Episode notes
Tommy and Ben try to make sense of a dark and dizzying day in American history, from President Trump's genocidal threat to destroy the 'whole civilization' of Iran, to the announcement of a two-week ceasefire. They break down what Trump's threats to bomb every power plant and bridge in Iran would actually mean — legally, morally, and for the 92 million Iranians who would be left without power, water, or functioning hospitals. They unpack a new New York Times report on how Trump decided to go to war, including Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's influential role in the push to war, the Mossad's…
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Pod Save the World
Pod Save the World · News · English
Each week, “Pod Save America” cohost Tommy Vietor and Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes break down the biggest developments in foreign policy, national security and global politics. They try to explain which stories matter and why, and what we can all do to understand and sh
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E519 · 13 May 2026 · 1 hr 53 min
Keir Starmer’s Last Stand?
Tommy and Ben survey the wreckage of another week in global politics. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer clings to power after Labour was crushed in local elections. Tommy and Ben debate whether Starmer should step aside or stay and fight. Then they run through the latest with Iran, from the short-lived “Project Freedom” to why Trump says the ceasefire is on “life support.” They recap Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s softball interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes , including Netanyahu’s claim that Israel is ready to wean itself off US military support and that social media is to blame for…
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E518 · 6 May 2026 · 1 hr 32 min
Bullsh*t Ceasefires Everywhere
Ben and Tommy break down another chaotic week in foreign policy full of bad ideas and worse outcomes. Trump rolls out—and just as quickly unrolls—a new Pentagon plan—dubbed “Project Freedom”—to “guide” ships through the Strait of Hormuz, leaked intelligence reports show that the war has not changed Iran’s nuclear timeline, and polling confirms that the war has become a political disaster for Trump. They also share a rare, firsthand account from a teacher in Iran about living under the regime's internet blackout and surveillance state, and discuss how the war has derailed Trump's upcoming…
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E517 · 29 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
King Trump Welcomes King Charles
The US-Iran ceasefire is holding, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the global economy is teetering on the edge of disaster, and America's precision weapons stockpile is badly depleted after repeated conflicts with Iran, with experts warning that it could have grave consequences for US readiness in the event of a conflict with China. Meanwhile, King Charles becomes the first British king to address Congress as the UK tries to use a royal charm offensive to paper over major differences on Iran, Mali's military government teeters on collapse after coordinated terrorist attacks rock the…
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E516 · 22 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
All the President’s (Corrupt) Men
Tommy and Ben break down another chaotic and consequential week in global affairs. Trump blinks and extends the ceasefire with Iran, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed as US-Iran negotiations stall. Meanwhile, an internal power struggle between Iran's elected leaders and military is complicating talks, and the human cost for ordinary Iranians continues to mount. In Lebanon, Trump stunned Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu by publicly ordering Israel to stop bombing, but the IDF continues to occupy southern Lebanon, and an explosive image of an IDF soldier desecrating a statue of…
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E515 · 15 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 30 min
JD Vance’s Global Humiliation
Tommy and Ben walk through a week of epic failures for the Trump administration, from peace talks with Iran to Viktor Orbán’s historic loss in Hungary. They break down everything that was wrong with the US-Iran peace talks, like both sides coming in with maximalist positions, Vice President JD Vance walking out in a huff, and the lack of American expertise at the table. Then they unpack what we know about Trump’s risky plan to also blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the growing economic fallout from the war, the heated AI-powered, LEGO-themed propaganda war happening on social media, the attack…
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E513 · 1 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
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…
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E512 · 25 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
Trump Goes from Obliteration to Negotiation on Iran
In the past few days, Donald Trump went from threatening to obliterate Iran's power plants to announcing a surprise diplomatic reprieve and declaring that the war has been won. This episode breaks down the whiplash: what actually happened, whether the talks are real, why an agreement between the US and Iran will be extraordinarily hard to reach, and why $580 million worth of energy trades just minutes before Trump's announcement reek of insider trading and corruption. Ben and Tommy also cover: the US allowing Iran to sell $14 billion worth of oil, Iran firing missiles at a joint US-UK…
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E511 · 18 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
MAGA’s Iran War Meltdown (and Micropenis)
A MAGA civil war erupts over Trump’s war with Iran, JD Vance tries to distance himself, and Megyn Kelly accuses her former Fox News colleague of having a micropenis. Seriously! On today’s show, Tommy and Ben cover the many ways Trump’s war with Iran is going off the rails. The death toll and economic costs keep increasing, America’s closest allies are refusing pleas to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and a resignation letter from a former top Trump administration official suggests that Trump lied when he claimed Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. Then they dig into the…
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E510 · 11 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Why Trump Might Send Ground Troops to Iran
Tommy and Ben unpack the latest twists in Donald Trump’s chaotic regime-change war with Iran, which eleven days in is still plagued by shifting goals, contradictory messaging, and rising regional consequences. They break down the White House’s confusing claims of victory despite unresolved threats—from the hundreds of pounds of highly enriched uranium still loose inside Iran to signs that Tehran may be mining the Strait of Hormuz. The guys discuss the war’s mounting casualties, environmental devastation from Israeli strikes on Iranian fuel depots, and the dangerous escalation of attacks on…
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E509 · 4 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 30 min
Did Israel Push Trump into War with Iran?
Tommy and Ben discuss the ways in which the war in Iran seems to be spiraling out of control, from American service member deaths and devastating civilian casualties to Iranian drone strikes on embassies and the mounting global economic fallout. Meanwhile, the White House’s explanation for why the war started keeps getting more absurd. The guys unpack the claim that an impending Israeli strike somehow forced Trump’s hand, JD Vance’s reported push to “go big,” and the deep uncertainty around who might fill the leadership vacuum in Iran. Finally, they discuss the latest from Cuba and Lindsey…
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