Focus

Trump 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 Trump’s announcement of a diesel fuel deal and “energy ceasefire” with Russia that caught Ukraine and the Europeans completely off guard, and will pump $4 billion into Vladimir Putin’s war machine. The Houthis launch a deadly...

Tommy 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 Europe, Spain's Pedro Sanchez calls a snap election over a housing crisis after a dramatic eviction sparks demonstrations, and student protests have spread to more than 40 French cities over a lack of funding and poor condition...

The 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 of cheating. Tommy and Ben close the loop on Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington and how Trump walked away with only vague commitments. On Iran, Trump is reportedly planning to resume bombing after the midterms, and a wo...

Xi 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 Xi Jinping's first state visit to Washington since 2015, including Trump’s personal airport greeting, and what leverage China has on everything from AI to rare earths to Iran. Then a new list of disturbing AI headlines: a B...

The 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 down some of the most alarming expansions of the Iran war: Houthi rebels have captured roughly 80 miles of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, Iranian-backed militants have blown up a Saudi pipeline in Iraq, and Iran's targeting h...

The 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 AfD party's historic results in a regional election, what drove it, what it would mean if they actually form a coalition government, and what it says about the state of European politics more broadly. Trump’s dumb and dumbe...

The 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 mark six months of the war with Iran, including the death toll, damage to the global economy, and reports that Trump may implement a "mow the grass" forever war strategy. Pete Hegseth is clearly losing the confidence of m...

Trump 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 US-Canada trade negotiations, the politics animating Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tough talk, and why a trade war carries long-term economic risks for Canada. Then the Trump administration threatens an “Economic D-Day” against Ira...

Tommy 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, and British PM Andy Burnham gets pranked. They start with Trump's decision to scale back joint US-South Korean military exercises, what it means for an ally facing a rapidly modernizing North Korean military, and why Trump’s...

Trump 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 Tommy and Ben cover shocking new info on how Trump hid from Iran on his way back from the NATO summit in Turkey, leaving his staff and the press behind as decoys. They shake off their déjà vu to dig into the latest develop...

Over 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 crossing of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and why right-wing politicians are frothing at the mouth over it. While Trump’s ultimatums and claims of a deal on Iran make us all feel like it's Groundhog Day...

Trump 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 wild U-turn on Ukraine, and the freakout over Chinese Artificial Intelligence intensifies. This week Tommy and Ben cover…Trump hits pause on the Iran war after two weeks of nightly bombing amid concerns about dwindling sto...

More 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 Ben discuss reports that the Pentagon has been covering up the full extent of casualties associated with the war with Iran, the impact of the Houthi rebels potentially getting involved in the conflict, and Trump’s threat to...

In 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 security that offers no new evidence, overstates the threat from China, and is laying the groundwork for Republicans to question the validity of the midterm elections. Then the guys turn their attention to the foreign policy...

Tommy 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 and the US, hello to a new forever war, and analyze how a rushed, sloppily worded agreement negotiated by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff collapsed. The New York Times reveals the details of Israel's embarrassing failed p...

Tommy 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 international reaction to President Trump’s interference in the World Cup to get the US team’s red card suspended and all the ways that corruption is endemic to FIFA. Then Trump heads to Ankara for the NATO summit, and th...

Tommy 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 up, Israel and Lebanon have signed a 14-point peace agreement in Washington, but people on both sides question whether the deal will ever be implemented, and some in Lebanon fear that it could actually be a recipe for civil...

This 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 text of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding — because now it’s clear why Trump didn't want anyone to see it. The guys break down everything Iran got, including sanctions relief and billions in unfrozen assets, compared...

Tommy 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 refused to release the text to anyone — so the guys parse through what we think we know. The short version: it's a pretty good deal for Iran that meets almost none of the goals Trump set out before the war started, and the...

Tommy 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 between Israel and Lebanon and the US and Iran continue to unravel, while Trump insists he has Iran and Israel under his control and twists reality (and the English language) to fit his narrative. Then, Ivanka Trump claims to ha...

Trump 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 fun week! Tommy and Ben discuss why Trump installing Bill Pulte as the new acting Director of National Intelligence should terrify you given his total lack of experience and focus on revenge. Then it's back to Iran, where b...

Tommy 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 new US airstrikes instead, and the guys break down why the path to a permanent ceasefire remains littered with obstacles from Netanyahu wanting to escalate in Lebanon, to Trump suggesting Iran join the Abraham Accords. The...

Tommy 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 signs pointing to American intervention in Cuba, including reports of Cuban drones, a possible indictment of 94-year-old Raúl Castro, a visit by CIA director John Ratcliffe, and a full blockade that has left the island in...

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 Pri...

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...