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Lochdown is the third episode of Season 4 of The Grand Tour . It aired on 30th July 2021.

• 5 Production
• 6 Promotion/Marketing

Synopsis [ ]

Did you wonder what this trio were up to during the pandemic? Well, they took some classic American cars and went on a grand tour adventure through the Scottish coastal roads. There are overheated engines, shouting, plenty of tea, and a whole load of classic car chaos.

Teasers [ ]

Andy Wilman shared a teaser of the intro to the Episode on April 16th, 2021. It shows views of Scotland landmarks and more. In addition, a teaser was released on July 14th, 2021 through the show's new TikTok account. This revealed the name of the episode and properly confirmed that it was official.

The cars used are from America to "show" Scotland what they're missing out on. The American Classic muscle cars were used for the second part of the episode, while the terrible american cars were used in a "Cold War revival".

Summary [ ]

Warning, Spoilers below!

The show starts with gorgeous shots of Scottish landscape. The trio introduce their cars and find out they must travel from Edinburgh to the Outer Hebrides. The trio struggle through the cobbled streets of the city but eventually find their way out. Next, they test their cars against a benchmark time at the Knockhill race track. The trio realise that they can not stay in hotels due to the lockdown, and therefore have to sleep in caravans. As usual, they modify these caravans. However, Hammond and Clarkson destroy their caravans and flood May's one in a prank so they stay the night in a Scottish castle.

The next morning, they switch to classic muscle cars to pay tribute to them. However, wanting to balance out these amazing cars, they showcase the worst in a "recreation" of the Cold War. This is done with a demolition derby of three rubbish cars from the Soviet Union and three from America.

The trio want to find a community that would enjoy the style and flamboyannce of the American cars, embarassing to Europeans. So they drive up to North Uist, but find a body of water in the way. To get over, they build a pontoon-like bridge and reach the American community. However, they are disappointed.

Production [ ]

The episode was filmed in October 2020 over the Scottish Highlands, starting at Edinburgh.

Promotion/Marketing [ ]

For this special, the trio took a different approach to advertising the special's forthcoming release. They pretended as if they had no promotional material (although images were used frequently on their social medias throughout July) and asked the fans to make some images, videos and films to do it instead. This was done through a Twitter Hastag (#Lochdown)

Gallery [ ]

• 3 Hammond's Rimac Crash

Classic American Cars Roam Scotland In 'The Grand Tour: Lochdown' Trailer

Find out when Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond return in the Amazon show.

Hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May , and Richard Hammond are getting back together for another road trip. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the heroes will explore relatively nearby regions and visit Scotland, which is part of the UK, along with Northern Ireland, England, and Wales. For their trip, they will use American classic cars .

FOLLOW HERE: HotCars Official On Twitter

What Does A New The Grand Tour Trailer Show?

Amazon Prime has unveiled the first trailer for a new special episode of the auto show The Grand Tour , which will focus on the host's journey to Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic. The title of the episode is "Lochdown." The trailer first appeared on TikTok and later on YouTube.

As usual, there will be a lot of cars, funny situations, jokes, and discussions surrounding the automotive market. The hosts of the show chose classic American cars of the '70s for transport. Judging by the trailer, they are not always ideal for traveling around Scotland.

RELATED: Jeremy Clarkson Spills Details About 'Unplugged' The Grand Tour Scotland Special

What's Known About The New 'The Grand Tour' Season?

The video also showed how the heroes are trying to cross a huge lake by car using a makeshift bridge. The episode was filmed in the fall of 2020. Everything was filmed over 10 days, during which around £50,000 was spent on coronavirus tests for the film crew.

The fourth season of The Grand Tour will be exclusively a one-hour series. The premiere is scheduled for July 30. Last time, the episode was released a day ahead of schedule , so fans will be eagerly checking out the new episode on July 29.

Earlier, the heroes went on a boat trip to the Mekong Delta, and also visited Madagascar in search of pirate treasures.

The concept behind The Grand Tour is simple. The show combines places where gearheads would like to drive and visit, while doing so in notable modes of transport. This is where the name of the show comes from. Once, Grand Tour was the name of trips on luxury carriages, then on comfortable cars. Also, the hosts are good at creating funny situations. For example, in one of the plots, Clarkson is moving the car in which Hammond is sleeping. In another, Jeremy is driving in a bulletproof vest while May shoots him.

Source: The Grand Tour

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Scotland Special (TGT)

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The episode saw the presenters travel from Edinburgh to Outer Herbedries in three enormous American Luxury cars. Throughout their journey they drove some other classic american cars as well.

• 3 Production

Synopsis [ ]

Despite their being a high allyship between Britian and America very few American cars are actually bought by the British. To find out why the presenters are sent to Scotland with three enormous American luxury cars, travelling from Edinburgh to Outer Herbedries to see what cars like these are like to live with. During their journey, they try out some other american cars including some classic american muscle cars and some terrible american cars.

Production [ ]

The episode was filmed in October 2020 in Scotland, But due to the COVID-19 pandemic it aired on the 30th of July 2021.

