Pod Save the World

Tommy and Middle East expert Colin Kahl discuss the Syrian civil war from when the protests first erupted in 2011 to President Trump’s cruise missile strike last week. They cover the roots of the conflict, Syria’s chemical weapons, Obama’s red line and Trump’s policy options going forward.

Tommy and China expert Evan Medeiros preview Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. They discuss the meticulous planning and choreography that goes into these talks, tensions in the South China Sea, Taiwan, human rights, and how the Chinese view Russian hacking of our election.

“Tommy is joined by Africa expert and former USAID Administrator Gayle Smith to discuss the crisis in South Sudan and the impact of Trump’s proposed budget cuts on the State Department and USAID.”

Former US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert talks about the threat from North Korea’s nuclear program, Trump’s “new” approach to the DPRK, the assassination of Kim Jong Nam and the attack on his life while serving as Ambassador.

Intercept editor Glenn Greenwald joins to respond to criticism of Edward Snowden and to discuss his views on intelligence collection.

Tommy and former US Ambassador to Russia Mike McFaul talk about the US-Russia relationship. We cover pop culture and Rocky IV, arms control, Russian harassment of US diplomats, Mike’s assessment of Putin’s leadership and when relations turned bad, if Romney was right to call Russia our number one geopolitical foe and the lessons America can learn from Putin’s rise.

Tommy and Heather Higginbottom to discuss her journey from political campaigns to becoming the first woman to serve as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. We cover refugee vetting, pandemic response, women in foreign policy and Heather’s reflections on Secretary Kerry’s career.

Tommy talks with Obama’s former Homeland Security and Chief Counterterrorism Advisor Lisa Monaco about terrorism, encryption, cyber security, the Boston bombings, Trump’s dysfunctional national security team and lots more scary stuff.

Tommy and Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes discuss Ben’s career path, Obama’s Cairo speech, the damage Trump is doing, counterterrorism, restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba, Wikileaks, Snowden, Israel, Syria and more.

Tommy is joined by Dan Restrepo, who served as a top Latin America advisor to President Obama. They discuss the historic opening between the US and Cuba, Mexico, immigration, Colombia’s civil war and Venezuela.

Tommy is joined by former top Clinton aide and former Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. They discuss Jake’s experience leading the secret Iran deal negotiations, Russian hacking, Trump’s attacks on the intelligence community, Benghazi and more.

"Pod Save the World" launches Wednesday, February 1st!