Pod Save the World

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...

Tommy and Ben tackle the big question: will Trump be stupid enough to drag the United States into another war in the Middle East? They dig into the various right-wing forces arguing for and against US involvement, discuss why following Benjamin Netanyahu into yet another regime change war in the region is insane, and how this conflict has ballooned from strikes on nuclear infrastructure to a full-on push for regime change. They als...

Tommy and Ben unpack Trump’s cruel and incoherent travel bans, the administration’s callous stranding of migrants and ICE agents in Djibouti, the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US and his immediate prosecution, and the revival of the plan to send thousands of migrants to Guantánamo. They also discuss Trump’s upcoming North Korea-style military (and birthday) extravaganza and Trump’s abuse of the military for his personal int...

Ben and guest co-host Ali Velshi kick off the show with a conversation about how Trump’s policies are accelerating US brain drain, Tulsi Gabbard’s Fox News-style overhaul of the Presidential Daily Brief, and the eyebrow-raising new press secretary at the Pentagon. They also talk about Ukraine’s massive surprise drone strike on Russia and the stalemate between Putin and Zelensky. Additionally, they cover the horrific attack on Jewis...

Tommy and Ben are on the Trump corruption beat, including Vietnam’s fast-tracking of a Trump golf project for favorable treatment, the administration pushing Elon Musk’s Starlink on foreign countries, the president’s grotesque dinner for buyers of his memecoin, and Cory Booker’s embarrassing vote for Charles Kushner to be ambassador to France. Additionally, they talk about the reduction of National Security Council staff and how it...

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 di...

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...

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 indefi...

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 terroris...