🎧 Trump vs Iran: Is it for Real?

Episode summary: David and Helen talk to Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at the Economist, about the fallout from the killing of Soleimani and the future of American power. Is Trump a madman or is he a realist (or is he neither)? What sort of threat does Iran pose to American interests in the region and the wider world? And what has all this got to do with oil and climate change? Plus, in the week Trump’s impeachment trial gets underway, we ask who or what can limit the power of the presidency. Talking Points: The narrative on the killing of Soleimani has changed: was this a victory for the United States? - The shooting down of the Ukranian plane has put the Iranian leadership on the back foot and constrained their ability to weaponise the outrage against the United States. - But when the dust settles, it might not play to America’s advantage. - The Quds Force will carry on. There is a tension between the need to reassert American power in the region and the problem of Iraq. - The Americans may be more disliked in Iraq now…