Donald Trump has made a lot of enemies over the years. He spent his first week back in the White House going after them — and is reshaping the federal government in the process. The FT’s Washington bureau chief James Politi and US legal and enforcement correspondent Stefania Palma join this week’s Swamp Notes to explain what the president’s first week signals about his plans for the next four years.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump vs the ‘deep state’: president’s vendetta agenda takes shape

Trump’s pick for justice department to face scrutiny on vow to prosecute his opponents

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson and Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A federal judge has blocked US President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, and shares in the leading makers of anti-obesity drugs have dipped. Trump has ordered officials to draw up retaliatory measures against “extraterritorial” taxes, and Emilia Pérez has emerged as frontrunner after the 2025 Academy Award nominations.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Judge halts Donald Trump’s effort to end US citizenship at birth

Donald Trump threatens to double tax rates for foreign nationals and companies

Investors lose their appetite for the obesity trade

Oscar nominations 2025: cartel musical Emilia Pérez on song with 13

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

European bank dividends are at their highest levels since 2007, US President Donald Trump froze billions of dollars in federal funding to green infrastructure projects, and Trump said yesterday that the US would impose more sanctions on Moscow if its war in Ukraine doesn’t end soon. Plus, military regimes in Africa's Sahel region are cracking down on international mining companies.

Mentioned in this podcast:

European banks to reward investors with bumper €123bn in payouts

Donald Trump halts more than $300bn in US green infrastructure funding

Trump tells Putin to reach Ukraine ‘deal’ soon or US will increase sanctions

AI-developed drug will be in trials by year-end, says Google’s Hassabis

The ‘terrifying’ crackdown on mining companies in Africa’s coup belt

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Netflix added a record 19mn subscribers in the fourth quarter, fuelled by live sports. US stocks rallied while currencies swung the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, and TikTok-owner ByteDance plans to spend $12bn on AI chips in 2025. Plus, Chinese citizens’ doubts grow over the government’s economic growth claims.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Netflix shares jump as it adds record number of subscribers

Wall Street stocks climb as investors parse Donald Trump’s executive orders

TikTok-owner ByteDance plans to spend $12bn on AI chips in 2025

Chinese citizens’ doubts grow over official economic growth claims

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belgium has launched a criminal probe into the DRC’s allegation. Donald Trump is sworn in as US president. Davos leaders reject climate banking group. And Toyota struggles to jumpstart hydrogen car sales.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Trump and the contest between two visions of democracy

Apple hit by Belgian probe over ‘blood minerals’ in Congo

Toyota rethinks its bet on hydrogen

Dollar tumbles as Trump shies away from trade tariffs

This episode of the FT News Briefing was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Mischa Frankl-Duval, Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump will become US president for the second time on Monday. Investors pile into a fund that spreads its assets equally across the S&P 500, as concerns about a tech bubble grow. A hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas is underway. Plus, how El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele became a model for the global far right.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump plans blitz of executive orders for first days in White House

Investors pour billions into S&P equal weight fund as tech fears rise

Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages as ceasefire begins

How El Salvador became a model for the global far right

Trump-backed memecoin value tops $12bn as crypto industry hopes rise

Credit: CSPAN

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not long ago, American corporations were promoting racial justice initiatives and promising to combat climate change. That’s all changed in the months since Donald Trump’s election. The FT’s US financial editor Brooke Masters and tech correspondent Hannah Murphy join this week’s Swamp Notes to explain what’s behind this cultural shift.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Is corporate America going Maga?

The cravenness of Mark Zuckerberg

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson and Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

CREDIT: Joe Rogan Experience

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s Treasury pick Scott Bessent wants to increase sanctions on Russian oil producers, and the FT’s Stephen Gandel unpacks a bumper earnings season from Wall Street’s banks. British companies are buying back their shares at a faster rate than even US groups, and the LA fires are worsening the challenges facing Hollywood.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump’s Treasury pick stresses need for tougher sanctions on Russian oil

Donald Trump’s policy pledges unleashing ‘animal spirits’, Wall Street bankers say

UK companies outpace US businesses in share buybacks

Fires prompt soul-searching at Hollywood’s dream factories

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.