracy.

But now the country enters a new and unpredictable phase as President Ahmed Al-Sharaa tightens his grip on power.In the north-east of the country the Kurds were the West’s key ally against Islamic State.

Now their control in the region is collapsing after days of fierce battles...

As Donald Trump marks a year back in office, his threats against Europe and hard-line trade policies are pushing his allies to the edge - while China and Russia, once considered America’s enemies, watch on with apparent glee.

And if the UK once thought flattery was the best form of defence, the president has put paid to that with potentially crushing tariffs and a swipe at Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal - an agreement he had sup...

Donald Trump wants Greenland - and he’s willing to use tariffs to get it.

If European allies refuse to sell, the US president has threatened to escalate trade penalties, weaponising economic pressure rather than military force. The proposal has sparked alarm across Europe, with some leaders calling for the EU to deploy its so-called “trade bazooka” in response. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that a trade war benefits ...