Pod Save the World

Tommy and Ben discuss reports that Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a disaster, and that his summit in Hungary with Russian President Vladimir Putin may be canceled. They also cover the administration's threats to punish Colombia and Venezuela, including authorization of the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela, and other warning signs that the administration is pushing for regime change. They al...

Tommy & Ben break down the deal between Israel and Hamas–how we got here, who deserves credit (and who doesn’t), why the hell it took so long, and then dig into the many questions still to be resolved: Will Hamas disarm? How will Gaza be run? And who might make up the proposed “International Stabilisation Force”? They also talk about Trump’s victory lap in Israel and Egypt (including a quick pit stop for some corruption with Indone...

Tommy & Ben sound the alarm about how Trump is laying the foundation for war with Venezuela—breaking down the administration’s justifications, what escalation could look like, and why attacking Venezuela won’t solve America’s drug problem. Then, they discuss the latest negotiations between Israel and Hamas over Trump’s Gaza “peace plan,” Israel's treatment of activists arrested from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, an update f...

Tommy & Ben react to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump's bizarre and alarming gathering of top military officials, including Trump's fascistic rhetoric about the "enemy within", wildly inappropriate partisan rants, and Hegseth's anti-DEI, pro-war-crimes lecture that could have been an email. They also talk about Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement of a 20-point plan to end the war bet...

Tommy & Ben grit their teeth and dive into Trump’s rambling, insulting address at the United Nations and fact-check his ridiculous claim that he solved seven wars. They cover Trump’s proposed bank bailout for Argentina, his threat to re-invade Afghanistan, Pete Hegseth’s crackdown on journalists’ access to the Pentagon, and Russia’s continuing incursions into NATO airspace. They also discuss a trio of immigration stories: the admin...

Tommy & Ben start with Gaza: the UN Human Rights Council’s finding that Israel has committed genocide, and Israel’s ground operation into Gaza City. They discuss how Marco Rubio signaled that Trump has given up on brokering a peace deal in Gaza, and why the Netanyahu government is telling the press that Trump is lying about his knowledge of the IDF airstrike in Qatar. Also covered: Kash Patel’s combative Senate hearing about the ra...

Tommy & Ben react to Israel’s shocking strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar. They cover how this closes the door on ceasefire negotiations, how the attacks humiliate the Arab world and make normalization in the region next to impossible, and the Trump administration’s incoherent response. They also discuss the alleged Israeli bombing of a humanitarian aid flotilla in Tunisia, the horrific terrorist attack in Jerusalem, and Spain’s r...

Tommy & Ben discuss China’s summit in Tianjin, which brought together leaders from 20 countries, including India, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, and how it signals a major shift in global alliances. They talk about the schism between Trump and India’s President Narendra Modi and how Trump keeps conceding to China on issues like AI and student visas despite his many empty threats. Also covered: the administration’s illegal airstrike...

Tommy & Ben dig into the FBI’s raid on John Bolton and how Pete Hegseth’s firing of the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency fits into Trump’s ongoing ideological purges of the US intelligence community. They discuss Israel’s criminal “double tap” strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, The Free Press’s sanctimonious reaction to criticism of their reporting about starvation in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s constant mov...

Tommy & Ben sift through the week’s flurry of meetings on Ukraine, including Putin and Trump’s Alaska summit and Zelensky’s White House visit. They discuss how territory and security guarantees factor into negotiations, what Putin means by the “root causes” of the war, and how Russia won the optics game. They also talk about why a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel isn’t likely, massive anti-war protests in Israel, the Free Press’s...

Ben and guest co-host Yalda Hakim, Sky News’ Lead World News Presenter, discuss Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s upcoming Alaska summit, previewing what might unfold, Ukraine's predicament, and how Europe has struggled with being sidelined. They also talk about Trump’s fixation on the Nobel Peace Prize and his ‘real estate diplomacy,’ as well as Israel’s frightening plan to take over Gaza, the targeted killing of several Al Jazeer...

Tommy and Ben kick off the show by digging into Trump and Netanyahu’s incompatible visions for the war in Gaza: a comprehensive peace deal vs. more fighting and annexation. They also discuss the continuing humanitarian disaster in the Strip, horrific violence in the West Bank even as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visits the occupied territory, and Netanyahu’s firing of Israel’s attorney general. Then they cover Trump’s tariff t...

Tommy and Ben start by breaking down the devastating scale of the famine in Gaza, how Israeli policy drove Gaza to this point, and how the world is responding. They also discuss Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu’s denial and gaslighting about the starvation, whether Trump is buying it, whether there’s hope in this moment to build a coalition to pressure Israel to permanently end the war, what Democrats should be doing in this moment, and t...

Tommy and Ben respond to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s baseless accusation that the Obama administration masterminded a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump and Trump’s subsequent call to arrest Barack Obama. They also talk about the President’s ongoing beef with Brazil and how it’s backfiring, the exile of a leading human rights organization from El Salvador, the deal to release prisoners from El Salvador and ...

Tommy and Ben discuss Trump’s Ukraine policy announcement and try to unpack how much of it is style vs. substance. They also talk about the massive layoffs at the State Department, Trump’s bottom-of-the-barrel ambassador picks for crucial posts in Southeast Asia, the investigations into Pete Hegseth’s top aides at the Pentagon, and the president’s excruciating meeting with African leaders at the White House. Additionally, they dig ...

Tommy and Ben take a break from impersonating Marco Rubio to cover Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington to kiss Trump’s ass, the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar, the IDF’s latest plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza, and shifting opinions on Israel within the Democratic Party. They also discuss Trump’s confusing about-face on sending weapons to Ukraine, the continued incoherence of Trump’s tariff ...

Tommy and Ben lament Trump’s travesty of a spending bill and the death of USAID, and how both will cost lives and further tank America’s global reputation. They unpack the fallout from Israel and the US’s strikes on Iran, the bizarre delusions and marginalization of Tulsi Gabbard, and the ending of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. They also discuss Trump’s interference in Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, th...

Tommy and Ben grapple with the fallout from Trump and Netanyahu’s war with Iran. They talk about how America’s massive bunker buster bombs didn't solve the problem of Iran’s nuclear program, why the strikes were illegal under international law, and how the drumbeat for regime change will never go away. They also discuss the short-term thinking and triumphalism running rampant in DC and the media and Israel’s own under-the-radar nuc...

Tommy and Ben react to Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. They break down the many horrifying ways Iran could retaliate in the short and long term, how the conflict could snowball across the Middle East, and why the US can’t just bomb its way back to the negotiating table. They also get into the administration’s baffling, bad-faith messaging on the attacks, how the Democrats should meet this moment, and the global reacti...