Iran: The Latest

I found this when I searched for “Iran” in a different podcast app, and it has been enormously substantive and helpful. They seem to have really knowledgeable guests on, especially on military matters. The tone is refreshingly neutral and factual. Since it is not an American podcast, it lacks the sort of republican/democrat partisan perspective, which I appreciate. I now listen to each episode, it often contains important information I don’t find in the NYT or WSJ.

Since the acquisition of the telegraph by ultra conservative german conglomerate axel springer, the tone of this show has become markedly partisan in Trump’s favor. In the first month of the war there was a lot more coverage of the incoherence of the US’s decision to enter the war and the absence of any true value system motivating american foreign policy; they mainly interviewed israeli and american military and iranian pahlavists, but asked them cogent questions that help sketch a picture of the situation. Now in the last two weeks there is far more editorializing about the great evil of iran and hezbollah by the journalists themselves and a framing of the conversation around helping the US win the war rather than asking why it insists on pursuing a war with no payoff, while alienating allies, without a path toward strategic victory. I appreciate the coverage of the war’s particulars on a day to day basis because it can be hard in the US to know what is happening, our media is so scattered— but i hate that the new ownership is noticeably changing the standards that this journalism is held to

Great show. More up to date info than others. Venetia, please slow down your speech and build empathic relationships with your guests. You can be short. Love carols d

It’s very hard to find good reliable actual news about what’s happening on the ground and this show is the best source for daily updates I’ve found. I don’t always agree with the hosts opinions and views on the politics but it’s great reporting and crucial for moments like now