{"podcast":{"title":"The Fourcast","slug":"the-fourcast-1366209","podcast_index_feed_id":1366209,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/1056b19ac/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://www.channel4.com/news/the-fourcast","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/43758723/143c5bd14fc66ee5.png","author":"Channel 4 News","episode_count":256,"summary":"A podcast from Channel 4 News taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from Westminster, Washington and around the world. From global conflicts to the corridors of power, we expose, examine and interrogate what's really going on with the people who really know. Watch the episodes here: https://www.channel4.com/news/the-fourcast","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T04:20:26.195980+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fourcast-1366209"},"episode":{"title":"The ROAD TO WWIII? The Iran war escalates | The Fourcast Indicators","slug":"the-road-to-wwiii-the-iran-war-escalates-the-fourcast-indicators","published_at":"2026-07-30T17:25:33+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fourcast-1366209/the-road-to-wwiii-the-iran-war-escalates-the-fourcast-indicators","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fourcast-1366209","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thefourcastc4news/episodes/The-ROAD-TO-WWIII--The-Iran-war-escalates--The-Fourcast-Indicators-e3monkm","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/1056b19ac/podcast/play/123542614/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-30%2F428916268-44100-2-fce1a8ee6325f.mp3","summary":"The war between the United States and Iran has spread across the Middle East. Fresh strikes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, alongside escalating Houthi attacks on international shipping, have raised fears that the region is entering a dangerous new phase. With Washington intensifying its military campaign and Iran relying on its network of allied militias, is this becoming a wider regional war? On this episode of The Fourcast: Indicators, Matt Frei and Mark Urban are joined by Professor Madawi al-Rasheed from the London School of Economics Middle East Centre. They discuss why the Houthis are stepping up attacks, whether Saudi Arabia is being pulled into the fighting despite its efforts to avoid it, how Iraqi militias could become a new flashpoint, and whether the US has a long-term strategy, or is being drawn into another prolonged Middle East war. Is there still a path to de-escalation, or are we witnessing the beginning of a conflict that could engulf the wider region?","meta_description":"The war between the United States and Iran has spread across the Middle East. Fresh strikes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, alongside escalating Houthi a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2441,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-fourcast-1366209/episodes/the-road-to-wwiii-the-iran-war-escalates-the-fourcast-indicators/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fourcast-1366209/the-road-to-wwiii-the-iran-war-escalates-the-fourcast-indicators.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}