Podcast Summary: From Our Own Correspondent

Episode: Trump, Putin and the new global order
Host: BBC Radio 4, presented by Kate Adie
Date: March 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delivers eyewitness reporting and thoughtful commentary from BBC correspondents on pivotal global developments. Key topics include profound shifts in global power after a combative Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, political turbulence in Bangladesh after the downfall of PM Sheikh Hasina, community efforts to rehabilitate Johannesburg’s reputation, and the living tradition of Kerala’s sacred folk rituals.

Segment 1: Shifting Global Order – Trump, Putin & Ukraine

Correspondent: Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor
Timestamps: 01:13–07:59

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• A New World Order Emerges

  • Rosenberg introduces the instability of today’s geopolitics by contrasting old certainties (like Russian seasons and gardening traditions) with a now unpredictable world order.
  • The recent White House confrontation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked a critical downturn in hopes of ending the Ukraine war.
  • Trump’s open criticism of Zelenskyy, including referring to him as a “dictator”—a label previously used only by Biden for Putin—was celebrated in Russian state media.

• Russia’s Giddiness Over the West’s Fracture

  • Pro-Kremlin tabloids in Russia fantasize about Trump and Putin dividing up the world, as if the volatility of alliances is a source of national buoyancy.
  • At the UN General Assembly, the US joined Russia, Belarus, and North Korea to vote against a European resolution identifying Russia as the Ukraine aggressor, highlighting America’s new stance.

• Public Reaction Inside Russia

  • Ordinary Russians seem more cautious: some express hope the Trump–Putin reset could end the Ukraine war soon, but others are skeptical of trusting the US.
  • “Donald Trump is a dark horse,” notes Anna, a young Russian mother. “We’ll watch what happens, but we won’t trust them 100%.” [06:56]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Suddenly the world around me felt unfamiliar, unstable and really rather dangerous.” (Steve Rosenberg, 03:38)
• On the giddy Russian media: “Trump called Putin. The paper wrote, ‘Vladimir,’ he said, ‘you’ve got a cool country and I’ve got a cool country. Shall we go and divide up the world?’” (Steve Rosenberg quoting Russian tabloid, 04:33)
• “A new world order seems to be taking root… I feel like I’ve walked out of my house. And there, slap bang in the middle of the back garden, is a giant geopolitical beanstalk rising to the heavens.” (Steve Rosenberg, 06:02)
• Anna’s reflection: “The Americans may seem to be Russia’s new best friends right now, but… we won’t trust them 100%.” (Anna, Tver resident, 06:56)
• “Russians know that a seed does not automatically grow into a beautiful radish… many things along the way can go wrong.” (Steve Rosenberg, 07:44)

Segment 2: West Bank Unrest – Operation Iron Wall

Correspondent: Paul Adams
Timestamps: 07:59–13:09

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Israeli Military Operation and Human Displacement

  • Escalation of the Israeli Defense Forces’ “Operation Iron Wall” aims at militant groups but results in an unprecedented exodus: 40,000 Palestinians forced from four refugee camps in the West Bank.
  • Destruction and blockade of camps, including houses bulldozed with little notice.

• Palestinian Fears and Israeli Justification

  • Israeli officials assert the camps are militant centers; Palestinians and their leaders see a strategy to erode refugees’ community and force acceptance of a new status quo—possibly annexation.
  • Uncertainty and hardship for displaced families, whose everyday lives are shattered.

Notable Quotes

• “If you didn’t know better, you’d assume a mudslide had come raging down… undulating mountains of dirt and rubble.” (Paul Adams describing Tulkaram camp, 08:41)
• “We left everything at home… if we can’t go back for a year, it’ll be a disaster.” (Allah Ofi, displaced resident, 11:35)
• “Israel had declared war on the camps… trying to break the financial and mental reserves of the refugees.” (Tulkaram’s governor Abdullah Khmel, 11:49)
• “After the trauma of October 7th… Israelis and Palestinians are separated by ever wider oceans of grief and fury, both sides wondering, is the West Bank next?” (Paul Adams, 12:50)

Segment 3: Bangladesh – After Sheikh Hasina

Correspondent: David Loyne
Timestamps: 13:09–18:47

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Turbulent Transition & Rising Islamism

  • Six months after student-led protests toppled long-term leader Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is still adrift.
  • Student activists want constitutional reforms, while major parties urge a swift return to elections; meanwhile, Islamist groups gain momentum, pressuring restaurants and institutions.
  • Symbolic clashes: demands to serve beef (contrary to tradition), vigilante pressure on media, and growing influence of Jamaat Islami after the government’s ban is lifted.

