Pod Save the World
by Pod Save the World
Latest episode
Tinker, Tailor, Chipmaker, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Chipmaker, Spy
About this podcast
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 shape the world around us.
Subscribe to Friends of the Pod! Your subscription makes Crooked’s work possible and gives you access to ad-free episodes of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World, plus exclusive content and a lively Discord community. Learn more and subscribe at crooked.com/friends or on Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 558 episodes
- Tinker, Tailor, Chipmaker, Spy · 1 h 18 min · Episode 548NVIDIA’s CEO is ensnared in a Chinese spy scandal that Trump and US intelligence knew about, Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and at least one Republican in Congress agrees, and…
- Where Do Democrats Go From Here on Israel & Palestine? (Live From Crooked Con) · 48 min · Episode 547Tommy hosts a debate between Tariq Habash, co-founder of A New Policy, and Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, on how Democrats…
- How Will the Blue Wave Change US Foreign Policy? (Live from Crooked Con) · 1 h 6 min · Episode 546Live from Crooked Con, Tommy and Ben think through the midterms’ impact on American foreign policy: voters’ resounding referendum on Iran, what Democrats can do to end the war…
- Trump’s “Insane” Plan to Reignite the Iran War · 1 h 4 min · Episode 545Trump lays the groundwork for a massive Iran escalation, Netanyahu plays the weapons-of-mass-destruction card, and North Korean hackers pull off the largest heist in history…
- Democracy Wins in Brazil and Serbia · 1 h 19 min · Episode 544Lula pulls off a shocking comeback in Brazil, a leaderless student movement topples Serbia’s autocrat, and Israeli voters go to the polls for the first time since the October 7th…
- France Descends Into Chaos · 1 h 38 min · Episode 543Trump rigs the war in Russia’s favor, France descends into chaos, and we witness another episode of the Trump administration soap opera drama, As the World Burns. Tommy and Ben…
- Trump’s Dirty Diesel Deal · 1 h 21 min · Episode 542Trump cuts a diesel deal with Putin, the Houthis hit Saudi Arabia’s main airport, and Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns after demanding ice at 4am in Mykonos. Tommy and Ben dig into…
- Russian Plague and Putin's Prisons · 1 h 25 min · Episode 541Tommy and Ben dig into Brazil's election results, where right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro surged past expectations and is now favored to win the October 25th runoff. In…
- Soccer Scandal & Idiot Ambassadors · 1 h 39 min · Episode 540The Trump/Xi summit produces two pandas and not much else, violence in Ethiopia could have massive regional consequences, and Manchester City is found guilty of nearly a decade…
- Xi’s Just Not That Into You · 1 h 30 min · Episode 539Xi Jinping comes to Washington, the UN struggles for relevancy, and the Russian parliamentary elections turn out exactly as expected. Tommy and Ben break down Chinese President…
- Don Jr.’s Big Fat Russian Wedding · 1 h 33 min · Episode 538The Houthis seize control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Trump rolls a grenade into Northern Ireland's politics, and a Russian oligarch funds Don Jr.'s wedding. Tommy and Ben break…
- Can Germany’s Far Right Be Stopped? · 1 h 36 min · Episode 537The far right gets a huge win in Germany, Serbia celebrates a war criminal, and Nigel Farage gets caught on camera breaking the law. Tommy and Ben dig into the ultra-right-wing…
- The Art of the Venezuela Oil Deal · 1 h 23 min · Episode 536The war with Iran reaches six months, Trump’s Pentagon cuts a corrupt oil deal with Venezuela, and Russia makes an (unwelcome) surprise appearance at a G20 meeting. Tommy and Ben…
- Trump & Carney’s Heated Rivalry · 1 h 40 min · Episode 535Trump starts a trade war with Canada, announces “Economic D-Day” against Iran, while Russia deploys AI killer drones in Ukraine. Tommy and Ben break down the collapse of…
- Trump’s Unrequited Love for Kim Jong Un · 1 h 22 min · Episode 534Tommy and Ben walk through a week of leaders making bad decisions. President Trump kneecaps military exercises with South Korea, Vladimir Putin’s paranoia reaches new heights…
- Mission: Impossible - Catering Truck (Starring Donald J. Trump) · 1 h 30 min · Episode 533Trump evades Iran via catering truck, Pete Hegseth's Pentagon is a disaster, and Jared pays off a gangster and drug trafficker as part of his Albanian island takeover. This week…
- Far Right Freaks Freak Over Migrants in Spain · 1 h 30 min · Episode 532Over 70,000 migrants try crossing into Spain, the US is running out of precision missiles, and Jared Kushner's brother almost bought FIFA. Tommy and Ben break down the mass…
- Lindsey Graham's Bloody Legacy · 1 h 52 min · Episode 531Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to the White House on the same day as Lindsey Graham’s funeral, a MAGA nut does a…
- Pentagon Covers Up Iran War Casualties · 1 h 31 min · Episode 530More US casualties in the war with Iran, the State Department's new neo-McCarthy Cuba blacklist, and the UK gets a new Prime Minister while CPAC Great Britain flops. Tommy and…
- Trump's Delusional Election Rant · 1 h 8 min · Episode 529In this special episode of Pod Save the World, Tommy and Ben speak in front of a live audience at the Aspen Security Forum. First, Trump delivers a rambling speech on election…
- Forever War (Trump's Version) · 1 h 34 min · Episode 528Tommy and Ben are back with a week of war, drama over an international bridge, and an angry Norwegian World Cup fan. First up, the guys say farewell to the ceasefire between Iran…
