Welcome, family, friends and complete strangers. The deceased led a full life. She rubbed shoulders with royalty and socialized with socialites. She was dead rich and was dead fabulous, and now she's just, well, dead. But while some will mourn her loss, others will be busy trying to get their grubby little mitts

on her glorious assets. The Inheritance on Channel 4, Odevious New Game. Start Sunday 31st of August.

Hope for the best.

Expect the worst.

Some drink and pain.

Some die of thirst.

The way of knowing which way it's going.

Hope for the best.

Expect the worst.

Oh, for the best. Welcome to the Commentary daily podcast. Today is Monday, August 25th, 2025. I'm John

Potthor. It's the editor of commentary back from a week off during which we did non-newzy

podcast, and we got emails all week about how, where were you, I needed you to explain to me

what's going on because everything is so confusing. And I have to confess that I was actually

pleased to be off last week because I was so confused about everything, particularly what

was going on with Russia and Ukraine and the Europeans

and the prime ministers and the meetings and the back and forth stories and the behavior of

Sergei Lavrov and people wearing CCCP sweatshirts to summits and that I was happy not to have

to do a daily analysis of what has turned out to be something

pretty close to a big nothing burger. At least it seems at this moment that nothing has changed

and that the Europeans recommitted themselves to an all-for-one, one-for-all stand on Ukraine.

We don't quite know where we are.

The Russians are clearly not going to play ball,

...