Pod Save the World Folgen

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 US allies, survey the international reaction to Turkey’s offensive in Syria and explain why nuclear weapons make everything more complicated. Then they talk through the latest on impeachment and the corruption of US foreign policy, evaluate the détente in the trade war with China, highlight some good news out of Ethiopia, and talk about the latest in the dispute between the NBA and China. They end with a discussion of soccer diplomacy and how Senator Lindsey Graham got prank called. Then Vice News’s Isobel Yeung joins to talk about her reporting on the ground in Syria, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, China.

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 the fight against ISIS. Then they try to understand why Republicans are only willing to criticize Trump’s Syria policy, explain why the NBA and Chinese government are fighting, and try to understand why Gordon Sondland, the US Ambassador to the European Union, was part of the quid pro quo with Ukraine. Finally they cover the latest on North Korea, Russia and Boris Johnson’s Brexit. Then Washington Post Beirut bureau chief Liz Sly calls in to talk about protests in Iraq and the view from the ground in Syria.

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 Ukrainian prosecutor, and how this controversy could destabilize the Ukrainian government. Then they cover Trump’s call to pressure Australia, the shady ways the White House is restricting access to information, and how Mike Pompeo is complicit in all of it. Finally, they discuss China’s 70th anniversary celebration, the protests in Hong Kong, the latest with Iran, Brexit, and why John Bolton is criticizing Trump’s North Korea policy. Then former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron joins to discuss his new book For the Record, Brexit, and the future of democracy.