Pod Save the World

NVIDIA’s CEO is ensnared in a Chinese spy scandal that Trump and US intelligence knew about, Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and at least one Republican in Congress agrees, and CENTCOM enters the content mines.Tommy and Ben break down the scandal engulfing NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang—how his affair with a Chinese spy could have given Xi Jinping access to frontier AI technology, and why Trump is refusing to say what he knew about the affair and when. Then, all the reasons to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and whether that movement can gain steam, Trump’s endless lies and impossible choices around the war in Iran, Bibi Netanyahu’s vile speech to Israel’s Knesset amid his rival’s attempts to form a coalition to oust him, and an update on conditions in Gaza ahead of another hard winter. Also covered: this week’s talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi and CENTCOM’s baffling new podcast. At the end of the show, Tommy speaks to veteran journalist and host of the podcast Face Off: Nuclear Anarchy?, Jane Perlez, about China’s nuclear ambitions, her experience watching Ukraine dismantle its nukes in the nineties, and her trip with Madeleine Albright to North Korea in 2000.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Tommy hosts a debate between Tariq Habash, co-founder of A New Policy, and Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, on how Democrats should approach policy towards Israel and Palestine ahead of 2028.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Live from Crooked Con, Tommy and Ben think through the midterms’ impact on American foreign policy: voters’ resounding referendum on Iran, what Democrats can do to end the war, and whether Tuesday’s spectacular results dovetail with the larger global fight against right-wing populism and authoritarianism. They also get into what they’d like to hear from presidential hopefuls ahead of 2028. Then, the guys are joined by Representatives Yassamin Ansari and Jason Crow to discuss how this new generation of Democrats can tackle the rampant corruption in the Trump administration, including Jared Kushner’s multibillion-dollar kickbacks from the Gulf states and the Trump sons’ adventures as defense contractors. Also covered: How can we hold Pete Hegseth and his Department of War accountable? And, crucially, how does the U.S. begin to repair its global image?Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Trump lays the groundwork for a massive Iran escalation, Netanyahu plays the weapons-of-mass-destruction card, and North Korean hackers pull off the largest heist in history.Tommy and Ben read the tea leaves on whether Trump will ramp up the war in Iran after the midterms, taking into account Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign to re-escalate, the “insane” war plans being drawn up, and Tucker Carlson’s warnings of a nuclear apocalypse. They also take a look at the post-election landscape in Israel, including aspiring prime minister Gadi Eisenkot’s uphill, politically thorny battle to form a government, Netanyahu’s attempts to delegitimize the election results, and Trump’s surprise announcement on halting military aid to Israel. Then: how North Korea’s massive crypto heist is a sign of things to come, Trump’s push for Russia to sell gas to Europe via pipelines in Ukraine, Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge of Chinese elites, and Trump’s weird nonchalance about China’s alleged spying on NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.Today only — Wednesday, November 4 — get $30 off your Crooked Con ticket with code CCMIDTERMS26.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Lula pulls off a shocking comeback in Brazil, a leaderless student movement topples Serbia’s autocrat, and Israeli voters go to the polls for the first time since the October 7th attacks.Tommy and Ben break down Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s stunning runoff victory over Flávio Bolsonaro, including a 10-million-person WhatsApp army and 3 million new second-round voters, and look ahead to what a final Lula term will mean for the Brazilian left, the Amazon, and foreign policy. Then an even more extraordinary story from Serbia, where the end of President Aleksandar Vučić’’s 12-year grip on power proves that a protest movement can force change. Israeli voters just finished casting ballots in record numbers, and the guys explain the process ahead, the stakes, and why Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly tried to provoke Iran into striking Israel in the final days of the campaign. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns from exile, and it might have something to do with the midterm elections in the US. And the UAE nominates a Palestinian diplomat to be the next UN Secretary-General, which sounds like good news until you look at the UAE’s human rights record. At the end of the show, Ben talks to Pedro Telles, a program director at D-Hub, about the view from the ground in São, Brazil, and the tactics Lula’s campaign used that progressive campaigns around the world can learn from.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.