• It is the first European Special that the trio have taken part in.
• It is also the first special to take place in the UK, due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19.
• Like International Buffoons' Vacation , this special takes place as a long road trip with several different modes of transport rather than the usual long adventure in a remote country.

Trailer [ ]

The Grand Tour Presents- Lochdown - Official Trailer - The Grand Tour-2

• 2 Zimbabwe Special (TGT)
• 3 Hammond's Rimac Crash (TGT)

Lochdown - The Grand Tour Scotland Special: Everything you need to know as it starts streaming

The much-anticipated episode that was filmed in Scotland during lockdown is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

• 14:23, 30 JUL 2021
• Updated 14:29, 30 JUL 2021

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Fans of The Grand Tour have been clamouring for months to find out when the most recent special will air.

Filmed during lockdown after the pandemic put paid to plans to film in Russia, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond were spotted driving around the Highlands in American muscle cars.

Now, it seems fans of the hit show will finally get to see what the trio has been up to on their adventures in "MacScotland" as Clarkson calls it, with the much anticipated special streaming on Amazon Prime from today.

So what can GT fans expect from the new Scotland special?

This week's top Scotland Now stories

Where can fans watch The Grand Tour Presents: ­Lochdown?

The Grand Tour Presents: ­Lochdown began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on July 30 from midnight GMT, meaning fans can watch it now.

Those with a subscription to the streaming can watch now, while those without will need to subscribe to a 30-day free trial on the streaming platform, with membership costing £7.99 per month after.

What can fans expect from the new special?

Starting out on what promises to be the "most beautiful drive they have ever done", as expected from these three the trip quickly descends into chaos.

Taking Classic American cars from the 70s (and their childhood) as their inspiration, the new tour sees them behind the wheels of a Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a Lincoln Continental and a Buick Riviera.

May was pictured driving the Cadillac, while Hammond was in the Buick, and Clarkson was seen behind the wheel of a Lincoln.

The cast and crew apparently even had their own Covid-19 testing centre van for added safety on set.

Clarkson, 61, recently described the new mini-special as "an unplugged album", adding that it's a change of pace that "some people might quite like".

Speaking to PA he said: "People have been saying that my farming programme - because it's so gentle and down to earth and local - is better for it. So maybe they'll think the same of this Grand Tour."

What parts of Scotland will we see?

Beginning their journey in Berwick-upon-Tweed, they then head to the capital, before stopping off at places such as the picturesque Glentruim and Perthshire.

They then boarded their cars onto a Calmac ferry on their way to North Uist where the adventure finished up.

What did they get up to for the Lochdown Special?

The mischievous trio can be seen hitting the race track, driving over floating bridges (which they built themselves) and crashing caravans.

But it isn't long before Hammond is sinking boats, May is getting stuck and Clarkson is up to no good.

As Clarkson recently quipped: "When we're all three together, everything goes wrong."

It's the kind of high jinks fans expect from the three, and is sure to whet their appetite for the arrival of the third special in the Amazon hit show's fourth series.

How did shooting during the pandemic affect the show?

It's been reported that producers spent £50,000 on coronavirus tests on the ten-day shoot, while bosses at an Outer Hebrides hotel were forced to defend the show's stars following rumours of an 'after party' at their Benbecula accommodation which would have been in breach of coronavirus guidelines at the time.

James May told the RadioTimes.com that the shoot was still great fun, adding: " I mean we had to COVID proof everything, which meant the whole process was not very spontaneous at times,

"Often you have to disinfect things and the crews had to exist in bubbles, and we had to be two metres away from everybody else – but all this stuff wasn’t that terrible considering."

What's next?

With the current problems with travelling abroad, especially to Russia where they originally planned to shoot, it's now likely that the next release will be the second part of the UK double bill across England and Wales, which was recorded in April 2021 to be streamed later this year.

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The Grand Tour Scotland trailer lands, with Clarkson, Hammond and May up to their usual tricks

It’s a ‘lochdown’ like no other.

SCOTLAND is the destination for the latest The Grand Tour adventure starring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond – and the full Amazon Prime Video trailer has just landed on YouTube.

Clarkson’s voiceover welcomes viewers to the spectacular Scottish scenery and James May states that “this promises to be the most beautiful drive we have ever done,” before the scene changes to a murky, foggy day and the screech of a fan belt as Clarkson negotiates a tight bend.

Classic American cars were chosen for the Scotland trip, called the “Lochdown”, led by Clarkson’s bright blue Continental Mk V, a two-door coupé that was sold from 1977-1979.

Richard Hammond takes the wheel of a green Buick Riviera, another huge American coupé, built from 1971-1973 in the third-generation guise featured on screen.

The third behemoth, driven by James May, is a Cadillac Coupe de Ville from 1976. In the trailer, May says “driving this, I feel like Elvis Presley,” to which Clarkson quips “what, dead on a lavatory?”

As expected, chaos ensues in Scotland. Hammond’s Buick overheats with steam coming out of the engine bay, while Clarkson’s car spins its wheels on small cobblestoned streets it can barely fit down.

The trio then take their wallowing American classics onto the tight and bumpy Knockhill racing circuit before switching to muscle cars.

