Bret Stephens: America and Israel are engaged in a common fight for civilization

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Bret Stephens, a The New York Times columnist and the editor-in-chief of Sapir magazine.

Recent polling indicates that only roughly half of Americans support the US-Israel war against Iran's Islamist regime. Stephens weighs in on why the current conflict can be both "Trump's war" and a just war.

Far from feeling that Israel dragged the US into this war, he says that for the first time in recent history, the US has a partner with whom to wage a war. "This war is different, not because it's a war for Israel. It's a war with Israel," says Stephens.

But is the American public capable of internalizing the Iranian regime as an existential threat? In answer, Stephens asks whether a patient with stage II cancer should be advised to wait to treat it until it develops into stage IV. "Thank goodness we're acting now rather than just waiting on events," says Stephens.

Assessing today's global dynamics and the authoritarian axis of Iran, Russia, North Korea and China, he turns to the 1930s, when the world was experiencing a series of conflicts that eventually led to World War II. He warns there is no Hollywood ending in sight.

And so this week, we ask Bret Stephens, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.

IMAGE: New York Times columnist Bret Stephens (YouTube screenshot) / Beirut, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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