Tablet Magazine

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead

News EN ↓ 136 episodes

Walter Russell Mead, a historian, pundit, and popular author, is encyclopedic about politics, culture, and history. On What Really Matters, Mead and Tablet deputy editor Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what news matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. Check out Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column at  https://www.tabletmag.com/columns/via-meadia .

Author

Tablet Magazine

Category

News

Podcast website

www.tabletmag.com

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

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Episodes

How Sept. 11 Still Shapes Our Politics 13.09.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Harris-Trump debate, Iran selling ballistic missiles to Russia, Europe’s never-ending decline, and how Sept. 11 continues to shape American and world history. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more t...

Tucker Finds Hitler 06.09.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Joe Biden’s move to block the sale of US Steel, Chinese spies in New York State, the Hamas massacre of Israeli hostages, and the larger meaning of Tucker Carlson’s crank historical revisionism. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story...

Bibi the Great 30.08.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the arrest of Pavel Durov in France, the revision of U.S. job growth statistics, RFK Jr. and Tuli Gabbard endorsing Donald Trump, and how Benjamin Netanyahu secured his place in Jewish and world history. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following...

Kamala’s Economics and Alexander Hamilton 23.08.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss US military plans for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Democratic criticisms of Kamala Harris’ economic plan, the darkening political picture in East Germany, and why Hamiltonianism is the best way forward in American domestic and foreign policy. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matter...

Does Soft Power Actually Matter? 15.08.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Kamala Harris’ price control plan, America’s new class of Pacific missiles, the reemergence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and why soft power isn’t what it used to be. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more...

Walz, Sinwar, Biden, Stocks 09.08.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss stock market trouble, Ukraine’s incursion into Russia, the Israel-Iran escalation ladder, and what Kamala Harris’ VP pick does and doesn’t mean. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. Fo...

Ding Dong Haniyeh and Shukr Are Dead 02.08.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Biden’s plan to remake the Supreme Court, why housing is the most important political issue in America, Russian paramilitaries getting hammered in Africa, and how Israel’s assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah top dogs could change the region and U.S. policy. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, dec...

The Foreign Policy of Kamala Harris 25.07.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Chinese and Russian warplanes off the coast of Alaska, Kamala Harris’s snub of Benjamin Netanyahu, whether the artificial intelligence bubble might pop, and what foreign policy would look like under a President Kamala Harris. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t...

Trump, Vance, and the Shot Heard Round the World 18.07.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the rise of J.D. Vance, America’s nervous allies in Europe and Asia, Silicon Valley’s break right, and the near-slaying of Donald Trump. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more,...

Putin, Xi, Modi, Kim 11.07.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss unemployment figures, the GOP’s new Trump-era stance on abortion, the rise of the far-left in France, and how China, Russia, India, and North Korea are making new moves on the Indo-Pacific chessboard. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the...

The Geopolitics of Biden’s Decline 02.07.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, the collapse of the political center in France, the Haredi military conscription debate in Israel, and the international repercussions of Biden’s disastrous debate. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enj...

About Last Night 28.06.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the historic presidential debate and two new landmark Supreme Court decisions. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read...

Biden’s Fearful Foreign Policy 21.06.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss post-election India, Biden’s new immigration orders, China’s wealth exodus, and why Iran has nothing to fear from Washington. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out t...

On The Front Lines in Ukraine 14.06.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss pro-Hamas mobs in DC and New York, France’s snap elections, Thursday’s Supreme court decisions, and what Walter saw and heard on the front lines in Ukraine. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than yo...

The Trump Verdict 31.05.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss NATO’s air defenses, the China-led shadow global economy, South Africa’s election results, and the hush money conviction of Donald Trump. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more,...

The Sino-Russian-Iranian Alliance 24.05.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Gantz’s ultimatum to Netanyahu, the death of Ebrahim Raisi, a failed unionization push in the American South, and how China, Russia, and Iran went from an Axis of Weevils to a legitimate alliance of revisionist powers. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and e...

Checking in on American Democracy Promotion 17.05.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Biden’s tariffs on China, Israel’s spiraling relations with Egypt, Google’s plan to crush publishers with AI, and how America’s democracy promotion agenda is finding new ways to fail in Africa. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of...

Did Biden Just Abandon Israel? 10.05.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Biden’s threat to withhold offensive weapons from Israel, why the president’s huge spending bills haven’t been spent yet, the faltering criminal cases against Donald Trump, the global fertility crisis, and how to get the most out of election coverage. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide wha...

Where Did the Democratic Party’s Pro-Hamas Wing Come From? 03.05.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the US Southwest pumping more crude oil than Kuwait, the International Criminal Court’s threat to arrest Israeli officials, the financial industry’s exodus from New York and California, and how support for Hamas could split the Democratic coalition. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what...

America's Popular Universities for Palestine 25.04.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Ukraine aid package, banning TikTok, Lina Khan's FTC overreach, and the pro-Hamas protests sweeping America's college campuses. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check...

The Rise of the Cyber City 18.04.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Israel’s options for retaliating against Iran, why the IMF scolded the United States, Zelensky’s pleas for Israel-style support for Ukraine, and why the Work From Home (WFH) revolution could change American cities and make Gen Z filthy rich. Read Walter’s new Tablet essay, ‘The Rise of the Cyber City’ Read or watch Walter’s recent Senate testimony on Modernizin...

Czar Tucker and the Antisemitic Right 11.04.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Israel-Iran war worries, European bans on youth gender care, an Indonesia-Israel normalization agreement, and why Tucker Carlson is peddling the antisemitism of the Russian Czars. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and th...

Foreign Policy in a Second Trump Term 05.04.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Biden’s industrial policy, Israeli airstrikes in Syria and Gaza, the fentanyl crisis, and what foreign policy might look like if Trump wins in November. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do...

Twilight of the Wonks 29.03.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss ethnic tensions in Russia, the race for AI talent, Chinese-Pakistani relations, and Walter’s new Tablet essay on why the golden age of the Wonk is coming to an end. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more...

Build Back Better Palestinian Authority 22.03.2024

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk universal basic income, the decline of New York City, the Houthis as the greatest naval threat since Imperial Japan, and why the Palestinians need a Konrad Adenauer. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more t...

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