An aerial shot shows an example of the original Ford Mustang Fastback, resplendent in white with blue racing stripes, in convoy with a stunning orange Chevrolet Camaro SS from the late sixties.

Driven by May and Clarkson, these arrive at an elegant Scottish castle that could easily be mistaken for the Queen’s Balmoral Castle, May suggesting, “I’m not sure we’re blending in terribly well.”

The peace and quiet is then disturbed by Hammond’s big cheeky laugh and the sound of a supercharged V8 engine as he turns up in what looks like a modified version of the Buick Riviera he drives earlier in the show.

Clarkson checks his phone and says “apparently there’s some virus going around so we aren’t allowed to stay at a hotel, even if we can find one.” Unsurprisingly, this means the addition of caravans to the fun.

Hammond wraps his caravan in aluminium foil in an attempt to make it look like the iconic Airstream models, and then proceeds to crash it into the Scottish countryside.

May’s Texan cowboy-like Cadillac tows a small caravan with a black-and-white cow pattern all over it. Later in the trailer, Hammond and Clarkson fill it up with water.

The central challenge of The Grand Tour’s Lochdown trip appears to be building a floating bridge over a loch and driving across it in the large classic cars.

May is first to attempt it, in the big Coupe de Ville, the weight of the car deforming the floating roadway so much that the car becomes stuck.

Clarkson, waiting behind to cross, announces “I have a brilliant idea,” before accelerating hard at the back of the Cadillac.

The trailer ends with May shouting “Clarksonnnnnnnn!”

It’s understood that the trio formed a social bubble to film this episode of The Grand Tour during the coronavirus lockdown and the film crew can be seen wearing face masks at one point in the trailer.

Previewing the official trailer released today, The Grand Tour joined TikTok. Clarkson, Hammond and May got together to announce this in their own middle-aged men way.

The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown will be available on Amazon Prime Video from July 30, 2021.

This article features affiliate links. We may earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to affect our opinions.

• After reading how Clarkson and co visit Scotland in the latest Grand Tour adventure, you might be interested to read that the Madagascar special was the toughest trip yet
• Read Clarkson’s review of the Volkswagen Touareg R
• Get a behind the scenes look at The Grand Tour
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The Grand Tour‘s New Scotland Special Is a Malaise Car Marathon

Towing trailers, taking on race tracks, and truckloads of tomfoolery appear to return to the popular car tv show.

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Let's all acknowledge an ugly truth for a second: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May haven't exactly been on their best form in recent years. The Grand Tour has had its moments, but all too often, episodes like A Massive Hunt leave us wondering if now's the time to pull the plug on the operation at long last. Our hopes remain high though, especially following the trailer for the trio's newest special, Lochdown , a proto-pandemic romp across Scotland.

As revealed in a trailer released Thursday, the Brits embark on a tour of the northernmost land of Great Britain in Malaise Era American cars, ill-suited to the British Isles' tight roads or gas prices. Clarkson commands a '70s Lincoln Continental Mark V, Hammond a 1971-1973 Buick Riviera, and May, a 1975 or 1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

These decadent disgraces to the American automotive industry are taken many places they don't belong, European city roads, through rivers, and for at least one hairy, roly-poly lap of a racetrack. As COVID-19 restrictions come into effect, they're then forced to sequester themselves away in trailers , which they tow behind (and possibly destroy with) their Malaise machinery.

They also appear to spend some time modifying their cars, as evidenced by a Plymouth Superbird -style wing on Hammond's Buick—Lord knows why he did that.

Guess we'll all find out when Lochdown hits Prime Video on July 30. Before it does, be sure to stock up on toilet paper, just to put yourself back in that shellshocked early-pandemic state of mind. If you ever left it, that is.

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The Grand Tour Scotland ‘Lochdown’ Special Release Date, Trailer Unveiled by Amazon Prime Video

Clarkson, hammond, and may set off during the pandemic in season 4 episode 3..

Photo Credit: Amazon

Richard Hammond in The Grand Tour season 4 episode 3

• The Grand Tour Scotland special release date is July 30 on Prime Video
• Filmed in Scotland during lockdown because of COVID-19 restrictions
• The Grand Tour season 4 episode 3 comes 7 months after episode 2

The Grand Tour will return on July 30, Amazon Prime Video has announced, with a new trailer for “The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown”, the third feature-length special part of The Grand Tour season 4. In it, the former Top Gear trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May get in classic American cars and take off for Scotland. For those wondering why they aren't in a more non-British exotic place — such as Cambodia/ Vietnam for episode 1, or Madagascar for episode 2 — that's because The Grand Tour's Scotland special was shot filmed during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hence the pun “Lochdown” in the title, referencing the Irish word for lake — and the famous Loch Ness.

Still, May promises “the most beautiful drive we have ever done” in the two-and-a-half-minute long trailer for The Grand Tour season 4 episode 3 “Lochdown”. And you can't argue with that, given the sneak peek at the vistas that we see in The Grand Tour Scotland special trailer. Of course, things are not going to be smooth sailing. Their classic (read: old) cars will naturally give them a lot of trouble, be it boiling engines or the struggles of getting out of them. Or just even basic turning abilities. The “Lochdown” trailer reveals that Clarkson, Hammond, and May will also keep switching cars throughout the new The Grand Tour episode.

