The Fourcast

The war between the United States and Iran has spread across the Middle East. 
Fresh strikes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, alongside escalating Houthi attacks on international shipping, have raised fears that the region is entering a dangerous new phase. With Washington intensifying its military campaign and Iran relying on its network of allied militias, is this becoming a wider regional war?
On this episode of The Fourcast: Indicators, Matt Frei and Mark Urban are joined by Professor Madawi al-Rasheed from the London School of Economics Middle East Centre. They discuss why the Houthis are stepping up attacks, whether Saudi Arabia is being pulled into the fighting despite its efforts to avoid it, how Iraqi militias could become a new flashpoint, and whether the US has a long-term strategy, or is being drawn into another prolonged Middle East war.
Is there still a path to de-escalation, or are we witnessing the beginning of a conflict that could engulf the wider region?

Social care is the thorny issue which politicians have failed to solve for decades.
Today though, the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham put it back on the political agenda as he called for a ‘National Care Service’, saying that social care in the UK is “as unfair” as the healthcare system in the US.
On this week’s episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by the former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Damien Green, Professor Richard Humphries who is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Health Foundation and the Liberal Democrat MP and Chair of the Health Select Committee Layla Moran. 
They discuss why the current system is not fit for purpose, why previous efforts at reform have failed and whether Andy Burnham could be the one to finally solve it.

As thousands of people are forced to flee their homes amid devastating wildfires in France, Spain and Scotland, the climate emergency seems closer to people’s lives than ever.
Despite this, governments around the world are seemingly rolling back their efforts to end the fossil fuel pollution that is driving the climate emergency.
On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by environmentalist George Monbiot,  Professor Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society and Fiona Macklin, Head of Climate at Apolitical.
They discuss what it will take to finally get politicians to start taking global heating  seriously. And whether even when disaster is staring us in the face, if we as a people are really ready to make the changes necessary?

Months after many of his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were declared illegal by the Supreme Court, Donald Trump has announced a fresh wave of tariffs against dozens of countries.
This time, using the allegation of “forced labour” by America’s trading partners, Trump is hoping his new tariffs will be less open to challenge in the courts.
But what will the impact be on American consumers already hit hard by the war in Iran? And can anyone take Trump’s trade policy seriously, when it can all change in an instant?
On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Australian-American economist Justin Wolfers, as well as Financial Times columnist and co-author of the book How to Win a Trade War, Soumaya Keynes.

The US and Saudi Arabia have reportedly signed a landmark deal that could pave the way for a Saudi nuclear programme, sparking fears it could eventually allow the Gulf kingdom to develop its own nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump has denied that the agreement permits Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, and says any deal is dependent on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords and recognising Israel, a move many experts say remains unlikely.
Meanwhile, tensions in the region have escalated after Houthi attacks on Saudi ships in the Bab el Mandab strait pushed oil prices higher. Trump has warned that further attacks could trigger “major military punishment” against Iran and the Houthis.
On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Channel 4 News foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Rugman to examine the US-Saudi nuclear deal, the growing confrontation with the Houthis, and what it means for the future of the Middle East.