Pod Save the World

Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s firing of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and the dangers that come along with consolidating responsibilities into fewer hands, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House, and cuts to the CIA, military, and other intelligence agencies while Trump plans a “big, beautiful” military parade on his birthday. They also talk about Israel’s plan to occupy and hold Gaza indefinitely, the anti-Trump effect in the Australian election, but a rightward turn for elections in the UK and Romania. Additionally, they cover the rocky start for Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Trump administration’s defense of Germany’s far-right AfD party after being designated as an “extremist endeavor”, India’s military response to a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, and they take bets on the papal conclave. Finally, Ben speaks to Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders in the US about the grim state of global press freedom.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/I_QWveYs4Fg]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Ben and Tommy discuss the Liberal Party’s shocking come-from-behind victory in the Canadian election and why it was a rebuke of Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump’s meeting at the Vatican and why Trump’s peace talks with Russia have failed, and the never-ending chaos swirling around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They also talk about the escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, the horrifying, deteriorating situation on the ground in Gaza, and a new investigation from Channel 13 news in Israel about the Biden administration’s disastrous approach to the war in Gaza. Then Ben speaks to Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about the devastating humanitarian impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/OVDHCYGNiec]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest scandal engulfing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and why even his defenders say the Pentagon is in chaos, a report about the FBI Director’s jet-setting lifestyle, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s mindless reorganization of the State Department. They also talk about Pope Francis’ moral leadership on global affairs, how China is winning the trade war and concern that the impact of Trump’s tariffs might be irreversible, why US airstrikes on the Houthi rebels have failed to deter them, a new political crisis for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, the latest from Gaza, and why Swedes are Netflix and chilling to the Moose Migration. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/PAdUt4oJIb4]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, the terrifying prospect of Trump sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Daniel Noboa’s re-election in Ecuador, and disgraced military contractor Erik Prince’s attempts to privatize and profit from right-wing autocracy. They also talk about Trump’s failures to end the war in Ukraine, the administration's talks with Iran about its nuclear program and the fight to define what a successful Iran deal 2.0 could look like, and the anti-Trump effect on Australia and Canada’s upcoming elections. Then, Tommy speaks to Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century [https://bookshop.org/p/books/chaos-under-heaven-trump-xi-and-the-battle-for-the-twenty-first-century-josh-rogin/17211313?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh_i_BhCzARIsANimeoFDQCdIV6Kaivw9fNjgc2Bc8IVe7XOHclmYw3uwkB1b4NTRbe5Ytt8aAnTbEALw_wcB], about Trump’s chaotic China policymaking in the first term and who in the administration is influencing his decision-making as he launches a massive trade war.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/PoF0WtmnCFg]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the disastrous impact of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, how a fringe right-wing conspiracy theorist got Trump to fire top national security officials, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and the upcoming talks between the Trump administration and Iran. Then they explain why South Sudan is teetering on the edge of civil war, and the dramatic end of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in power. Finally, Tommy speaks to Noah Bullock, Executive Director of Cristosal, about the brutality of El Salvador’s prison system and why Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele have forged such a close relationship.     For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/53W63RlrPXA]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.