The President's Daily Brief

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First up— stunning new reporting suggests Ali Khamenei is already planning an escape route out of Iran as nationwide protests enter their ninth straight day—an extraordinary signal of growing concern at the very top of the regime. Later in the show— a major shakeup at the highest levels of power in Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky taps militar...

In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: First up—remarkable new details are emerging about the operation that captured Nicolás Maduro. Covert CIA teams tracked his movements for months, while Delta Force rehearsed the raid on a full-scale replica of his safe house—leaving nothing to chance. Later in the show—things are just getting started for the deposed dictator, as newly unsealed federa...

In this Special Edition of The President’s Daily Brief: The world wakes up to stunning news as the United States captures Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro following a sweeping U.S. military operation deep inside Caracas. We break down Operation Absolute Resolve, including how U.S. intelligence tracked Maduro for months, the scale of the air campaign, and the special forces raid that led to his...

In this episode of The PDB Situation Report: Anger spills into the streets of Tehran as nationwide protests turn deadly, transforming economic despair into open defiance of Iran’s clerical regime. Shirin Nariman, a human rights advocate and former political prisoner in Iran, joins us to share her personal story and provide insight into the situation on the ground. Israel closes out a turbulent 202...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Protests in Iran turn deadly as security forces open fire on demonstrators, escalating an already volatile situation and prompting a sharp warning from President Donald Trump. A surprising U.S. domestic story with global implications, as a New York Times investigation reveals how Oklahoma’s marijuana boom led to hidden ownership networks stretching f...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First up—new reporting from The New York Times pulls back the curtain on Russia’s war machine, revealing a system built on abuse, coercion, and the ruthless exploitation of its own soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Later in the show—fresh warning signs from Beijing, as Xi Jinping uses his New Year’s speech to double down on Taiwan, declaring reunificatio...

In this special New Year’s Eve edition of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin Mike Baker looks back at the stories from 2025 that didn’t quite make it into the President’s Daily Brief — not because they weren’t real, but because they didn’t fit the daily intelligence picture. From a drunken raccoon with a rap sheet in Virginia, to a Christmas brawl on Nantucket that left police reports looking more like cl...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First up—new details emerge on a covert United States strike inside Venezuela, as reporting reveals the Central Intelligence Agency carried out a drone attack on a port facility, signaling a sharp escalation in pressure on the Maduro regime. Later in the show—new reporting from The Washington Post shows how Russia’s war in Ukraine is taking a growing...

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: Pressure is building inside Iran, where a collapsing economy has driven protesters into the streets, merchants have shut down key markets, and security forces are struggling to contain growing unrest that is turning increasingly political. Later in the show—North Korea unveils what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine, a massive vessel com...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: China encircles Taiwan with the largest military exercises in its history, deploying warships and fighter jets in a move that blurs the line between training and real-world preparation. Russia claims Vladimir Putin was targeted by a Ukrainian strike, with Moscow hinting at tougher negotiating positions while Ukraine flatly denies the accusation. Dona...

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: President Trump announces that U.S. forces carried out a strike inside Venezuela, targeting what he described as a major drug-related facility. With few confirmed details publicly available, we break down what we know so far—and the key questions that remain unanswered. President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, striking an opt...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: China and Russia appear closer than ever—but the relationship is far from equal. We’ll break down how Beijing is exploiting Russia’s growing dependence as the war in Ukraine drags on, turning Moscow’s isolation into long-term leverage for China. Christmas Day airstrikes in Nigeria. The U.S. hits Islamic State targets hard, as President Trump signals...

In this episode of The PPDB Situation Report: We begin in Ukraine, where another brutal year of war has upended long-held assumptions on both sides of the battlefield. What’s changed, what hasn’t, and what it tells us about where the conflict is heading next. Joining us to break it all down is George Barros from the Institute for the Study of War. Later in the show, we shift our focus to the Far E...

In this special edition of the PDB Afternoon Bulletin--We take a step back from the daily headlines to explore one of the strangest political fault lines in modern China: Xi Jinping’s war on the game of golf. We explain how golf became associated with corruption, elite privilege, and unwanted Western influence inside the Chinese Communist Party—and why Party officials learned to treat it as politi...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Cuba teeters on the edge of collapse, as a U.S. oil blockade targeting Venezuela cuts off critical fuel supplies to the island, triggering widespread blackouts, shortages, and a growing wave of Cubans fleeing the country. I’ll have the details. The Trump administration orders nearly thirty U.S. ambassadors home, creating major gaps in the diplomatic...

In this Christmas message, Mike Baker pauses the usual news rundown to share a few thoughts on Christmas thanks. Thank you for listening, supporting, and being part of The President’s Daily Brief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: Rare cracks appear in the Kremlin’s façade as frustration over poverty, inflation, and the war in Ukraine spills into Vladimir Putin’s tightly controlled year-end “Direct Line” address—offering an unusual glimpse of domestic pressure inside Russia. Later in the show—Western intelligence agencies warn that Moscow may be developing a new anti-satellite...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Alarming new intelligence from the Pentagon suggests China is rapidly filling newly constructed missile silos with intercontinental ballistic missiles, signaling a nuclear buildup moving faster than analysts expected and raising fresh concerns about Beijing’s long-term intentions. Ukraine takes the fight deep inside Russia, striking energy infrastruc...

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: New reporting reveals that Israel is weighing another round of military strikes against Iran, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preparing to brief Donald Trump on potential options as concerns grow over Tehran’s missile activity. Later in the show—Russia’s war comes home again, as a senior Russian general is killed in a car bombing in Moscow, the...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A major U.S. military response in Syria, as American and coalition forces unleash one of the largest strikes on ISIS in years. We break down how the operation unfolded, what was targeted, and what it signals about the fight ahead. Pressure ramps up on Venezuela, with U.S. forces boarding yet another oil tanker in the Caribbean as President Trump’s ma...

In this episode of The PDB Situation Report: Federal authorities stop a coordinated New Year’s Eve terror plot, arresting multiple suspects accused of planning bombing attacks in and around Los Angeles. Former FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative Eric O’Neill joins us to break down how the plot was disrupted and what it reveals about the threat landscape. The Gaza ceasefire holds...

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—a major expansion of Ukraine's campaign against Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers. For the first time in the war, Ukraine has struck a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea, delivering another significant blow to Moscow's energy revenues and their clandestine global shipping network. Later in the show—The manhunt for the Brown University s...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Moscow deploys its newest nuclear-capable missile system to Belarus, placing a powerful new class of weapons on NATO’s doorstep and forcing the alliance to reassess its defensive posture. Beijing lashes out after Washington approves a massive arms package for Taiwan worth more than ten billion dollars, including missiles, drones, and heavy artillery....

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: Tensions are climbing in the Caribbean as Venezuela orders its navy to escort oil tankers in response to the U.S. blockade, raising the risk of a direct showdown with American warships and pushing both sides further up the escalation ladder. The U.S. designates Colombia’s Clan del Golfo cartel as a terrorist organization, a major shift that could open...

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A troubling congressional report reveals Beijing may be quietly tapping into American taxpayer-funded research programs, potentially funneling sensitive nuclear technology to the Chinese military. European leaders discuss a possible multinational force following a ceasefire, as Germany’s chancellor suggests Western troops could be authorized to push...