And what are they up to? As Clarkson says in The Grand Tour Scotland special trailer, they have to build a bridge to ...somewhere in Outer Hebrides. The “Lochdown” trailer ends with May's car stuck on said bridge, with Clarkson about to use his patented use-all-the-power strategy to give him a push. You know, as well as I do, how's that going to go. Elsewhere, there's Hammond crashing his RV (expected), playing pranks on someone else's RV (what can go wrong?), and being applauded by Clarkson, May, and the masked crew for doing something stupid, it seems.

After airing 38 episodes across three seasons between 2016 and 2019, The Grand Tour has really slowed down its production as it has moved away from the hybrid studio and outdoors format. Amazon has expanded its deal with the trio, which includes new solo shows (Our Man in Japan for May, Clarkson's Farm for Clarkson, and The Great Escapists for Hammond). Starting with season 4 , The Grand Tour is now only about feature-length specials. The first of them, “Seamen” aired in December 2019, followed by the second “A Massive Hunt” in December 2020.

Here's the official synopsis for The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown from Amazon :

Confined to the UK by Covid, Jeremy, Richard and James embark on a Lockdown Special to celebrate the great 70s American cars they saw in TV shows as kids, and to find out just why it was, given their Dads were all driving terrible Austin Allegros, that these amazing vehicles never took off in Britain. At the wheel of a Cadillac Coupe De Ville as driven by Elvis, a Lincoln Continental as driven by Jock Ewing of Dallas fame, and a Buick Riviera as piloted by Clint Eastwood, the three hosts take their iconic Detroit machines on a road trip across the stunning scenery of Scotland. And even though they are on home turf this lockdown journey turns out to be one of their funniest, most action packed and most charming adventures in years. Along the way they cause chaos on the ancient streets of Edinburgh, enjoy a hilarious, tyre torturing, high octane showdown with Abbie on the racetrack, before heading off to stage an epic Cold War shootout between the worst Soviet and American cars ever made. They also find themselves homeless in the Highlands after a series of housing-based crash bang wallop catastrophes, but still find time to use classic muscle cars to put an infamous Pizza Express journey to the test. After receiving a text from Mr Wilman, Richard, James and Jeremy modify their cars and head to the Outer Hebrides for one of their toughest challenges yet. At the far reaches of Scotland, they must build a homemade floating bridge across the Hebridean sea, capable of supporting them and their massive cars on a perilous journey to their final destination.

The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown premieres July 30 on Prime Video worldwide. The previous episode released a day early so I'd keep an eye on the app from July 29.

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The Grand Tour: Series 3, Episode 7: ‘Well aged Scotch’

• The boys take three classic cars on a road trip across Scotland
• Jeremy Clarkson compares the BMW M5 and Alpina B5 at the Eboladrome

Episode Guide

In this episode, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to prove that not all classic cars have become insanely expensive by finding rare and desirable machines that have yet to accelerate up the appreciation curve.

With Clarkson in an Alfa Romeo GTV6, Hammond in a Fiat X1/9 and May in a Lancia Gamma Coupe, the three set off on a road trip around the top of Scotland taking in the sensational driving roads of the North Coast 500, winding their way through some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world to a soundtrack of grinding gearboxes, malfunctioning wipers and Richard Hammond complaining about how horribly cold he is.

Also in this show, Jeremy is at the Eboladrome to test the new BMW M5 super saloon against the same-but-different Alpina B5.

Screenshots

‘International Buffoons’ Vacation’ – The Grand Tour Series 3 Episode 8 Preview

Top gear: series 26, episode 2, related posts, the grand tour: series 3, episode 14: ‘funeral for a ford’, the grand tour: series 3, episode 13: ‘survival of the fattest’, the grand tour: series 3, episode 12: ‘legends and luggage’, the grand tour: series 3, episode 11: ‘sea to unsalty sea’, the grand tour: series 3, episode 10: ‘the youth vote’, the grand tour: series 3, episode 9: ‘aston, astronauts and angelina’s children’.

Great classic cars.But really feels like TG S13 all over again（Hamster freezing,Clarkson loves his car,James get the least sports car like choice on a beautiful road trip）

After Tomorrow Never Dies E38 from last episode,Jezza get in a Bond car again.AR GTV6 in Octopussy

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Episode list

The grand tour.

S3.E1 ∙ Motown Funk

S3.E2 ∙ The Colombia Special Part 1

S3.E3 ∙ The Colombia Special Part 2

S3.E4 ∙ Pick Up, Put Downs

S3.E5 ∙ An Itchy Urus

S3.E6 ∙ Chinese Food for Thought

S3.E7 ∙ Well Aged Scotch

S3.E8 ∙ International Buffoons Vacation

S3.E9 ∙ Aston, Astronauts and Angelina's Children

S3.E10 ∙ The Youth Vote

S3.E11 ∙ Sea to Unsalty Sea

S3.E12 ∙ Legends and Luggage

S3.E13 ∙ The Mongolia Special-Survival of the Fattest

S3.E14 ∙ Funeral for a Ford

S4.E1 ∙ The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen

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A Plan to Remake the Middle East

While talks for a cease-fire between israel and hamas continue, another set of negotiations is happening behind the scenes..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Today, if and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a ceasefire fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East. My colleague Michael Crowley has been reporting on that plan and explains why those involved in it believe they have so little time left to get it done.

