Pod Save the World

Vaccine diplomacy and Kushner bashing

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the intelligence community's new report on foreign interference in the 2020 election, America's role in getting the whole world ...

Oprah upends the British Empire

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest massive state-sponsored hack on American businesses and government email servers, Biden’s efforts to end the war in...

President Biden, Saudi Arabia and human rights

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the newly released report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and how President Joe Biden is approaching the US-Saudi relationsh...

Bobi Wine’s fight against a military dictatorship

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism, and how people like Mike Pompeo lie and blur that line to shut...

Biden confronts the war in Afghanistan

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk through Biden’s options in Afghanistan, updates on the coup in Myanmar, censorship in China, the effectiveness of the Pfizer vacc...

Why Rihanna cares about the farmers' protests in India (and you should too)

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the farmers’ protests in India, updates on the situation in Myanmar, Biden’s big foreign policy speech, Canada’s classific...

The coup in Myanmar, explained

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the military takeover in Myanmar and how President Biden should respond, Alexey Navalny's sentencing in Russia, Poland's near-to...

Putin's plush palace

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss President Biden’s first call with Vladimir Putin as President and the US-Russia relationship, Rob Malley and the fight over Bi...

The world Biden inherits

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the final Pod Save the World of the Trump presidency, Ben and Tommy talk about Joe Biden’s day-one foreign policy agenda, the arrest of Russian o...

Samantha Power’s point

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss last week’s violent coup attempt and the call for new domestic terrorism laws, how world leaders are reacting to Trump’s Twi...

New year, new strain

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss Joe Biden’s latest foreign policy staffing decisions, the huge (likely) Russian hack of American government and private networ...

Barack Obama, Worldo-in-Chief

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk with former President and current Worldo Barack Obama about some of the biggest foreign policy challenges and accomplishments addre...

Biden's controversial pick to run the Pentagon

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk through Joe Biden’s decision to nominate General Lloyd Austin for Secretary of Defense, a new wealth tax in Argentina, the mass v...

Assassinations in Iran & Biden’s foreign policy team

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, what Biden’s national security team tells us about his foreign policy, p...

A very Worldo mailbag

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the inaugural Pod Save the World Thanksgiving mailbag episode, Tommy and Ben take your foreign policy questions, and a trip down memory lane. Get ...

One last war for the road?

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about reports that Trump asked his national security team for options to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and has accelerated the...

Trump lost, the world won

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about President-elect Biden’s win, Trump’s refusal to start the transition, how world leaders reacted and who Biden should talk...

How the world sees our election

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk with British Member of Parliament David Lammy about how the world views the US election. Then they talk about protests over abortio...

A Biden foreign policy

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the final Pod Save the World before the election, Tommy and Ben talk to Biden foreign policy advisor Tony Blinken about what Joe Biden’s foreign ...

Rudy Giuliani's disinformation expo

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben break down what we know about the connection between foreign disinformation and the latest allegations about Hunter Biden, Russia’s pr...

North Korea debuts a massive new missile

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration argues with itself about troop withdrawal timelines in Afghanistan, Trump’s covid drug cocktail restarts a debate about the...

COVID Commander-in-Chief

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The foreign policy implications of Trump catching Covid, erosion of democracy in India, a possible coup in Kyrgyzstan, an update on fighting between A...

Trump’s foreign IOUs

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s taxes reveal foreign income and liabilities, why Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war, the White House’s efforts to bribe Sudan, politically-...

Assassin-in-Chief

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest on Russian election interference, the case for dismantling DHS, a setback for LGBTQ+ rights and US military accountab...

The Missing Peace

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the so-called “peace” deals between the UAE and Israel and Bahrain, the US/Taliban/Afghan peace talks, disturbing allegation...

Trump’s military complex

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss reports that Trump routinely denigrates American servicemembers and veterans, including those killed in battle, an update on the...

From Putin to pandas with Karen Attiah

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ben and guest co-host Karen Attiah, the Global Opinions editor for The Washington Post, talk about Jared Kushner’s coddling of dictators and his tri...

The RNC live from Jerusalem

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the foreign-policy focused elements of the Republican National Con...

Blockbuster Senate report on Russian election interference

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign policy analyst and author Rula Jebreal joins to discuss the US-Israel-UAE diplomatic agreement announced last week. Tommy and Ben talk about t...

Kamala Harris on the world stage

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Now that Senator Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s running mate, Ben and Tommy examine her foreign policy record. They also discuss growing concerns abou...

Explosions in Beirut

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the enormous explosions in Beirut, why Cuba has become an issue for Congresswoman Karen Bass in Biden’s VP selection proces...

Ambassadors Gone Wild

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben make the case for Susan Rice as Vice President, the latest on escalating tensions between the US and China, US plans to sell advanced ar...

Everything Mike Pompeo touches turns to sh*t

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats sound the alarm about foreign election interference. Experts say Israel and the US are responsible for mysterious explosions across Iran. Mi...

Dems in Congress push for a more progressive foreign policy

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A leadership fight in Congress that could help make the Democratic Party’s foreign policy more progressive. A far-right nationalist wins reelection ...

