Pod Save the World Crooked Media

Tommy and Ben discuss the “Peace Summit” held in Switzerland for the war in Ukraine and the glaring problem of Russia’s absence, Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years and why this growing alliance is a troubling development, and the news that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will stand trial next week in Russia on espionage charges. They also talk about Netanyahu disbanding his war cabinet, analysts warning of increasing terror threats to the United States because of the war in Gaza, devastating polling for Emmanuel Macron ahead of a snap election in France, protests in Argentina in response to reforms pushed through by Javier Milei, and the Pope doing influencer outreach by inviting comedians to the Vatican. Then, Ben speaks with Rep. Ilhan Omar about her letter to President Biden asking for a humanitarian parole program for Sudanese refugees.

Finally, don’t miss Ben and Tommy discussing how they got into careers in politics – something Tommy, Jon Favreau and John Lovett suggest others do in their new book, Democracy or Else. Pre-order Democracy or Else, out June 25th: crooked.com/books

Tommy and Ben discuss the success of far-right parties in the European Parliamentary elections and debate whether French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for snap elections in France is bold or disastrous. Then they talk about British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s shocking decision to skip a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the latest developments out of Israel and Gaza, including ceasefire negotiations, Benny Gantz leaving Netanyahu’s war cabinet, and the ethics of an Israeli hostage rescue in Gaza that resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties. They also walk through the horrific state of affairs in the civil war in Sudan, a foreign election interference scandal rocking Canada, a Chinese waterfall getting a little help from the government, and why Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is still very, very dumb. Then Ben interviews Dr. Rosa Balfour, the Director of Carnegie Europe, about the broader implications of the European Parliamentary election results on issues like climate change.

Tommy and Ben answer questions from Friends of the Pod subscribers on Discord about the political calculations behind snap elections in both the UK and France, as well as comparisons between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in normalizing relations with Israel.

To unlock these episodes, sign up for Friends of the Pod on Apple. To submit your own questions for the guys, join the Friends of the Pod community at the Friends with Benefits or Best Friends tier. Head to https://crooked.com/friends to learn more.

Tommy and Ben discuss Biden’s ceasefire proposal and debate whether going public with the plan will pressure Hamas and Israel to accept it, they also try to understand why Democrats agreed to invite Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress. Then they discuss global reactions to Trump’s guilty verdict, the debate over allowing Ukraine to use American provided weapons against targets on Russian soil, British PM Rishi Sunak’s decision to call early elections on July 4th, shocking election results for Prime Minister Modi in India, an end of a political era for Nelson Mandela’s ANC party in South Africa, and a tit for tat between North and South Korea involving balloons full of trash and K-Pop songs. Then, Tommy covers the historic election of Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, with Dan Restrepo, a founding partner at Dinamica Americas and President Obama’s former principal advisor on issues related to Latin America.

Ben Rhodes answers the latest round of questions from Friends of the Pod subscribers on Discord about threats from the president of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska to secede from Bosnia Herzegovina, and how the US should respond to a Russian proposal to alter borders in the Baltic Sea.

To unlock these episodes, sign up for Friends of the Pod on Apple. To submit your own questions for the guys, join the Friends of the Pod community at the Friends with Benefits or Best Friends tier. Head to https://crooked.com/friends to learn more.

Ben speaks to Jonas Gahr Store, the Prime Minister of Norway, who explains why he decided to formally recognize a Palestinian state alongside the leaders of Spain and Ireland. Then, Ben is joined by Fareed Zakaria to talk about the long term prospects for peace on multiple fronts like Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, and China and Taiwan. They also discuss Zakaria’s new book, “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present”. Finally, Ben interviews Ravi Gupta about the new podcast from Crooked Media, “Killing Justice”.