It’s Wednesday, May 8.

Michael, I want to start with what feels like a pretty dizzying set of developments in this conflict over the past few days. Just walk us through them?

Well, over the weekend, there was an intense round of negotiations in an effort, backed by the United States, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

The latest ceasefire proposal would reportedly see as many as 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

US officials were very eager to get this deal.

Pressure for a ceasefire has been building ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah.

Because Israel has been threatening a military offensive in the Southern Palestinian city of Rafah, where a huge number of people are crowded.

Fleeing the violence to the North. And now they’re packed into Rafah. Exposed and vulnerable, they need to be protected.

And the US says it would be a humanitarian catastrophe on top of the emergency that’s already underway.

Breaking news this hour — very important breaking news. An official Hamas source has told The BBC that it does accept a proposal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

And for a few hours on Monday, it looked like there might have been a major breakthrough when Hamas put out a statement saying that it had accepted a negotiating proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire proposal does not meet his country’s requirements. But Netanyahu says he will send a delegation of mediators to continue those talks. Now, the terms —

But those hopes were dashed pretty quickly when the Israelis took a look at what Hamas was saying and said that it was not a proposal that they had agreed to. It had been modified.

And overnight —

Israeli troops stormed into Rafah. Video showing tanks crashing over a sign at the entrance of the city.

— the Israelis launched a partial invasion of Rafah.

It says Hamas used the area to launch a deadly attack on Israeli troops over the weekend.

And they have now secured a border crossing at the Southern end of Gaza and are conducting targeted strikes. This is not yet the full scale invasion that President Biden has adamantly warned Israel against undertaking, but it is an escalation by Israel.

So while all that drama might suggest that these talks are in big trouble, these talks are very much still alive and ongoing and there is still a possibility of a ceasefire deal.

And the reason that’s so important is not just to stop the fighting in Gaza and relieve the suffering there, but a ceasefire also opens the door to a grand diplomatic bargain, one that involves Israel and its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians, and would have very far-reaching implications.

And what is that grand bargain. Describe what you’re talking about?

Well, it’s incredibly ambitious. It would reshape Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, principally Saudi Arabia. But it’s important to understand that this is a vision that has actually been around since well before October 7. This was a diplomatic project that President Biden had been investing in and negotiating actually in a very real and tangible way long before the Hamas attacks and the Gaza war.

And President Biden was looking to build on something that President Trump had done, which was a series of agreements that the Trump administration struck in which Israel and some of its Arab neighbors agreed to have normal diplomatic relations for the first time.

Right, they’re called the Abraham Accords.

That’s right. And, you know, Biden doesn’t like a lot of things, most things that Trump did. But he actually likes this, because the idea is that they contribute to stability and economic integration in the Middle East, the US likes Israel having friends and likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

President Biden agrees with the Saudis and with the Israelis, that Iran is really the top threat to everybody here. So, how can you build on this? How can you expand it? Well, the next and biggest step would be normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

And the Saudis have made clear that they want to do this and that they’re ready to do this. They weren’t ready to do it in the Trump years. But Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has made clear he wants to do it now.

So this kind of triangular deal began to take shape before October 7, in which the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would enter this three way agreement in which everyone would get something that they wanted.

And just walk through what each side gets in this pre-October 7th version of these negotiations?

So for Israel, you get normalized ties with its most important Arab neighbor and really the country that sets the tone for the whole Muslim world, which is Saudi Arabia of course. It makes Israel feel safer and more secure. Again, it helps to build this alliance against Iran, which Israel considers its greatest threat, and it comes with benefits like economic ties and travel and tourism. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very open, at least before October 7th, that this was his highest diplomatic and foreign policy priority.

For the Saudis, the rationale is similar when it comes to Israel. They think that it will bring stability. They like having a more explicitly close ally against Iran. There are economic and cultural benefits. Saudi Arabia is opening itself up in general, encouraging more tourism.

But I think that what’s most important to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is what he can get from the United States. And what he has been asking for are a couple of essential things. One is a security agreement whose details have always been a little bit vague, but I think essentially come down to reliable arms supplies from the United States that are not going to be cut off or paused on a whim, as he felt happened when President Biden stopped arms deliveries in 2021 because of how Saudi was conducting its war in Yemen. The Saudis were furious about that.

Saudi Arabia also wants to start a domestic nuclear power program. They are planning for a very long-term future, possibly a post-oil future. And they need help getting a nuclear program off the ground.

And they want that from the US?

And they want that from the US.

