The Global Story: The post-World War II era is over. What comes next?
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 18 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For most of the years since World War 2, many global powers said they adhered to a rules-based international order. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House that idea is falling away. But did it ever exist in reality? And what’s the alternative now? The
BBC’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen wraps up our week of special coverage.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins
The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.
Photo: Presidents Putin, Trump and Xi as Russian dolls. Credit: Yuri Kochetkov. EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.8 | Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid. |
| 0:07.9 | And I'm Tristan Redmond, and we're here with a bonus episode for you from the Global Story Podcast. |
| 0:13.5 | Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other. |
| 0:19.2 | So we hope you enjoy this episode. And to find more |
| 0:22.5 | of our show, just search for The Global Story, wherever you get your BBC podcast. |
| 0:28.4 | The world order, as we've known it, is being upended. Great powers and strong men are trying |
| 0:35.0 | to use their muscle and might to expand territory. |
| 0:38.1 | And there is no better man to help us make sense of these tectonic shifts than the BBC's |
| 0:43.2 | international editor, Jeremy Bowen. |
| 0:45.7 | The world has changed so much that it's going to be very difficult for a couple of strong |
| 0:50.7 | leaders to impose their will on everybody. |
| 0:53.5 | The danger is that little crises can |
| 0:56.4 | become big crises and suddenly things start slipping out of control. One of the things that |
| 1:04.4 | would stop, you'd hope, things slipping out of control, is some kind of rules-based system. |
| 1:16.3 | From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond in London. |
| 1:19.8 | And I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:22.4 | And today on the global story, the post-World War II era is over. |
| 1:28.9 | What comes next? |
| 1:38.9 | Could you introduce yourself, please? |
| 1:42.3 | I'm Jeremy Bowen. I'm the international editor of BBC News. |
| 1:44.5 | Thank you for joining us. Good to be back. |
... |
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