513. Inside Iran: The Country Trump Cannot Control? (Question Time)
19 March 2026
Podcast
20 January 2025
As the US retreats from the international stage, who is going to fill the gap? What will the ‘peace processes of the future’ look like? Who has more power, the tech giants or political leaders?
Rory and Alastair are joined by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN, Tom Fletcher, to answer all these questions and more.
TRIP Plus:
Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes.
Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics.
Instagram:
@restispolitics
Twitter:
@RestIsPolitics
Email:
restispolitics@gmail.com
Video Editor: Kieron Leslie
Assistant Producer: India Dunkley + Alice Horrell
Social Producer: Jess Kidson
Producer: Nicole Maslen
Senior Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Content: Tom Whiter
Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 minute(s) read
Recent Podcasts
513. Inside Iran: The Country Trump Cannot Control? (Question Time)
Why are the US and the West as a whole so bad at understanding the cultures of other countries, including Iran, and what do they miss as a result? How will the Iran war unfold over the next six months... Continue19 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
512. Trump’s Iran Disaster and the GB News Propaganda Machine
Is Russia the biggest winner from Trump’s war with Iran? Is GB News little more than a propaganda machine for Reform UK? How toxic is England's water and why does it have the only fully privatised w... Continue18 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
180. The Only European Leader Defying Trump? (Pedro Sánchez)
Why is Prime Minister Sánchez such an outlier in challenging Trump on everything from military spending to Gaza? What’s behind Spain’s recent economic success? How is Spain tackling the rising fa... Continue16 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Pedro Sánchez is outclassing Trump with the president’s own tactics
The Spanish prime minister succeeds because he thinks, speaks and acts in bold, primary colours... Continue15 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
511. Is Blair Undermining Starmer on Iran? (Question Time)
Why is Tony Blair criticising Starmer’s approach to Trump’s warmongering in the Middle East? Should European leaders be calling out Trump’s lies more directly? What is actually unfolding inside ... Continue11 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Trump’s dark legacy – the world now sees America as worse than China
MAGA has made the land of the free more of a global danger than a repressive surveillance state that spies, steals and kills... Continue11 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
510. How The Iran War Is Spiralling Into a Global Crisis
Has Trump unleashed a sequence of events nobody in the world can control? How serious are the global consequences? Is this war even more dangerous than the Iraq war? Join Rory and Alastair as they an... Continue9 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
179. President Stubb: Trump’s Unlikely Best Friend
How did President Stubb’s golfing talent lead him to fostering a close relationship with President Trump? Why was ‘Prime Minister’ the worst job ever? Why will the Global South define the new wo... Continue9 March 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Thanks. Great interview with the new head of OCHA where I worked for 20 years. Would be great to get some of the UN agency heads on esp in light of Rory’s comment at the end on the complexity of coordination in the humanitarian system. WFP, UNICEF IOM and UNHCR chiefs would all be fascinating esp at a time when the UN is so fundamentally weakened.