Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s policy changes on Syria and his man-crush on its president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, what lifting sanctions on Syria could (and should) look like, more details on how Qatar’s plane bribe came together, and Tulsi Gabbard’s shocking politicization of the intelligence community. They also talk about the continuing crackdown on journalists and human rights activists by Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, the dire–and indefensible–humanitarian situation in Gaza, the lack of any meaningful progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and elections in Portugal, Romania and Poland. Then, Ben speaks with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who has volunteered twice in Gaza, about his experience treating patients in Khan Younis. Finally, Ben and Tommy are forced to endure some selections from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss how President Trump’s first official foreign trip is a blatant extraction of money from the Middle East, his announcement that the US will lift sanctions on Syria, the widening cracks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump and Israel’s increasing isolation, and the different stories the US and Iran are telling about the latest nuclear talks. They also talk about why Trump caved to China on tariffs, India and Pakistan’s ceasefire and the Trump administration’s belated intervention in the conflict, and the latest talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. Additionally, they talk about the first American Pope and why the Trump administration’s classification of white South Africans as refugees is white supremacy as policy. Finally, Tommy speaks with Senator Chris Murphy about the historic corruption on display during Trump’s Middle East trip and what Democrats can do to fight back.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s firing of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and the dangers that come along with consolidating responsibilities into fewer hands, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House, and cuts to the CIA, military, and other intelligence agencies while Trump plans a “big, beautiful” military parade on his birthday. They also talk about Israel’s plan to occupy and hold Gaza indefinitely, the anti-Trump effect in the Australian election, but a rightward turn for elections in the UK and Romania. Additionally, they cover the rocky start for Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Trump administration’s defense of Germany’s far-right AfD party after being designated as an “extremist endeavor”, India’s military response to a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, and they take bets on the papal conclave. Finally, Ben speaks to Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders in the US about the grim state of global press freedom.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Ben and Tommy discuss the Liberal Party’s shocking come-from-behind victory in the Canadian election and why it was a rebuke of Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump’s meeting at the Vatican and why Trump’s peace talks with Russia have failed, and the never-ending chaos swirling around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They also talk about the escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, the horrifying, deteriorating situation on the ground in Gaza, and a new investigation from Channel 13 news in Israel about the Biden administration’s disastrous approach to the war in Gaza. Then Ben speaks to Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about the devastating humanitarian impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest scandal engulfing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and why even his defenders say the Pentagon is in chaos, a report about the FBI Director’s jet-setting lifestyle, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s mindless reorganization of the State Department. They also talk about Pope Francis’ moral leadership on global affairs, how China is winning the trade war and concern that the impact of Trump’s tariffs might be irreversible, why US airstrikes on the Houthi rebels have failed to deter them, a new political crisis for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, the latest from Gaza, and why Swedes are Netflix and chilling to the Moose Migration.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, the terrifying prospect of Trump sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Daniel Noboa’s re-election in Ecuador, and disgraced military contractor Erik Prince’s attempts to privatize and profit from right-wing autocracy. They also talk about Trump’s failures to end the war in Ukraine, the administration's talks with Iran about its nuclear program and the fight to define what a successful Iran deal 2.0 could look like, and the anti-Trump effect on Australia and Canada’s upcoming elections. Then, Tommy speaks to Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century, about Trump’s chaotic China policymaking in the first term and who in the administration is influencing his decision-making as he launches a massive trade war.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the disastrous impact of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, how a fringe right-wing conspiracy theorist got Trump to fire top national security officials, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and the upcoming talks between the Trump administration and Iran. Then they explain why South Sudan is teetering on the edge of civil war, and the dramatic end of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in power. Finally, Tommy speaks to Noah Bullock, Executive Director of Cristosal, about the brutality of El Salvador’s prison system and why Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele have forged such a close relationship.  

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction and what it could mean for France’s political future, reactions from world leaders to Trump’s promised “Liberation Day” when US tariffs on global imports will supposedly go into effect, and a spate of incompetent national security staffing stories from Elise Stefanik losing the UN nomination to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bringing his wife to meetings. They also talk about the chilling effects of deportations and student visas being revoked and how the latest version of the Ukraine mineral deal will only lead to corruption and grift from Trump’s goons. Then Ben speaks with International Rescue Committee President David Miliband about the hole USAID cuts have left in the humanitarian response to crises in Myanmar, Sudan, and global health. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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Tommy and Ben discuss the fallout from Trump's national security team accidentally sending top secret war plans to a journalist, Turkey's backsliding democracy as a result of Erdoğan arresting his top political opponent, and Bibi Netanyahu's continuing efforts to remove internal critics while Israel gears up for potential annexation of Gaza. They also discuss a violent settler attack on the Oscar winning co-director of No Other Land, Russia's maximalist terms for the new maritime ceasefire with Ukraine, the conflicts in Sudan and Congo, and the Trump administration's latest immigration moves, including revoking temporary protected status for over 500,000 people. Then, Tommy is joined by Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at the European Council of Foreign Relations, for a tour of Europe, including Turkey's political unrest, Romania's fraught election, and the latest with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss Bibi Netanyahu restarting the war in Gaza as he creates a new domestic political crisis, why Trump's airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen are likely to fail, and the gutting of Voice of America. They also cover the latest in Trump's efforts to harness the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador, how Putin continues to play Trump in negotiations over Ukraine, Serbia's wave of student-led protests over government corruption, and why patrons at a popular Chinese hotpot chain are getting more than just a full refund. Then Ben speaks with Pankaj Mishra, author of The World After Gaza: A History, about how Israel's relationship with the legacy of the Holocaust has shifted, decolonization in the 20th century, and how a writer can be of service in these dark times.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Today we're excited to bring you the first episode of Shadow Kingdom: God's Banker. In the summer of 1982, the Vatican’s top money man was found dead. Roberto Calvi was at the center of a prolific money laundering scheme that put him in the crosshairs of the Sicilian mafia, a secret far-right chapter of the Freemasons, and the Catholic Church. Forty years after his death was ruled a suicide, Shadow Kingdom host Nicolo Majnoni got a tip that there was more to the story. So who killed God’s banker?

Shadow Kingdom is a new series from Crooked Media and Campside Media. Each season starts with a crime, and as the layers are peeled back to find out who or what is at the center of it, a larger system at play is revealed.

Subscribe to Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker wherever you get your podcasts or join Crooked's Friends Of The Pod subscription community to hear the full season right now. Join Friends Of The Pod at crooked.com/friends or subscribe through the Shadow Kingdom Apple feed.