Tommy and Ben discuss El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, the terrifying prospect of Trump sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Daniel Noboa’s re-election in Ecuador, and disgraced military contractor Erik Prince’s attempts to privatize and profit from right-wing autocracy. They also talk about Trump’s failures to end the war in Ukraine, the administration's talks with Iran about its nuclear program and the fight to define what a successful Iran deal 2.0 could look like, and the anti-Trump effect on Australia and Canada’s upcoming elections. Then, Tommy speaks to Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century, about Trump’s chaotic China policymaking in the first term and who in the administration is influencing his decision-making as he launches a massive trade war.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the disastrous impact of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, how a fringe right-wing conspiracy theorist got Trump to fire top national security officials, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and the upcoming talks between the Trump administration and Iran. Then they explain why South Sudan is teetering on the edge of civil war, and the dramatic end of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in power. Finally, Tommy speaks to Noah Bullock, Executive Director of Cristosal, about the brutality of El Salvador’s prison system and why Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele have forged such a close relationship.  

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction and what it could mean for France’s political future, reactions from world leaders to Trump’s promised “Liberation Day” when US tariffs on global imports will supposedly go into effect, and a spate of incompetent national security staffing stories from Elise Stefanik losing the UN nomination to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bringing his wife to meetings. They also talk about the chilling effects of deportations and student visas being revoked and how the latest version of the Ukraine mineral deal will only lead to corruption and grift from Trump’s goons. Then Ben speaks with International Rescue Committee President David Miliband about the hole USAID cuts have left in the humanitarian response to crises in Myanmar, Sudan, and global health. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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Tommy and Ben discuss the fallout from Trump's national security team accidentally sending top secret war plans to a journalist, Turkey's backsliding democracy as a result of Erdoğan arresting his top political opponent, and Bibi Netanyahu's continuing efforts to remove internal critics while Israel gears up for potential annexation of Gaza. They also discuss a violent settler attack on the Oscar winning co-director of No Other Land, Russia's maximalist terms for the new maritime ceasefire with Ukraine, the conflicts in Sudan and Congo, and the Trump administration's latest immigration moves, including revoking temporary protected status for over 500,000 people. Then, Tommy is joined by Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at the European Council of Foreign Relations, for a tour of Europe, including Turkey's political unrest, Romania's fraught election, and the latest with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss Bibi Netanyahu restarting the war in Gaza as he creates a new domestic political crisis, why Trump's airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen are likely to fail, and the gutting of Voice of America. They also cover the latest in Trump's efforts to harness the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador, how Putin continues to play Trump in negotiations over Ukraine, Serbia's wave of student-led protests over government corruption, and why patrons at a popular Chinese hotpot chain are getting more than just a full refund. Then Ben speaks with Pankaj Mishra, author of The World After Gaza: A History, about how Israel's relationship with the legacy of the Holocaust has shifted, decolonization in the 20th century, and how a writer can be of service in these dark times.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Today we're excited to bring you the first episode of Shadow Kingdom: God's Banker. In the summer of 1982, the Vatican’s top money man was found dead. Roberto Calvi was at the center of a prolific money laundering scheme that put him in the crosshairs of the Sicilian mafia, a secret far-right chapter of the Freemasons, and the Catholic Church. Forty years after his death was ruled a suicide, Shadow Kingdom host Nicolo Majnoni got a tip that there was more to the story. So who killed God’s banker?

Shadow Kingdom is a new series from Crooked Media and Campside Media. Each season starts with a crime, and as the layers are peeled back to find out who or what is at the center of it, a larger system at play is revealed.

Subscribe to Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker wherever you get your podcasts or join Crooked's Friends Of The Pod subscription community to hear the full season right now. Join Friends Of The Pod at crooked.com/friends or subscribe through the Shadow Kingdom Apple feed.

Tommy and Ben discuss late-breaking news that Russia and Ukraine may agree to a 30-day ceasefire, Canada’s new Prime Minister and the rapidly escalating trade war with the United States that he’ll inherit, and the final death knell for USAID. They also talk about the irrational anger at the Trump administration’s direct talks with Hamas, and the Anti-Defamation League’s ludicrous support of the arrest of a Columbia university student for his role in pro-Palestine protests. Then they cover the recent violence in Syria between the new government and pro-Assad loyalists, and the ICC arrest of Rodrigo Duterte, former President of the Philippines. Then Tommy speaks to journalist and System Update host Glenn Greenwald about the Trump administration’s attacks on free speech, a realistic end to the war in Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s new FBI leadership, and censorship in Brazil.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the continued fallout from President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous White House meeting, including Europe’s attempt to come up with an alternative peace plan, Trump casually talking about regime change in Ukraine, and the giddy response from the Kremlin. They also discuss the potentially devastating economic consequences of Trump’s trade war with Canada, China, and Mexico, the grim death toll from DOGE destroying USAID, why the Trump administration helped Andrew Tate return to America, Israel blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, and news from Panama, Venezuela, and Mexico. Then Ben speaks to Natasha Hall, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about the way geopolitics are affecting the establishment of a new government in Syria.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous meeting at the White House that erupted in a yelling match and resulted in Zelensky being told to leave. They dig into JD Vance’s role as instigator, the revealed motivations for attacking Zelensky in front of the press, and what Zelensky’s options are for pursuing peace from here.

Tommy and Ben discuss the increasing divide between the US and Europe on the issue of the war in Ukraine just as the world marks the three year anniversary, including a mineral reserves deal and America’s vote against a UN resolution calling for an end to Russian aggression. They also talk about Germany’s election results and the likely new Chancellor Freidrich Merz, the right wing podcaster who is Trump’s new Deputy FBI Director, firings at the Pentagon, an update on migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay and Panama, a parade of international right wingers at CPAC, and strains in the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel after the return of the remains of the Bibas family. Then, Tommy speaks to Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Zeke Faux about the Argentinian President’s memecoin and how it relates to the Trump family’s crypto schemes. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the seismic shift in US foreign policy that happened this past week after Trump announced that the US and Russia would directly negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine through talks that exclude Ukraine and Europe. They also explain how JD Vance’s first foreign trip insulted nearly every leader in Europe while boosting Germany’s far-right AfD party ahead of Germany’s election this Sunday, how support for a crypto scam has become a major political liability for the president of Argentina, the continued fallout from USAID cuts, the latest on the Gaza ceasefire, and intelligence leaks about a potential Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Then, Ben speaks to Max Seddon, Moscow Bureau Chief for the Financial Times, about how the flip flop in US foreign policy towards Russia is being greeted by the Kremlin.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.