September is here. As the calendar page tugs away, the madness of the dog days of summer blows away. The madness of the autumn is upon us.

With the Pina Colada mix in the recycling bin, the sense of happy impermanence is over, and all the bills we’ve rung up are about to fall due.

Now, with the put-upon air of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers, we’re counting the cost. Taking the medium-range view. Going through the key agenda items that will see us out of 2026.

Item one: Sort out Iran.

Two - Figure out who’s scamming US Treasury Yields

3. Count the cost of the US midterms

Number 4. Draw a bead on European energy policy as the frost starts to roll south.

5. Get inside the Russia Game.

6. Unpick America’s secondary sanctions on China

Finally, number 7 – throw the Donroe Doctrine in a skip.

Yes it’s a wardrobe’s worth of homework falling on us at once - across a 98 minute show.

And half of all that is here for all of our free subscribers.

The other half is behind the paywall.

That’s right: in a complex and ever-changing world, if you want to stay half-informed, remain a free sub. If you want to see the whole of the moon - sign up for the pods-only on Patreon.

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