Trump’s cruel immigration policies

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Literally no one is surprised that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has contracted COVID, and how Sweden’s terrible response could help us move pa...

Russian bounties with Rep Adam Schiff

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Explosive reports that the Russia military has been paying Taliban-linked militants to kill US forces in Afghanistan. Tommy and Ben try to figure out ...

John Bolton’s sh*tty book

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk through some of the explosive revelations in John Bolton’s book, from supporting the construction of concentration camps in China...

Assault on the press and democracy in the Philippines

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An attack on press freedom in the Philippines and what it could mean for the future of their democracy. The two year anniversary of the US-North Korea...

Why policing is better abroad

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben examine how other countries structure and run their police forces to see if there are policies or tactics the US can adopt to improve ou...

The world is watching

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The global reaction to the protests in the United States and the scary and inappropriate way the US military is being asked to police them. Trump’s ...

False START

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

China tries to crush dissent in Hong Kong. Tommy and Ben discuss what the White House, Congress and the Biden campaign can do to stop them. Failed dip...

The corruption of Mike Pompeo

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Al Qaeda stages its first successful attack on American soil since 9/11, exposing America’s broken relationship with Saudi Arabia. Mike Pompeo fires...

Flynnocent After Proven Guilty

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The political fallout from the failed coup attempt in Venezuela. General Flynn and the administration’s attempt to undercut the Mueller probe and pu...

Mercenaries invade Venezuela

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why the Trump administration is directing the intelligence community to prove their claims about China and the coronavirus is so dangerous. A truly un...

TMZ at the DMZ

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The latest rumors and news about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health, and what we know about a possible succession process. Iran launches a mil...

Kim Jong Un-healthy?

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu cuts a deal that allows him to stay in charge. We explain how the price of a barrel of oil briefly becomes negat...

Samantha Power Hour

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus talks about Capt Crozier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt and how the coronavirus created a crisis in the Navy. Form...

The Navy’s coronavirus clusterf*ck

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A coronavirus clusterf*ck in the Navy leads the Acting Secretary of the Navy to resign. The virus sends British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the IC...

How a virus can threaten democracy

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s show is a little different. We skip the update on the spread of the coronavirus itself and instead focus on the impact it’s having on gove...

A criminally negligent coronavirus response

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben go through the latest news on the international response to the coronavirus, including nationwide lockdowns in the UK and India and sign...

Our new coronavirus reality

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the new normal as the world combats the coronavirus. They cover how South Korea has successfully reduced cases, how the Trump...

Coronavirus and oil shocks rock the global economy

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Coronavirus update and explanation of why an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is rocking the global economy. More crackdowns in Saudi Ara...

A fragile peace deal in Afghanistan

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the fragile peace agreement between the US and the Taliban, the Israeli elections, the escalating fighting between Turkey and...

Bernie Sanders’ foreign policy record comes under attack

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

First, Trump’s trip to India, his new and unqualified Director of National Intelligence, and should Democrats attend AIPAC? Then updates on Sudan an...

Bloomberg’s foreign policy and the global economy gets the coronavirus

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Bloomberg’s foreign policy record and platform. How some 2020 candidates failed a foreign policy quiz. The humanitarian crisis in northwest Syr...

How the CIA broke the world’s encryption

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben tell some stories about the New Hampshire primary in 2008, walk through a report on a decades-long CIA/German effort to crack encrypted ...

Jared still sucks

06 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s topics include: Brexit, updates on the Coronavirus, why Trump made Venezuela a focus of his State of the Union speech, the list of countries...

Trump kills the Middle East peace process

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben talk about Trump’s plan to help Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu win reelection and how it essentially means the death of ...

That’s President Sh*thole to you

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Will new facial recognition technology end privacy as we know it? Can Trump scare the Intelligence Community out of testifying before Congress? Why di...

Iran and the lies we told along the way

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben cover the latest developments in the Iran crisis, including why the intelligence and legal case for assassinating Soleimani keeps changi...

Iran retaliates to the Soleimani strike

08 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the fallout from Trump’s decision to assassinate Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. What do we know about Iran’s ballistic...

Trump goes to war with Iran

03 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a bonus episode, Tommy and Ben discuss Trump’s decision to assassinate a top Iranian official named Qassem Soleimani. What happened? How did we g...

UK election aftermath

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

British MP David Lammy joins to talk about the UK elections and what they mean for Brexit and the future of the Labour Party. Then Ben and Tommy talk ...

A history of failure in Afghanistan

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben explain why the Russian foreign minister is in Washington and why Vladimir Putin is in Paris, the media and political reaction to the Sa...

NATO’s “brain death”

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about Trump’s trip to London for the NATO summit, including his dustup with the French President and the health of NATO in 2019. ...

Panic at the Pentagon

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy talks with former DOD official and national security expert Kelly Magsamen about Trump’s meddling in the military justice system and th...

Impeachmentpalooza

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, the impeachment hearings, Trump’s new policy on Israeli settlements, an...

President Erdogan crashes the impeachment hearings

13 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about Fmr President Evo Morales's abrupt departure from Bolivia and whether to call it a coup, the latest Brexit news, Turkish Pres...

