Pod Save the World

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.

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.

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 Day” when US tariffs on global imports will supposedly go into effect, and a spate of incompetent national security staffing stories from Elise Stefanik losing the UN nomination to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bringing his wife to meetings. They also talk about the chilling effects of deportations and student visas being revoked and how the latest version of the Ukraine mineral deal will only lead to corruption and grift from Trump’s goons. Then Ben speaks with International Rescue Committee President David Miliband about the hole USAID cuts have left in the humanitarian response to crises in Myanmar, Sudan, and global health.  For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/EhllbFgJBsA]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Sign up for our Friends of the Pod community at crooked.com/friends [http://crooked.com/friends] to start your 30-day free trial!

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 political opponent, and Bibi Netanyahu's continuing efforts to remove internal critics while Israel gears up for potential annexation of Gaza. They also discuss a violent settler attack on the Oscar winning co-director of No Other Land, Russia's maximalist terms for the new maritime ceasefire with Ukraine, the conflicts in Sudan and Congo, and the Trump administration's latest immigration moves, including revoking temporary protected status for over 500,000 people. Then, Tommy is joined by Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at the European Council of Foreign Relations, for a tour of Europe, including Turkey's political unrest, Romania's fraught election, and the latest with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/NyeTq1kgc8w]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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 gutting of Voice of America. They also cover the latest in Trump's efforts to harness the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador, how Putin continues to play Trump in negotiations over Ukraine, Serbia's wave of student-led protests over government corruption, and why patrons at a popular Chinese hotpot chain are getting more than just a full refund. Then Ben speaks with Pankaj Mishra, author of The World After Gaza: A History [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-world-after-gaza-a-short-history-pankaj-mishra/21765655?ean=9798217058891&next=t], about how Israel's relationship with the legacy of the Holocaust has shifted, decolonization in the 20th century, and how a writer can be of service in these dark times.   For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/miW2DTYMRaM]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.