Now, those are big asks from the us. But from the perspective of President Biden, there are some really enticing things about this possible agreement. One is that it will hopefully produce more stability in the region. Again, the US likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

The US also wants to have a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. You know, despite the anger at Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration recognizes that given the Saudis control over global oil production and their strategic importance in the Middle East, they need to have a good relationship with them. And the administration has been worried about the influence of China in the region and with the Saudis in particular.

So this is an opportunity for the US to draw the Saudis closer. Whatever our moral qualms might be about bin Salman and the Saudi government, this is an opportunity to bring the Saudis closer, which is something the Biden administration sees as a strategic benefit.

All three of these countries — big, disparate countries that normally don’t see eye-to-eye, this was a win-win-win on a military, economic, and strategic front.

That’s right. But there was one important actor in the region that did not see itself as winning, and that was the Palestinians.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

First, it’s important to understand that the Palestinians have always expected that the Arab countries in the Middle East would insist that Israel recognize a Palestinian state before those countries were willing to essentially make total peace and have normal relations with Israel.

So when the Abraham Accords happened in the Trump administration, the Palestinians felt like they’d been thrown under the bus because the Abraham Accords gave them virtually nothing. But the Palestinians did still hold out hope that Saudi Arabia would be their savior. And for years, Saudi Arabia has said that Israel must give the Palestinians a state if there’s going to be a normal relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Now the Palestinians see the Saudis in discussions with the US and Israel about a normalization agreement, and there appears to be very little on offer for the Palestinians. And they are feeling like they’re going to be left out in the cold here.

Right. And in the minds of the Palestinians, having already been essentially sold out by all their other Arab neighbors, the prospect that Saudi Arabia, of all countries, the most important Muslim Arab country in the region, would sell them out, had to be extremely painful.

It was a nightmare scenario for them. And in the minds of many analysts and US officials, this was a factor, one of many, in Hamas’s decision to stage the October 7th attacks.

Hamas, like other Palestinian leaders, was seeing the prospect that the Middle East was moving on and essentially, in their view, giving up on the Palestinian cause, and that Israel would be able to have friendly, normal relations with Arab countries around the region, and that it could continue with hardline policies toward the Palestinians and a refusal, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly, to accept a Palestinian state.

Right. So Michael, once Hamas carries out the October 7th attacks in an effort to destroy a status quo that it thinks is leaving them less and less relevant, more and more hopeless, including potentially this prospect that Saudi Arabia is going to normalize relations with Israel, what happens to these pre-October 7th negotiations between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel?

Well, I think there was a snap assumption that these talks were dead and buried. That they couldn’t possibly survive a cataclysm like this.

But then something surprising happened. It became clear that all the parties were still determined to pull-off the normalization.

And most surprisingly of all, perhaps, was the continued eagerness of Saudi Arabia, which publicly was professing outrage over the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks, but privately was still very much engaged in these conversations and trying to move them forward.

And in fact, what has happened is that the scope of this effort has grown substantially. October 7th didn’t kill these talks. It actually made them bigger, more complicated, and some people would argue, more important than ever.

We’ll be right back.

Michael, walk us through what exactly happens to these three-way negotiations after October 7th that ends up making them, as you just said, more complicated and more important than ever?

Well, it’s more important than ever because of the incredible need in Gaza. And it’s going to take a deal like this and the approval of Saudi Arabia to unlock the kind of massive reconstruction project required to essentially rebuild Gaza from the rubble. Saudi Arabia and its Arab friends are also going to be instrumental in figuring out how Gaza is governed, and they might even provide troops to help secure it. None of those things are going to happen without a deal like this.

Fascinating.

But this is all much more complicated now because the price for a deal like this has gone up.

And by price, you mean?

What Israel would have to give up. [MUSIC PLAYING]

From Saudi Arabia’s perspective, you have an Arab population that is furious at Israel. It now feels like a really hard time to do a normalization deal with the Israelis. It was never going to be easy, but this is about as bad a time to do it as there has been in a generation at least. And I think that President Biden and the people around him understand that the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians is intolerable and it is going to lead to chaos and violence indefinitely.

So now you have two of the three parties to this agreement, the Saudis and the Americans, basically asking a new price after October 7th, and saying to the Israelis, if we’re going to do this deal, it has to not only do something for the Palestinians, it has to do something really big. You have to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, I’ll be specific and say that what you hear the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, say is that the agreement has to include an irreversible time-bound path to a Palestinian state.

We don’t know exactly what that looks like, but it’s some kind of a firm commitment, the likes of which the world and certainly the Israelis have not made before.

Something that was very much not present in the pre-October 7th vision of this negotiation. So much so that, as we just talked about, the Palestinians were left feeling completely out in the cold and furious at it.

That’s right. There was no sign that people were thinking that ambitiously about the Palestinians in this deal before October 7th. And the Palestinians certainly felt like they weren’t going to get much out of it. And that has completely changed now.

So, Michael, once this big new dimension after October 7th, which is the insistence by Saudi Arabia and the US that there be a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state, what is the reaction specifically from Israel, which is, of course, the third major party to this entire conversation?

Well, Israel, or at least its political leadership, hates it. You know, this is just an extremely tough sell in Israel. It would have been a tough sell before October 7th. It’s even harder now.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is completely unrepentantly open in saying that there’s not going to be a Palestinian state on his watch. He won’t accept it. He says that it’s a strategic risk to his country. He says that it would, in effect, reward Hamas.

