We're back.

And I gotta be honest, folks.

I am not feeling very rested.

This podcast took a break, but the news certainly did not.

If anything, I'm glad about the coming R-e-because, because at least everyone will be

back at their desk, rather than trying to zoom in from the beach or get a signal from the top of a

mountain. Political leaders and journalists hoping to sneak away to a quiet retreat were surely disappointed. The news

leapfrogged from Alaska to Washington, a tear of truce was inked on a Scottish fairway, and Gaza's

grief kept mounting while Europe argued over its voice.

So before we head back to school, here is a brisk refresher on the slow summer that wasn't.

After Trump's negotiations, what, if anything, shifted on the war in Ukraine? Was there any substance or just choreography?

Does the EU-US trade deal end the tariff war?

And is anybody actually happy with the terms?

Meanwhile, Brussels is relying on deal-making as a way to influence the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

But do those agreements matter if capitals won't enforce them? making as a way to influence the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

But do those agreements matter if capitals won't enforce them?

I'm Sarah Wheaton, host of EU Confidential.

To break it all down, I've drafted colleagues who've been baking here in Brussels most of the summer.

Reporter Gabriel Gavin, who seems to know every diplomat in town, Jordan Dahl, our mobility reporter, and Yan Chinsky, our defense expert.

All right, well, it's been a totally bonkers summer.

Usually, we kind of have a bit of a news break, so we all try to escape,

but it's been really hard this year. Yant, did you get any time off? At the very end of July,

...