Donald Trump has spent this year trying to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine. So far, Vladimir Putin doesn’t seem interested in the US’s proposals.
One man who has successfully negotiated with Russia – and with many of America’s adversaries – is Roger Carstens, former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. From 2020 to 2025 he worked to free dozens of US citizens taken hostage and wrongfully detained around the world, including in Russia. Securing their release often required complex deals that took years to put together.
What does it take to successfully negotiate with Putin’s Russia?
With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, 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.
Producer: Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
Mix: Travis Evans
Photo: Roger Carstens. Credit: BBC
Cash App & Square roll out Bitcoin payments at 4M+ merchants. Jack Dorsey leverages Lightning Network to compete with Visa/credit card fees. Plus: the controversial Bitcoin denomination change that's dividing the community.
We break down Jack Dorsey's massive Bitcoin rollout across Cash App and Square—4M merchants can now accept BTC payments via Lightning and mainnet. We explore how Bitcoin rails are undercutting Visa/Amex fees, the Strike-style settlement strategy, and the controversial BIP 177 denomination debate.
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**Notes:**
• 4M Square merchants now accept Bitcoin payments
• Credit card fees range from 2-6% per transaction
• Cash App uses Lightning Network for settlements
• BIP 177 proposes renaming Satoshis to Bitcoins
• 100M Satoshis equal one Bitcoin
• Jack Dorsey owns Block, Square, and Cash App
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:46 CashApp & Square updates overview
03:52 Bitcoin rails
09:36 Network effects
13:59 150 features
21:08 Bits are BACK
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Woke is out at the Department of War, and higher fitness standards are back. Since being sworn in as secretary, Pete Hegseth has acted to “removed the distractions” from the department, including getting rid of “political correctness” and “DEI offices.”
“No more dudes in dresses,” Hegseth said during a recent speech, adding, “we are restoring a ruthless, dispassionate, and common-sense application of standards.”
Amid the Department of War's implementation of common-sense politics and higher fitness standards, more women have chosen to enlist in the U.S. military.
Over the summer, the Department of War, which was recently renamed from the Department of Defense, announced about 24,000 women were shipped off to basic training in fiscal year 2025, up from about 16,700 in 2024.
Women want to be held to high standards, and that includes in military fitness, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson says on this week’s edition of “Problematic Women.”
Wilson joins the show to pull back the curtain on life at the Pentagon under Hegseth’s leadership, and explain the departments aggressive strategy behind defeating narco-terrorists.
Also on this week's edition of “Problematic Women,” we discuss who “won” the government shutdown battle. Plus, is the culture shifting toward a celebration of the family, or is it only a trend among some celebrities?
There was once a time when documentaries could be found only on public television or in art-house cinemas. But today, documentaries are more popular and accessible than ever, with streaming services serving up true crime, celebrity documentaries, music documentaries and so much more.
On today’s Sunday Special, Gilbert is joined by The New York Times’s chief television critic, James Poniewozik, and Alissa Wilkinson, a Times film critic, to talk about the documentaries that are worth your viewing time.
Gen Z and Millennials are tightening their purse strings, and the first businesses on the chopping block are fast-casual dining spots. The usual fan favorites like Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Cava are suddenly falling out of favor with young American consumers. WSJ reporters Heather Haddon and Matt Grossman discuss how these companies are responding, and what this shift says about the broader economy. Caitlin McCabe hosts.
Alexander Hamilton was a U.S founding father who has been growing in popularity due to the popular musical Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Hamilton was the first U.S Secretary of the Treasury and was foundational in the formation of American finance and government policies that remain in place to this day.
He is featured on the US Ten Dollar Bill and is one of the most famous Founding Fathers who never held elected office.
Learn about Alexander Hamilton, the “10-dollar founding father without a father,” on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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On the 200th anniversary of the Decembrist Revolt, Susanna Rabow-Edling published The First Russian Revolution: The Decembrist Revolt Of 1825(Reaktion Books, 2025), a new book about the first Russian Revolution. Though the 1825 coup attempt failed in its aspiration to change how Russia was governed, that failure has nevertheless cast a long shadow across Russian history since.
Live from Crooked Con, Dan Pfeiffer talks with Sarah Longwell, David Shor, Terrance Woodbury, and Carlos Odio about what the voters are telling us about what they’re looking for in this unprecedented moment, how we can recapture the groups that moved away from Democrats last year, and how much should we pay attention to polling. Then, Governor Andy Beshear sits down with Alex Wagner to explain how he broke the rules, and how other Democrats can follow suit.
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The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, doesn’t (just) have a scam problem—with 10 percent of its revenue coming from scam ads, and a third of all successful scams in America using a Meta platform at some point, it’s more an interdependence with scammers.
Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplusto get access wherever you listen.
President Trump says his Gaza peace plan will end the war between Israel and Hamas and launch a new era of peace in the Middle East. But a month into the ceasefire, progress on implementing the 20-point plan appears to be stalling. Today on The Sunday Story, NPR correspondents Aya Batrawy and Daniel Estrin unpack the ceasefire plan and why it’s not going according to plan. Why is the deal so fragile, and what does this mean for Gaza? And for the first time in over two years of war, NPR goes to the part of Gaza where Israel is fortifying its military occupation.