His argument is that terrorism has forced a conversation about statehood onto the table that wasn’t there before October 7th. Sure, it’s always in the background. It’s a perennial issue in global affairs, but it was not something certainly that the US and Israel’s Arab neighbors were actively pushing. Netanyahu also has — you know, he governs with the support of very right-wing members of a political coalition that he has cobbled together. And that coalition is quite likely to fall apart if he does embrace a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state.

Now, he might be able to cobble together some sort of alternative, but it creates a political crisis for him.

And finally, you know, I think in any conversation about Israel, it’s worth bearing in mind something you hear from senior US officials these days, which is that although there is often finger pointing at Netanyahu and a desire to blame Netanyahu as this obstructionist who won’t agree to deals, what they say is Netanyahu is largely reflecting his population and the political establishment of his country, not just the right-wingers in his coalition who are clearly extremist.

But actually the prevailing views of the Israeli public. And the Israeli public and their political leaders across the spectrum right now with few exceptions, are not interested in talking about a Palestinian state when there are still dozens and dozens of Israeli hostages in tunnels beneath Gaza.

So it very much looks like this giant agreement that once seemed doable before October 7th might be more important to everyone involved than ever, given that it’s a plan for rebuilding Gaza and potentially preventing future October 7th’s from happening, but because of this higher price that Israel would have to pay, which is the acceptance of a Palestinian state, it seems from everything you’re saying, that this is more and more out of reach than ever before and hard to imagine happening in the immediate future. So if the people negotiating it are being honest, Michael, are they ready to acknowledge that it doesn’t look like this is going to happen?

Well, not quite yet. As time goes by, they certainly say it’s getting harder and harder, but they’re still trying, and they still think there’s a chance. But both the Saudis and the Biden administration understand that there’s very little time left to do this.

Well, what do you mean there’s very little time left? It would seem like time might benefit this negotiation in that it might give Israel distance from October 7th to think potentially differently about a Palestinian state?

Potentially. But Saudi Arabia wants to get this deal done in the Biden administration because Mohammed bin Salman has concluded this has to be done under a Democratic president.

Because Democrats in Congress are going to be very reluctant to approve a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

It’s important to understand that if there is a security agreement, that’s something Congress is going to have to approve. And you’re just not going to get enough Democrats in Congress to support a deal with Saudi Arabia, who a lot of Democrats don’t like to begin with, because they see them as human rights abusers.

But if a Democratic president is asking them to do it, they’re much more likely to go along.

Right. So Saudi Arabia fears that if Biden loses and Trump is president, that those same Democrats would balk at this deal in a way that they wouldn’t if it were being negotiated under President Biden?

Exactly. Now, from President Biden’s perspective, politically, think about a president who’s running for re-election, who is presiding right now over chaos in the Middle East, who doesn’t seem to have good answers for the Israeli-Palestinian question, this is an opportunity for President Biden to deliver what could be at least what he would present as a diplomatic masterstroke that does multiple things at once, including creating a new pathway for Israel and the Palestinians to coexist, to break through the logjam, even as he is also improving Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

So Biden and the Crown Prince hope that they can somehow persuade Bibi Netanyahu that in spite of all the reasons that he thinks this is a terrible idea, that this is a bet worth taking on Israel’s and the region’s long-term security and future?

That’s right. Now, no one has explained very clearly exactly how this is going to work, and it’s probably going to require artful diplomacy, possibly even a scenario where the Israelis would agree to something that maybe means one thing to them and means something else to other people. But Biden officials refuse to say that it’s hopeless and they refuse to essentially take Netanyahu’s preliminary no’s for an answer. And they still see some way that they can thread this incredibly narrow needle.

Michael, I’m curious about a constituency that we haven’t been talking about because they’re not at the table in these discussions that we are talking about here. And that would be Hamas. How does Hamas feel about the prospect of such a deal like this ever taking shape. Do they see it as any kind of a victory and vindication for what they did on October 7th?

So it’s hard to know exactly what Hamas’s leadership is thinking. I think they can feel two things. I think they can feel on the one hand, that they have established themselves as the champions of the Palestinian people who struck a blow against Israel and against a diplomatic process that was potentially going to leave the Palestinians out in the cold.

At the same time, Hamas has no interest in the kind of two-state solution that the US is trying to promote. They think Israel should be destroyed. They think the Palestinian state should cover the entire geography of what is now Israel, and they want to lead a state like that. And that’s not something that the US, Saudi Arabia, or anyone else is going to tolerate.

So what Hamas wants is to fight, to be the leader of the Palestinian people, and to destroy Israel. And they’re not interested in any sort of a peace process or statehood process.

It seems very clear from everything you’ve said here that neither Israel nor Hamas is ready to have the conversation about a grand bargain diplomatic program. And I wonder if that inevitably has any bearing on the ceasefire negotiations that are going on right now between the two of them that are supposed to bring this conflict to some sort of an end, even if it’s just temporary?

