Shows / Pod Save the World
Pod Save the World
“Pod Save America” cohost Tommy Vietor thought foreign policy was boring and complicated until he got the education of a lifetime working for President Obama’s National Security Council. On “Pod Save the World,” he and former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes break down the latest global developments and bring you behind the scenes with the people who were there. New episodes every Wednesday. To get access to extended ad-free Pod Save The World episodes, sign up to be a Friends of the…
Episodes
Pod Save the WorldHow Will the Blue Wave Change US Foreign Policy? (Live from Crooked Con)
Live from Crooked Con, Tommy and Ben think through the midterms’ impact on American foreign policy: voters’ resounding referendum on Iran, what Democrats can…
Pod Save the WorldTrump’s “Insane” Plan to Reignite the Iran War
Trump lays the groundwork for a massive Iran escalation, Netanyahu plays the weapons-of-mass-destruction card, and North Korean hackers pull off the largest…
Pod Save the WorldDemocracy Wins in Brazil and Serbia
Lula 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…
Pod Save the WorldFrance Descends Into Chaos
Trump 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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump’s Dirty Diesel Deal
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…
Pod Save the WorldRussian Plague and Putin's Prisons
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…
Pod Save the WorldSoccer Scandal & Idiot Ambassadors
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…
Pod Save the WorldXi’s Just Not That Into You
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…
Pod Save the WorldDon Jr.’s Big Fat Russian Wedding
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…
Pod Save the WorldCan Germany’s Far Right Be Stopped?
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…
Pod Save the WorldThe Art of the Venezuela Oil Deal
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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump & Carney’s Heated Rivalry
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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump’s Unrequited Love for Kim Jong Un
Tommy and Ben walk through a week of leaders making bad decisions. President Trump kneecaps military exercises with South Korea, Vladimir Putin’s paranoia…
Pod Save the WorldMission: Impossible - Catering Truck (Starring Donald J. Trump)
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…
Pod Save the WorldFar Right Freaks Freak Over Migrants in Spain
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…
Pod Save the WorldLindsey Graham's Bloody Legacy
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…
Pod Save the WorldPentagon Covers Up Iran War Casualties
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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump's Delusional Election Rant
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…
Pod Save the WorldForever War (Trump's Version)
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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Bullies FIFA, NATO
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…
Pod Save the WorldKeeping Up With the Korruption in Kazakhstan
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…
Pod Save the WorldStarmer Brexits
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…
Pod Save the WorldHow Bad Is Trump’s Iran Deal?
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…
Pod Save the WorldJared & Ivanka Conquer Albanian Island
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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump’s Top Spy Has One Job: Revenge
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…
Pod Save the WorldPope Warns of AI Apocalypse
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…
Pod Save the WorldIs Trump Planning to Invade Cuba?
Tommy and Ben dig into a week dominated by ominous signs of regime change, nuclear standoffs, and a “historic” summit that left almost everyone…
Pod Save the WorldKeir Starmer’s Last Stand?
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…
Pod Save the WorldBullsh*t Ceasefires Everywhere
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…
Pod Save the WorldKing Trump Welcomes King Charles
The 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…
Pod Save the WorldAll the President’s (Corrupt) Men
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldJD Vance’s Global Humiliation
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Threatens Genocide
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Begs Allies to Clean Up Iran Mess
Ben 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…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Goes from Obliteration to Negotiation on Iran
In 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…
Pod Save the WorldMAGA’s Iran War Meltdown (and Micropenis)
A 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…
Pod Save the WorldWhy Trump Might Send Ground Troops to Iran
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the World509: Did Israel Push Trump into War with Iran?
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldUpdate: Trump Breaks Silence About Iran War
Trump’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…
Pod Save the WorldBreaking: America and Israel at War with Iran
Tommy and Ben discuss the breaking news that Israel and America launched hundreds of joint strikes against Iran, throwing the region into chaos. They talk…
Pod Save the World508: Countdown to War With Iran?
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the World507: AOC on the World Stage, Trump Starves Cuba
Ben 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…
Pod Save the World506: Will Epstein Files Take Down the British Government?
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the World505: Epstein Files Reveal Depraved Global Network
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldHas the World Finally Decided To Stand up to Trump?
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldGreenland Prepares for Trump Invasion
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldIranian Regime Massacres Protesters, Will Trump Respond?
Tommy 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…
Pod Save the WorldWhere Will Trump Invade Next?
Tommy and Ben discuss: the fallout from the Trump administration’s strikes on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, why President Trump chose…
Pod Save the WorldBreaking: Trump Invades Venezuela
Tommy and Ben respond to the breaking news that the Trump administration launched strikes on Venezuela and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a…
Pod Save the WorldISIS Terror in Australia
Tommy and Ben discuss the horrific Bondi Beach terror attack, the rise of antisemitism in Australia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bad-faith…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Forfeits AI Race to China
Tommy and Ben explain how President Trump forfeited our advantage in the artificial intelligence race by allowing Nvidia to sell advanced AI chips to China…
Pod Save the WorldIs Pete Hegseth a War Criminal?
Tommy and Ben discuss a blockbuster Washington Post report alleging that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth personally ordered a “double tap” airstrike that was a…
Pod Save the WorldUnpacking Trump’s Ukraine “Peace Deal”
Tommy and Ben unpack Trump’s rapidly changing “peace deal” to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. They explain how the plan has changed since the first…
Pod Save the WorldTrump & Saudi Arabia: A Tale of Corruption
Tommy and Ben discuss Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington, his request for F-35 fighter jets and a NATO-like security guarantee, the…
Pod Save the WorldFrom Al Qaeda to the White House
Tommy and Ben discuss Syrian transitional President Ahmed Al-Shaara’s historic and improbable visit to the White House, Trump’s sanctions waiver and special…
Pod Save the WorldWhat Should Progressive Foreign Policy Look Like? (Crooked Con)
Live from Crooked Con, Tommy and Ben look back at the last year since Trump was re-elected and unpack the worst and most surprising moments of Trump 2.0…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Flirts With Nuclear Annihilation
Ben and Tommy discuss President Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria to stop a (nonexistent) genocide against Christians and the international community’s total…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Dances Across Asia
Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s visit to Asia: the weird dancing, his meetings with the new prime minister of Japan and Chinese President Xi Jinping…
Pod Save the WorldIntroducing: Runaway Country with Alex Wagner
Being an American right now is a wild ride. Every day brings a new controversy, with breathless media narratives and the same loud voices rushing in to score…
Pod Save the WorldTrump Rug Pulls Ukraine
Tommy and Ben discuss reports that Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a disaster, and that his summit in Hungary with Russian…