What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Ukraine aid package, banning TikTok, Lina Khan's FTC overreach, and the pro-Hamas protests sweeping America's college campuses. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Israel’s options for retaliating against Iran, why the IMF scolded the United States, Zelensky’s pleas for Israel-style support for Ukraine, and why the Work From Home (WFH) revolution could change American cities and make Gen Z filthy rich. Read Walter’s new Tablet essay, ‘The Rise of the Cyber City’ Read or watch Walter’s recent Senate testimony on Modernizing US Alliances in the Indo Pacific Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Israel-Iran war worries, European bans on youth gender care, an Indonesia-Israel normalization agreement, and why Tucker Carlson is peddling the antisemitism of the Russian Czars. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Biden’s industrial policy, Israeli airstrikes in Syria and Gaza, the fentanyl crisis, and what foreign policy might look like if Trump wins in November. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss ethnic tensions in Russia, the race for AI talent, Chinese-Pakistani relations, and Walter’s new Tablet essay on why the golden age of the Wonk is coming to an end. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk universal basic income, the decline of New York City, the Houthis as the greatest naval threat since Imperial Japan, and why the Palestinians need a Konrad Adenauer. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss academics whining about AI, 200 years of U.S. failure to save Haiti, the Great Slackening in American high schools, and why Biden and Bibi both benefit from fighting each other in public. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Super Tuesday results, Benny Gantz’s visit to Washington, the threat of another China Shock, and why environmental movements are losing ground across the world. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy are on the road. So in place of regular programming, we’re bringing you something special: an extended excerpt from Walter’s most recent book, The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People. What you’re about to hear is Chapter 16 of that book, about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and where it fits in American diplomatic history and American domestic politics. If you like what you hear, which we’re certain you will, you can get the whole volume at all your finest book and audiobook sellers. GET IT HERE: The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People by Walter Russell Mead (Vintage, 2023) Copyright notices: ©2022 Walter Russell Mead (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Biden’s age, the Trump trials, the death of Navalny, and India’s bromance with Israel. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Putin endorsing Biden, Putin dissing Tucker Carlson, Trump dissing NATO, and Biden stumbling in the Middle East. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the rise of the religious ‘nones,’ the Biden administration’s plans for a Palestinian state, the ideological gap between young men and women, and why America probably isn’t headed for civil war. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss a potential constitutional crisis in Texas, trouble in North Korea, climate activists knee-capping Biden, and an ununified theory of US appeasement of Iran. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy talk improving consumer sentiment, the Biden administration’s leaked ‘Houthi strategy,’ Harvard’s latest misconduct allegations, and the brokenness of American institutions. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Iowa caucuses, Taiwan elections, the spread of Iranian terror, and how Davos Man is fairing in the era of global disorder. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss gig workers, Milei in Argentina, Biden's immigration fiasco, and why the US is more like Latin America than Europe. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

In the final episode of 2023, Walter and Jeremy take a look back at Chinese spy balloons, Silicon Valley bank failures, Russia's coup manqué, and the dominance of American popular culture. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Iran-backed attacks on global commerce, whether America is a gerontocracy, how oil is saving Biden’s hide, and why Anglo-American power is the big story of world history. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Ivy League presidents, Bibi’s phone call with Putin, the crisis of homeownership in America, and why many American Jews prefer "refugee Zionism" to "national Zionism." Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Biden’s sanctions on Israeli settlers, why students in the developed world are getting worse at math, America’s sterling advice on how to lose a war, and what we can learn from Henry Kissinger’s achievements in the Middle East. Each week on What Really Matters, Walter Russell Mead and Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. For more, check out tabletmag.com/what-really-matters. You can read Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column here, and check out more from Tablet here. Connect with us Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Follow Jeremy on Twitter Email us: wrm@tabletmag.com