Because if, as you said, Michael, a ceasefire opens the door to this larger diplomatic solution, and these two players don’t necessarily want that larger diplomatic solution, doesn’t that inevitably impact their enthusiasm for even reaching a ceasefire?

Well, it certainly doesn’t help. You know, this is such a hellish problem. And of course, you first have the question of whether Israel and Hamas can make a deal on these immediate issues, including the hostages, Palestinian prisoners, and what the Israeli military is going to do, how long a ceasefire might last.

But on top of that, you have these much bigger diplomatic questions that are looming over them. And it’s not clear that either side is ready to turn and face those bigger questions.

So while for the Biden administration and for Saudi Arabia, this is a way out of this crisis, these larger diplomatic solutions, it’s not clear that it’s a conversation that the two parties that are actually at war here are prepared to start having.

Well, Michael, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

On Tuesday afternoon, under intense pressure from the US, delegations from Israel and Hamas arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations over a potential ceasefire. But in a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that even with the talks underway, his government would, quote, “continue to wage war against Hamas.”

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a dramatic day of testimony, Stormy Daniels offered explicit details about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump that ultimately led to the hush money payment at the center of his trial. Daniels testified that Trump answered the door in pajamas, that he told her not to worry that he was married, and that he did not use a condom when they had sex.

That prompted lawyers for Trump to seek a mistrial based on what they called prejudicial testimony. But the judge in the case rejected that request. And,

We’ve seen a ferocious surge of anti-Semitism in America and around the world.

In a speech on Tuesday honoring victims of the Holocaust, President Biden condemned what he said was the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States after the October 7th attacks on Israel. And he expressed worry that too many Americans were already forgetting the horrors of that attack.

The Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you’re not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will.

Today’s episode was produced by Nina Feldman, Clare Toeniskoetter, and Rikki Novetsky. It was edited by Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for The Daily. I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

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• May 14, 2024   •   35:20 Voters Want Change. In Our Poll, They See It in Trump.
• May 13, 2024   •   27:46 How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China
• May 10, 2024   •   27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
• May 9, 2024   •   34:42 One Strongman, One Billion Voters, and the Future of India
• May 8, 2024   •   28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
• May 7, 2024   •   27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
• May 6, 2024   •   29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
• May 3, 2024   •   25:33 The Protesters and the President
• May 2, 2024   •   29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Michael Crowley

Produced by Nina Feldman ,  Clare Toeniskoetter and Rikki Novetsky

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

If and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a cease-fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East.

Michael Crowley, who covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times, explains why those involved in this plan believe they have so little time left to get it done.

On today’s episode

Michael Crowley , a reporter covering the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times.

Background reading :

Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza war are once again at an uncertain stage .

Here’s how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7 .

From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a “real” Palestinian state .

Here’s what Israeli officials are discussing about postwar Gaza.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Michael Crowley covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times. He has reported from nearly three dozen countries and often travels with the secretary of state. More about Michael Crowley

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The Grand Tour Presents Lochdown – Parts Of The Episode Revealed To Be Shot In Swindon, 350 Miles South Of Edinburgh

It’s been revealed that while the latest episode of The Grand Tour, named Lochdown , was set in Scotland, not all of the show was actually filmed in the country. In fact, it’s been confirmed that the ending was actually set in Swindon, 350 miles South of Edinburgh.

The final segment of the episodes follows the ex-Top Gear presenters as they head to a new town on the Isle of Skye called Hammondsburg . In the episode’s story, it was set up by Andy Wilman to be an American-themed location with things such as laser quest, a multiplex, and a sports bar.

The Grand Tour Bumped Into Top Gear While Filming In Scotland Along With Others

What viewers didn’t realise is that with a subtle sweep of the camera and a transition, we’d travelled from the Outer Hebrides and arrived in Swindon, specifically, West Swindon leisure park. The area had obviously had an American makeover, which Jeremy compliments as he pulls up at a bar called The Ridge.

The manager of this establishment, Luke Jacobs, was interviewed on how this came to be and what it was like hosting The Grand Tour presenters.

“It was really cool but it was a very hard-kept secret! It’s quite exciting for us and great for the area, it’s put Swindon on the map.

“The show’s crew arrived at around 7am to set everything in the leisure park up and they were a good group of people.

“The boys arrived in the afternoon in their expensive cars, which was great, and they spoke to us briefly, they seemed like nice guys.

“They were all done by 3pm, it all happened quite quickly. We ticked all the boxes for them and I think someone had recommended us to them so this might snowball into other things, who knows.

“We’ve had so many messages from people who saw the special over the weekend, it’s been mad.

“It’s a massive show so it was really surreal seeing The Ridge in it, I rewound it a few times and felt very proud.”

Obviously, the episode was heavily planned and it’s not like other TV shows don’t do similar things. But why does it feel like cheating when The Grand Tour does this? I’m interested to know your thoughts…

The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond Teases A Second Part To The Lochdown Special

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One comment.

Its not like they were ACTUALLY going to build an “American car enthusiast retreat” in the Outer Hebrides complete with running water and electricity and an American-style sports bar. It was a funny and fitting end to the trip.