Episodes
Tommy and Ben discuss the international reaction to Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, and dive into what Kamala Harris’s foreign policy could look like based on her record in the Senate, experience during the Biden administration, and advisers. They also talk about Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and planned speech to Congress, resignations of Senator Robert Menendez and the head of the Secret Service, deadly protests in Bangladesh, updates from the EU, and how to escape...
Published 07/24/24
Published 07/24/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the global reaction to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the rise of political violence around the world, Trump VP pick JD Vance’s views on foreign policy, and more low-lights from the RNC. They also talk about the conviction of Senator Robert Menendez on corruption charges, the last news from Gaza, Robert Kagame’s re-election in Rwanda, Kenya’s ongoing protests, a win for women’s rights activists in Gambia, the world’s most expensive wedding in India, and...
Published 07/17/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the surprising French election results and debate whether Macron’s decision to call early elections was a success or failure, the Labour landslide in the UK, and how American politics loom large at this year’s NATO summit in Washington, DC. They also talk about the election of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian in Iran and how a new president could change relations with the West, the latest on negotiations to end the war in Gaza, what to expect from Bibi Netanyahu’s address to...
Published 07/10/24
Ben is joined by guest host David Lammy, British MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary. They discuss the upcoming election in the UK on July 4th and how historic a Labour win by Keir Starmer would be, how to read into popular support for Nigel Farage and his far-right party, an election betting scandal from people within Rishi Sunak’s inner circle, and the key domestic and economic issues on the line. They also talk about David’s theory of “progressive realism” and how a Labour foreign policy would...
Published 06/26/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the “Peace Summit” held in Switzerland for the war in Ukraine and the glaring problem of Russia’s absence, Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years and why this growing alliance is a troubling development, and the news that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will stand trial next week in Russia on espionage charges. They also talk about Netanyahu disbanding his war cabinet, analysts warning of increasing terror threats to the United States because of the...
Published 06/19/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the success of far-right parties in the European Parliamentary elections and debate whether French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for snap elections in France is bold or disastrous. Then they talk about British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s shocking decision to skip a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the latest developments out of Israel and Gaza, including ceasefire negotiations, Benny Gantz leaving Netanyahu’s war cabinet, and the ethics of an...
Published 06/12/24
Tommy and Ben discuss Biden’s ceasefire proposal and debate whether going public with the plan will pressure Hamas and Israel to accept it, they also try to understand why Democrats agreed to invite Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress. Then they discuss global reactions to Trump’s guilty verdict, the debate over allowing Ukraine to use American provided weapons against targets on Russian soil, British PM Rishi Sunak’s decision to call early elections on July 4th,...
Published 06/05/24
Ben speaks to Jonas Gahr Store, the Prime Minister of Norway, who explains why he decided to formally recognize a Palestinian state alongside the leaders of Spain and Ireland. Then, Ben is joined by Fareed Zakaria to talk about the long term prospects for peace on multiple fronts like Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, and China and Taiwan. They also discuss Zakaria’s new book, “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present”. Finally, Ben interviews Ravi Gupta...
Published 05/29/24
When a judge in India dies of a heart attack, his passing barely makes the news. But when his niece approaches a journalist two years later, she shares a different story: that the circumstances around Judge Brijgopal Loya’s death have made his family doubt the official story. From Crooked Media and The Branch - Killing Justice investigates how one man’s death has become a lodestone for increasingly polarized politics in India. Following the reporting and legal fallout that arise from this...
Published 05/27/24
Ben and guest host Alyona Minkovski discuss the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against both Hamas and Netanyahu for war crimes, the mass exodus of civilians from Rafah, a US-Saudi pact supposedly being days away from being agreed to, and public rebukes against Netanyahu from members of his own war cabinet. They also talk about the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash, Zelensky putting hopes into Xi Jinping to pressure Putin on negotiations, an assassination...
Published 05/22/24
Ben is joined by guest hosts Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and Rana Ayyub, global opinion columnist for the Washington Post. Ben and Dan discuss a regrouped Hamas in northern Gaza, Secretary Blinken calling out the Israelis for not having a long term plan, Biden’s new tariffs on Chinese goods, the struggle to define America’s relationship with China, Russia’s new offensive in Kharkiv, and protests in Georgia over a foreign agent law. Then Ben and Rana talk about the...
Published 05/15/24
Ben and guest host Ali Velshi discuss the latest developments on ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the beginning of a military offensive in Rafah, the shutdown of Al Jazeera in Israel, and plans to ban TikTok in the United States. They also discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Europe in 5 years, Putin’s inauguration and an alleged assignation plot against President Zelensky, and Canadian police bringing charges in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on their...
Published 05/08/24
Ben and Tommy discuss reports that a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas may be imminent, that Saudi Arabia has decided to normalize relations with Israel, and that the ICC may issue an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu. They also hear from campus protestors in New York, discuss leaked intelligence reports about whether Putin ordered opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, Tucker Carlson’s interview with a far-right ultranationalist close with...