• Youth and Historic Precedents

  • The student-led movement’s roots traced to earlier road-safety activism, but leaders are wary, citing failures of similar movements (like Egypt’s Tahrir Square).
  • Despite high ideals, students lack the deep resources or organizational might to counter powerful parties and industrial interests.

• Care-taker Administration and Social Fears

  • Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus heads a caretaker coalition, striving to restore stability, but social tensions simmer and women fear for progressive freedoms.

Notable Quotes

• “Beef has become a symbol of a newly aggressive Islamist force in society.” (David Loyne, 14:38)
• “On the face of it, Bangladesh’s student politicians have a modest program for a better administration based on the rule of law… But their demands to write a new secular constitution… have unnerved the traditional political establishment.” (David Loyne, 15:52)
• “She condemned all opposition… as Islamist or even Afghanized. On the other side… elections run by the Awami League were condemned as fascist by resurgent Islamists.” (David Loyne, 15:17)
• “The student movement who talked about crowdfunding their political campaign will not be able to compete with the financial muscle of the established parties.” (David Loyne, 17:37)

Segment 4: Johannesburg’s Image Rehabilitation

Correspondent: Ed Habershon
Timestamps: 19:54–24:40

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Civic Pride Amid Hardship

  • Tours led by locals like Alvaro Shakapa (originally from DRC) bring new eyes to formerly no-go neighborhoods and try to combat global perceptions of crime-ridden Johannesburg.
  • Ongoing challenges: high crime, infrastructure failures, power and water rationing, corruption, and rapid mayoral turnover.

• Hopeful Grassroots Projects

  • Small victories like relighting Nelson Mandela Bridge or installing basketball courts via non-profits briefly lift spirits.
  • Sustaining these improvements is tough: lack of ongoing governmental support and recurring vandalism remain obstacles.

Notable Quotes

• “Johannesburg has had seven mayors in the last three years. And the public services are terrible. Regular power cuts… are creeping back in.” (Ed Habershon, 21:50)
• “Just by showing some visible, impactful projects… People can see there’s a way out of where the city is currently.” (BS Swanepoel, civic leader, 23:24)
• On local efforts: “Often with these projects, they work for a while… then the place becomes neglected and anything of value is stolen. Then we’re back to square one.” (Alvaro Shakapa, 24:13)
• “While there is a genuine sense of hope… it’s keeping up the momentum that’s the hardest.” (Ed Habershon, 24:34)

Segment 5: Kerala’s Divine Rituals

Correspondent: Sara Wheeler
Timestamps: 24:40–29:59

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The Theyyam Rituals of Kerala

  • Ancient performances, rooted in pre-Hindu tradition but now intertwined with Hindu mythology, see actors—mainly from lower castes—embody deities for community blessing.
  • The rituals underline a spiritual message of equality and escaping caste bondage.

• Sensory Richness and Social Meaning

  • Wheeler details the atmosphere: intricate makeup, vibrant costumes, drumming-induced trance, and sacred drama culminating in the actor—“no longer an actor now”—becoming an avatar of the god Vishnumurti, bestowing blessings on devotees.

Notable Quotes

• “Teyyam is a propitiatory rite, a way of keeping the gods on side and of asking favours.” (Sara Wheeler, 25:54)
• “The whole performance is intended to reveal, in part, the fundamental equality between all peoples, one that existed in the misty lands of the ancient Vedas, beyond the bondage of caste.” (Sara Wheeler, 26:53)
• “The actor, although he wasn’t an actor now—the spirit of Vishnumurti had entered him—strode around, swaying and bowing.” (Sara Wheeler, 28:28)
• “Vishnu Murti’s possessed representative sliced the thrumming air with a ceremonial sword, proclaiming for this one moment the redemption of the so-called untouchables…” (Sara Wheeler, 29:35)

Conclusion

This episode of “From Our Own Correspondent” weaves together deeply reported vignettes of a world unsettled—by shifting power, displaced people, surging ideologies, civic renewal, and sacred tradition. With on-the-ground insight and evocative storytelling, the correspondents capture both the anxiety and adaptation at play in 2025’s rapidly evolving global order.

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