The Fourcast

What comes first - a peace deal or a peace prize? The war rages on in Gaza - another 40 Palestinians were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes, but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to thrash out a ceasefire deal despite two days of talks in Washington, though he did nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize.

Meanwhile in Gaza families continue to struggle for food and water amid the constant bo...

Sir Keir Starmer pulled Labour’s flagship welfare reform plans at the last minute - a humiliating U-turn after days of rebellion, confusion and rising anger across his own party.

The government narrowly avoided defeat in the vote last night, but the cost may be far greater than any lost vote. Dozens of MPs defied the whip, disability campaigners condemned the reforms, and what was once a central policy platform now lies in ruins. Cr...

Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance has dominated headlines and sparked a huge debate. The punk duo chanted “death to the IDF” to a live crowd of thousands, and millions more watched at home, as their set aired live on the BBC. The backlash was swift - some called it a bold act of protest, while others condemned it as deeply offensive and antisemitic. On-screen warnings issued by the BBC about discriminatory language were deemed “n...

Does Westminster make good people awful or does it attract awful people? As far as Sarah Vine is concerned, it’s the former - corrupting those with the best of intentions, turning them “mad and toxic.”

For twenty years, Sarah Vine was on the frontline of UK politics - married to former Secretary of State Michael Gove, friend (and later, foe) of the Camerons and a tabloid columnist. She witnessed Brexit up close - so close in fact, ...

The ceasefire deal Donald Trump says he brokered between  Iran and Israel already appears to be in jeopardy as the Israeli Defence Forces promise to "respond with force" after accusing the regime in Tehran of launching missiles at Israel.

Iran denies launching any missiles. The US president has expressed his fury at both countries and has called on them to pull back. So will the ceasefire hold? If so, what does this mean f...

The United States and Israel have launched major airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and regime targets. Iran’s foreign minister is seeking diplomatic support in Moscow, while questions swirl around the true extent of the damage, and whether retaliation could spiral into a wider regional war.

In this episode of The Fourcast, which was recorded before the latest developments in Qatar, our International Editor Lindsey Hilsum joins Krishnan ...

Israel and Iran have continued attacking each other overnight with more airstrikes, as both countries wait for Donald Trump to decide if America will bomb nuclear sites in Iran.

What will happen next if the US decides to attack? Will the Ayatollah’s regime fall? And what will Israel do if America doesn’t intervene?

To discuss all this and more on the latest episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by former Israeli Defence Force...

The air war between Israel and Iran has continued overnight after President Trump issued more warnings to Iran - saying Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an “easy target”. So will he actually follow through with this threat? Will America join the fight? And what is Israel’s plan if they don’t? To discuss all this and more on the latest episode of The Fourcast Matt Frei is joined in Tel Aviv by Israeli journalist Gide...

As simmering tensions between Israel and Iran explode in a barrage of missiles and drones, Krishnan Guru-Murthy talks to journalist Jonathan Rugman and RUSI’s Middle East Security expert, Burcu Ozcelik about whether the conflict might escalate.

After a number of Iranian nuclear scientists and military leaders including the head of the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard were killed, Iran has retaliated with 100 drones fired i...

Rachel Reeves has unveiled her long-awaited spending review, with the NHS and defence seeing the most gains while many other departments face cuts - so, is this the kind of spending programme that will transform the UK economy and help Keir Starmer see off the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK?

In this special episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi and Luke Tryl, the d...

As the clock ticks down to next week’s critical Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is hitting the road, announcing infrastructure investments and focusing attention on Reform-leaning areas. Is this a last ditch effort to steady the ship?

In this episode of The Fourcast, we're asking: Has Labour already lost control, just months into government? And can Keir Starmer turn things around?

Joining Matt Frei in the studio is Anushka...

The aid crisis in Gaza is deepening. This morning, Israeli soldiers opened fire near crowds of Palestinians approaching a new food distribution site in southern Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed. At least 27 people were killed and dozens more wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. This comes just days after a similar incident left 31 dead and nearly 200 injured, an event for which Israel has denied responsibility.

As...

Elon Musk has announced an end to his time as the head of DOGE with a parting shot at his former boss Donald Trump over a bill that’s projected to add trillions to government debt - and now Donald Trump’s flagship tariff policy has suffered a major setback as a federal court ruled them illegal. The White House is of course appealing.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Evan Osnos, staff writer at the New Yorker, and Kenneth P. Vogel, rep...

It’s been 600 days since the war between Israel and Gaza began, triggered by the October the 7th attacks carried out by Hamas; a moment that reshaped the landscape of the Israel-Palestine conflict.Now, we’re at a critical moment. Discontent is growing inside Israel - particularly among the families of hostages - who are calling for an end to the conflict, fearing that it’s harming the chances of their loved ones returning home.Mean...

The shooting of a couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC has sent shockwaves around the world, while in Gaza the UN says thousands of men, women and children are in danger of severe starvation after an 11-week aid blockade.

For this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to The Economist's Israel Correspondent Anshel Pfeffer and Palestinian journalist Nour Odeh.

They discuss the shooting of Israeli...

It was one of the most shocking moments of the 2024 presidential campaign. President Joe Biden, at times appearing incoherent and confused, effectively ended his hopes of reelection as he stumbled through a debate against rival Donald Trump. It marked the beginning of the end of his campaign. He was ultimately replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris - a last-minute switch that failed to deliver the Democratic Party th...

Aseem Malhotra is a deeply controversial British doctor who has just been appointed as Chief Medical Adviser of the Make America Healthy Again campaign group co-founded by Donald Trump's health secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior.

It makes him one of the US Health Secretary's most influential medical advisers - and that's alarming doctors and academics around the world, because Aseem Malhotra, like RFK JR, goes against mainstream, es...

Russia is celebrating Victory Day, with 29 foreign leaders including the Chinese President Xi Jinping joining Vladimir Putin in Moscow to commemorate the Soviet Union's part in the defeat of Nazi Germany 80 years ago.

But is President Putin about to enjoy his own victory if the US pulls out of peace negotiations over the war in Ukraine? 

For the latest episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy talks to one man who thinks Presid...

Pakistan has described India's missile attacks that killed more than 30 people 'an act of war’, but India says it was retaliation for a terrorist assault in Indian-controlled Kashmir. So is an all-out war inevitable between these two nuclear-armed neighbours. In the past the US has acted as a peace broker, but is the Trump administration willing to involve itself in another foreign conflict?  

To discuss ...