Breaking down the Baghdadi raid

06 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss what the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi means for ISIS as well as Trump's strange lie about Baghdadi's "whimpering" demise. Then ...

Announcing: What A Day

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

“What A Day,” Crooked Media’s new daily news podcast, is here! Hosted by comedian Akilah Hughes and politics reporter Gideon Resnick, “What ...

LIVE from J Street

30 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben record a special episode from D.C. at the national conference hosted by the progressive Jewish organization J Street. They run through n...

Bill Taylor’s got the Ukraine receipts

23 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the latest on impeachment and about Turkey’s invasion of Syria. Then they run through a whirlwind week of news that include...

Send Rudy Giuliani to Syria

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about disaster unfolding in Syria, fact check Trump’s claim that he’s ending wars, explain who the Kurds are and why they’re ...

Abandoning our allies in Syria

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of Syria and let Turkey begin a military campaign against the Kurds, a key US ally in t...

Ukraine, corruption, and partners in crime

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss Trump’s quid pro quo with Ukraine, that country’s history with corruption, why Joe Biden was pushing to fire a Ukrain...

Impeach the mofo

25 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy talks with national security expert Kelly Magsamen about Trump’s attempt to extort Ukraine for manufactured dirt on Joe Biden, Trump’s UN sp...

Trump on Iran: Locked and Bloated

18 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the growing risk of war with Iran in the wake of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, the Israeli elections, Re...

Bye Bye Bolton

11 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben bid farewell to Trump’s former National Security Advisor, John Bolton. Then they discuss Trump’s proposed sleepover party with the T...

Don’t look back in Brexit

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s wild decision to suspend parliament and try to force a Brexit. The latest on the protests in Hong Kong. Can t...

What Worldos wanna know (Mailbag episode!)

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben answer listener questions in a special mailbag episode. Then, Ben chats with Congressman Ro Khanna about Donald Trump’s misadventures ...

Massive, global problems and the idiots trying to solve them

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the ongoing controversy over Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib being barred from visiting Israel and the West Bank. The ...

Dunking on Erdogan with Enes Kanter

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Police crack down as protests escalate to new heights in Hong Kong. An explosion involving a nuclear reactor in Russia kills at least a half dozen peo...

Stopping domestic terrorism

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben talk about the threat from domestic terrorism, the escalating trade war with China, the protests in Hong Kong, tensions with Iran...

Paging Moscow Mitch McConnell

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s choice to be his Director of National Intelligence. Then, GQ’s Julia Ioffe joins to discuss the bru...

A$AP Trumpy

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the new UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Hong Kong protests turn violent, Trump’s bizarre pool spray with the Pakistani PM...

Pour one out for the Iran deal

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben talk about Trump's new asylum rules, an Iran update, the global response to Trump's racism - including China seeming to echo him,...

Ivanka the diplomat

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Trump picks a Twitter fight with the British Ambassador to the US. Iran revs up its uranium enrichment. New polling about the Iran deal. High five dip...

Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

03 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy sits down with former Defense Secretary Ash Carter to chat about his book “Inside the Five-Sided Box”, and some of the most complex challeng...

Iran and a hard place

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk through Trump's bizarre on again, off again war with Iran. They explain how the targeting process is supposed to work, try to divin...

Trump’s torched credibility on Iran

19 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben talk about the rapidly escalating tensions with Iran, some good news for the protestors in Hong Kong, Mohamed Morsi's death in Eg...

Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s foreign policy speech

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s foreign policy speech and Trump’s ongoing and bizarre coddling of noted relative murderer Kim ...

A Kingdom United against Trump

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben Rhodes are joined by former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Danny Russel. They discuss Trump’s trip to...

Low IQ President visits Japan

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss the European parliament election results, Trump’s trip to Japan and the major US/Japan split on North Korea, the ongoin...

Fox News loves war crimes

22 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week Tommy and Ben check their anxiety levels when it comes to potential war with Iran, try to understand why a Fox News host is lobbying to prot...

Please don’t bomb Iran

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben talk about the escalating trade war with China, the drumbeat for real war with Iran, how the Pentagon is hiding how badly things are goi...

Threats from Iran and the time Ben met the Queen

08 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss the US sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East in response to threats from Iran, fighting between Palestinian mili...

Venezuela, Libya and the Russian navy's beluga whale

01 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben talk about violent clashes in Venezuela, Trump pouring gas on Libya's civil war, designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terroris...

ISIS in Sri Lanka, cruelty to Cuba, Ukrainian elections

24 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, Tommy and Ben discuss the horrific Easter Sunday terrorist attack in Sri Lanka, North Korea's weapons test, China's ascendance, Trump's UK stat...

Assange arrested, Bernie's foreign policy, Bowe Bergdahl and Afghanistan

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tommy and Ben discuss the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Bernie's foreign policy, potential war with Iran and the arrest of Chinese schol...

Israeli elections, Iran under fire and the IRA's history

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Iran expert Kelly Magsamen joins Tommy and Ben to discuss Trump's decision to designate the IRGC a terrorist organization. Then, Tommy and Ben discuss...