Published 05/01/24
Ben and Tommy discuss the House approving $26 billion in military aid to Israel despite strikes on Rafah and a continuously deteriorating humanitarian situation, the resignation of Israel’s intelligence chief, a report concluding that there’s no evidence for UNRWA having broad terrorist ties, and student protests over the war in Gaza at American universities. They also discuss supplemental funding for the war in Ukraine, angry reactions from Russian officials, Trump’s personal aide saying he...
Published 04/24/24
In a bonus episode, Tommy and Ben talk about the reports that Israel launched a retaliatory strike deep inside Iran, why Iranian leaders are downplaying what happened, why the logic of deterrence is stupid, and the Biden administration’s muted response. They also talk about supplemental funding bills for Israel and Ukraine that the House will vote on this weekend, the messaging incoherence of the US calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while sending Israel more weapons, the US vetoing a UN...
Published 04/19/24
Tommy and Ben discuss Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel and whether Israel will retaliate, Biden’s message of restraint to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the republicans calling for all out war with Iran, and what Iran’s strike means for efforts to end the war in Gaza and pass additional funding for Israel and Ukraine. They also talk about Ukrainian President Zelensky’s criticism of other countries’ willingness to shoot down Iranian missiles but not those from Russia, a grim anniversary...
Published 04/17/24
Tommy and Ben discuss Biden’s call with Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and threat to cut off US support for the war in Gaza, Israel’s announcement that it would open more aid corridors into Gaza, and the head spinning change in political support for the war in Washington. They also explain why Ecuadorian police raided Mexico’s embassy and sparked a global diplomatic crisis, Trump’s “secret plan” to end the war in Ukraine, the election of a pro-Russian president in Slovakia, the Japanese Prime...
Published 04/10/24
In the final episode of this four-part series, Rog and Tommy trace the massive flow of Saudi money into Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and how the biggest venture capitalists and A-list celebrities seem to no longer care about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. They also look back at the history of the US-Saudi relationship, and how President Biden went from pleading to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” to traveling there to fist bump Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. And...
Published 04/06/24
Ben and Tommy discuss an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian embassy building in Syria that killed several top Iranian generals, Israeli drone strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian relief workers in Gaza and what they tell us about Israel’s lack of concern about civilian causalities, and growing protests in Israel against Netanyahu. Then they talk about Trump’s “shadow Secretary of State” Ric Grenell, the Qataris investing in Newsmax, a 60 Minutes report blaming Russia for...
Published 04/03/24
In episode three of this four part series, Rog and Tommy explore the rise of Saudi Arabia’s domestic football league and why superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are flocking there. iNews’s chief football writer Daniel Storey joins the show to tell the tale of one of those players, former Liverpool captain and one-time “moral center” of English football Jordan Henderson, whose move to the Saudi pro-league led to one of the starkest falls from grace in recent sporting history. Plus,...
Published 03/30/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the deteriorating relations between the White House and Bibi Netanyahu's government after the UN Security Council calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the stalling hostage negotiations in Qatar, and Trump's PR advice to Israel. Then, they talk about the ISIS attack at a Moscow concert hall and Putin's response. They also discuss Hong Kong's new national security law, two surprising political resignations, a democratic election in Senegal, why the former president of Brazil was...
Published 03/27/24
Roger Bennett and Tommy Vietor take a look at the history of Saudi Arabia, US-Saudi relations, and the Kingdom’s path to becoming a geopolitical force. They trace the unlikely rise of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman from a lowly place in the royal hierarchy to de facto leader of the country, and examine his record of enacting major social reforms while brutally cracking down on critics and rivals. Guests Ben Hubbard, Sarah Leah Whitson, and Khalid Al Jabri provide insight through stories...
Published 03/23/24
Tommy and Ben discuss the looming famine in Gaza, reactions to Senator Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel, Trump’s claim that Jewish Democrats “hate Israel”, secret talks between the US and Iran over attacks in the Red Sea by Houthis. They also talk about Jared Kushner’s luxury real estate developments in Serbia and Albania, Putin’s overwhelming election “victory”, Senator Lindsey Graham’s visit to Ukraine, a new study on Havana Syndrome, Niger ending counterterrorism...
Published 03/20/24
Roger Bennet and Tommy Vietor are back for Season 2 of World Corrupt! And this time, Rog and Tommy are diving into how Saudi Arabia, the biggest exporter of oil in the world and a nation in the news for human rights abuses, became the latest geopolitical power player sweeping global soccer. The Saudis have poured billions of dollars into the world’s most popular sport, including signing superstar players like Cristiano Ronaldo to eye-popping contracts. But the crown jewel in the Saudi...
Published 03/16/24