Ft Big Read

The blasphemy case against Jakarta's governor and ally of President Widodo could land Basuki Tjahaja Purnama in jail, says Ben Bland. Religious and ethnic tensions are rising in the Muslim-majority country and critics say the backlash against the Chinese minority — to which Purnama belongs — is being stoked by political rivals  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The former leader in Japan's global corporate expansion and technological innovation has faced humiliation after humiliation from soured investments, nuclear disaster and scandal. And after sell-offs, writedowns and a boardroom clear-out Toshiba's troubles do not appear to be over yet, say Leo Lewis and Kana Inagaki.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump's promise to lighten financial services regulation has boosted the big banks' spirits. But Ben McLannahan and Barney Jopson's Big Read report 'What Wall Street wants from Trump' asked how realistic their hopes are. Here, Ben, Brooke Masters and Chris Grimes discuss the chances of the Dodd-Frank regulatory regime being dismantled  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are at the end of both an economic era and a geopolitical one, says Martin Wolf. What lies ahead? Will the post-world-war period led by the US descend into deglobalisation and conflict, or will a new order emerge with non-western powers such as China and India playing a bigger role in stability?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since the Tahrir Square popular revolt of 2011 control has only tightened over civil society and the social and economic problems have worsened, says FT deputy editor Roula Khalaf. But President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi believes he can save his country from catastrophe  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Abe and Putin seek to end the 70-year-old territorial dispute over the Kuril archipelago, report Robin Harding and Kathrin Hille  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matthew Garrahan, the FT's Global Media Editor, looks at how the US presidential election has catapulted the conservative website from the fringes and how it now plans to tap into the wave of populism sweeping European politics  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Médecins Sans Frontières, which the Financial Times has chosen as its partner for this year's Seasonal Appeal, is one of the few aid groups to continue working in war zones despite deadly attacks on its facilities. Erika Solomon discovers how the group’s commitment to impartiality helps staff stay on the front lines and in refugee camps in Yemen, Iraq and Syria  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tom Burgis looks at the case of Thomas Mair, a white supremacist who on November 23 was given a whole life sentence for the murder of his local Labour MP Jo Cox. What drove the loner from Birstall in West Yorkshire to strike just days before the EU referendum?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Moscow's willingness to use its nuclear capability to put pressure on the west is raising the spectre of nuclear war 25 years after the world thought the end of the cold war had removed it for good, say Neil Buckley, Sam Jones and Kathrin Hille. Nato is alarmed and Donald Trump's election has brought fresh fears  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Some sub-Saharan nations and aid agencies are sceptical of the EU's push to tackle the causes that send so many thousands on the dangerous passage across Libya and the Mediterranean to enter Europe via Italy, say Maggie Fick, James Politi and Duncan Robinson  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Republican candidate Donald Trump has a capacity for reinvention after business setbacks, says Gary Silverman. And, whether he gets to the White House or not, he will need his magic after the election to extricate himself from multiple cases of civil litigation and work out the way forward for Trump Inc  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has led the Islamic Republic since 1989. But after the nuclear deal with the US, questions have been raised over whether it is necessary to have a senior cleric in charge, says Najmeh Bozorgmehr. Now reformists and hardliners have begun to position themselves for influence over the future of the country  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tech groups and digital media stars are taking the initiative in challenging terrorist propaganda from groups like Isis, say Madhumita Murgia and Hannah Kuchler. They are using 'counter speech' to fight extremists' propaganda with their own chosen tools of persuasion — such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A property boom and an influx of new residents have put pressure on the city's affordable rental market, says Guy Chazan. The big fear of officials is that the German capital will see a housing crisis like London's  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A growing number of business advisers are seeking the flexibility and creativity of working for themselves independent of the big brands, says Andrew Hill, the FT's management editor. But the disruptive edge where McKinsey meets Uber has perils as well as attractions  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Post-Brexit vote, the UK's new prime minister faces the challenge of negotiating the country's exit from the EU while navigating its biggest political upheaval in a generation, say George Parker, Alex Barker and Kate Allen. With her speeches at the Conservative party conference, she has the chance to assert her authority  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The sunshine state is a key battleground, and it is one that Donald Trump must win to clinch the US presidential election, says Sam Fleming. Victory in the biggest swing state hinges on whether older white voters or the rapidly growing Hispanic population hold more sway  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The burkini bans are not the first time the country has been divided over religious dress, says Anne-Sylvaine Chassany. In 1908 the Catholic soutane was at the centre of a clash as the hijab and niqab are today, highlighting the tension between hardline and liberal secularism, dividing Muslims and threatening national unity  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Regulators have pushed the banking sector to behave more like the most humdrum utilities in a bid to end the 'too big to fail' culture. Now with valuations and profit levels converging, Patrick Jenkins assesses what the shift means for the sector  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.