Trump Begs Allies to Clean Up Iran Mess

Ben and guest cohost Alyona Minkovski, PSTW's senior producer, try to make sense of the many contradictions and threats coming from President Trump and his administration on Iran, like reports that he wants to make the Strait of Hormuz everyone else’s problem to solve, and claims that regime change has already happened. Then they juxtapose the incoherence with the very real consequences of the war on people's lives, from American troops being deployed to the Middle East, to the normalization of targeting civilian infrastructure. They also defend spring breakers featured in a Fox News segment, call out Pete Hegseth for personally interfering in the military promotions of women and Black soldiers, ask how the increasingly spotty internet connection in Moscow could affect support for Putin, question the US policy towards Cuba, and do a special reading from former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

At the end of the show, Ben speaks with Nika Kovač, Slovenian activist and founding director of My Voice My Choice, about private intelligence agency Blackcube’s interference in Slovenia’s election, the outlook for the government following very close results, and what she’s learned from years of opposing authoritarianism.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Preorder Ben’s book All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches and subscribe to his Substack here. (edited)

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(530)

Happy "Liberation Day" to All Who Celebrate

Tommy and Ben discuss French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction and what it could mean for France’s political future, reactions from world leaders to Trump’s promised “Liberation...

2 Huhti 20251h 30min

Call of Duty: Dumbass Group Chat

Tommy and Ben discuss the fallout from Trump's national security team accidentally sending top secret war plans to a journalist, Turkey's backsliding democracy as a result of Erdoğan arresting his top...

26 Maalis 20251h 40min

Trump Reignites the Forever Wars

Tommy and Ben discuss Bibi Netanyahu restarting the war in Gaza as he creates a new domestic political crisis, why Trump's airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen are likely to fail, and the gut...

19 Maalis 20251h 39min

A true story of money, Mafia & the Vatican (Shadow Kingdom Episode 1)

Today we're excited to bring you the first episode of Shadow Kingdom: God's Banker. In the summer of 1982, the Vatican’s top money man was found dead. Roberto Calvi was at the center of a prolific mon...

17 Maalis 202527min

Ceasefire in Ukraine?

Tommy and Ben discuss late-breaking news that Russia and Ukraine may agree to a 30-day ceasefire, Canada’s new Prime Minister and the rapidly escalating trade war with the United States that he’ll inh...

12 Maalis 20251h 41min

Can Ukraine Survive Trump?

Tommy and Ben discuss the continued fallout from President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous White House meeting, including Europe’s attempt to come up with an alternative ...

5 Maalis 20251h 24min

Trump and Zelensky's Disastrous Meeting

Tommy and Ben discuss Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous meeting at the White House that erupted in a yelling match and resulted in Zelensky being told to leave. They...

1 Maalis 202542min

The US and Europe’s Conscious Uncoupling

Tommy and Ben discuss the increasing divide between the US and Europe on the issue of the war in Ukraine just as the world marks the three year anniversary, including a mineral reserves deal and Ameri...

26 Helmi 20251h 31min