- Trump Bullies FIFA, NATO · 1 h 4 min · Episode 527Tommy is joined by guest host Mehdi Hasan to walk through a packed week of World Cup controversy, a NATO summit, and Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral in Iran. First, they discuss the…
- Keeping Up With the Korruption in Kazakhstan · 1 h 31 min · Episode 526Tommy and Ben talk through a week that includes US and Iranian airstrikes, a peace agreement, a Supreme Court double-header, and the French debate about air conditioning. First…
- Starmer Brexits · 1 h 28 min · Episode 525This week Tommy and Ben catch up on the latest in Iran negotiations, react to Keir Starmer’s resignation, and continue to celebrate World Cup fandom. First they walk through the…
- How Bad Is Trump’s Iran Deal? · 1 h 32 min · Episode 524Tommy and Ben are back with a week of bad deals, high-stakes elections, and World Cup joy. The US and Iran have agreed to a deal to end the war, but the Trump administration has…
- Jared & Ivanka Conquer Albanian Island · 1 h 26 min · Episode 523Tommy and Ben are back to discuss a week that includes collapsed ceasefire(s), the World Cup, and Jared and Ivanka pretending to be conquistadors. The so-called ceasefires…
- Trump’s Top Spy Has One Job: Revenge · 1 h 33 min · Episode 522Trump says he’s bored with peace talks, American right-wingers flock to Moscow, and the new Director of National Intelligence’s claim to fame is owning an HVAC company. Another…
- Pope Warns of AI Apocalypse · 1 h 21 min · Episode 521Tommy and Ben dig into a week of an “almost” deal, a sweeping AI warning, and a terrifying Ebola outbreak. First up, the Iran deal that was supposedly days away somehow produced…
- Is Trump Planning to Invade Cuba? · 1 h 35 min · Episode 520Tommy and Ben dig into a week dominated by ominous signs of regime change, nuclear standoffs, and a “historic” summit that left almost everyone disappointed. First they cover the…
- Keir Starmer’s Last Stand? · 1 h 44 min · Episode 519Tommy 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…
- Bullsh*t Ceasefires Everywhere · 1 h 24 min · Episode 518Ben 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…
- King Trump Welcomes King Charles · 1 h 27 min · Episode 517The 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…
- All the President’s (Corrupt) Men · 1 h 34 min · Episode 516Tommy 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…
- JD Vance’s Global Humiliation · 1 h 30 min · Episode 515Tommy 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…
- Trump Threatens Genocide · 1 h 23 min · Episode 514Tommy 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…
- Trump Begs Allies to Clean Up Iran Mess · 1 h 35 min · Episode 513Ben 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…
- Trump Goes from Obliteration to Negotiation on Iran · 1 h 16 min · Episode 512In 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…
- MAGA’s Iran War Meltdown (and Micropenis) · 1 h 43 min · Episode 511A 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!…
- Why Trump Might Send Ground Troops to Iran · 1 h 42 min · Episode 510Tommy 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…
- Did Israel Push Trump into War with Iran? · 1 h 29 min · Episode 509Tommy 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…
- Update: Trump Breaks Silence About Iran War · 39 minTrump’s war with Iran is escalating fast and the consequences are spreading across the Middle East. Tommy and Ben break down the latest military operations, Iran’s decision to…
- Breaking: America and Israel at War with Iran · 39 minTommy and Ben discuss the breaking news that Israel and America launched hundreds of joint strikes against Iran, throwing the region into chaos. They talk about reports that the…
- Countdown to War With Iran? · 1 h 32 min · Episode 508Tommy and Ben discuss seemingly imminent American military strikes on Iran despite the absence of clear goals or military plan, the lack of concern for both the Iranian public…
- AOC on the World Stage, Trump Starves Cuba · 1 h 0 min · Episode 507Ben and guest co-host Ayman Mohyeldin break down the news out of the Munich Security Conference, including Marco Rubio’s condescending speech, why all eyes were on Representative…
- Will Epstein Files Take Down the British Government? · 1 h 18 min · Episode 506Tommy and Ben discuss the growing calls for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign over Labour’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and the comparative lack of political…
- Epstein Files Reveal Depraved Global Network · 1 h 39 min · Episode 505Tommy and Ben break down the expanding web of corruption around President Trump — from a bombshell report revealing the UAE royal family’s stake in the Trump family crypto…
- Has the World Finally Decided To Stand up to Trump? · 1 h 39 min · Episode 504Tommy and Ben explain why Trump backed off his threat to take Greenland by force and debate whether European leaders have finally found a playbook for how to push back, the…
- Greenland Prepares for Trump Invasion · 1 h 35 min · Episode 503Tommy and Ben talk about the growing and very real threat of President Trump attempting to take Greenland by force, the spectrum of reactions from world leaders from feckless…
- Iranian Regime Massacres Protesters, Will Trump Respond? · 1 h 48 min · Episode 502Tommy and Ben talk about the historic protests in Iran and reports of the regime’s brutal crackdown with potentially tens of thousands dead, President Trump’s threats of military…
- Where Will Trump Invade Next? · 1 h 39 min · Episode 501Tommy and Ben discuss: the fallout from the Trump administration’s strikes on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, why President Trump chose Maduro’s VP Delcy…
