Episodes

  • AP x Radio War Nerd (Preview)

    AP x Radio War Nerd (Preview)
    Mar 27 2026
    Danny and Derek join Mark Ames and John Dolan for the first AP–⁠Radio War Nerd⁠ crossover episode discussing, you guessed it, Iran and geopolitics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • News - Russia Drone Barrage in Ukraine, West Bank Settler Violence, U.S. Destroys Ecuador Dairy Farm

    News - Russia Drone Barrage in Ukraine, West Bank Settler Violence, U.S. Destroys Ecuador Dairy Farm
    Mar 27 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and for access to all of our episodes. Just a reminder: there was too much Iran news to fit into this episode, so we gave it a standalone special you can find here. Otherwise, this week around the world: in Israel-Palestine, the Gaza Board of Peace negotiates a Hamas disarmament agreement (1:54) while the West Bank sees settler violence surge around Nablus (3:35); Pakistan resumes its war with Afghanistan after the Eid ceasefire expires (7:09); Trump reschedules his China trip for May (8:26); in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, RSF and SPLM-N militants seize Kormuk as Chad boosts its border military presence after Sudan spillover violence (11:19); in Ukraine, Russia launches a massive drone barrage as a new offensive begins (14:14), the United States ties security guarantees for Ukraine to territorial concessions (16:04), and Russia reportedly offers to end support for Iran in exchange for the U.S. ends support for Ukraine (19:00); Denmark’s snap election leaves Mette Frederiksen weakened, but still in contention to govern (21:46); Raul Castro joins Cuba’s talks with the United States (23:55); in Ecuador, a U.S.-backed operation reportedly destroys a dairy farm instead of a drug camp (27:12); the UN General Assembly condemns the transatlantic slave trade, the United States votes no (29:56); Trump pays TotalEnergies to halt East Coast wind projects (31:22). Be sure to check out our new series premiering Tuesday, Marx Prestige. Listen to the trailer here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Special - Special - Iran War Update: Failed Diplomacy and Israeli Operations (Preview)

    Special - Special - Iran War Update: Failed Diplomacy and Israeli Operations (Preview)
    Mar 26 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek give you the latest on the war on Iran. They discuss Trump’s failed peace proposal and shifting threats, mediation attempts involving regional actors, Iran’s strategic position and deterrence problem, US troop deployments and potential military options, Israeli operations in Iran and Lebanon, Trump’s claims about regime change and a mysterious “present,” reports of a possible Diego Garcia attack, sanctions relief on Iranian oil, and global economic effects including disruptions to the helium supply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 mins
  • E242 - Israel’s War Consensus and Permanent Conflict w/ Udi Greenberg

    E242 - Israel’s War Consensus and Permanent Conflict w/ Udi Greenberg
    Mar 24 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more episodes. Danny and Derek welcome back to the show historian Udi Greenberg to talk about Israeli public opinion, politics, and its strategy vis-à-vis the war with Iran. They discuss the overwhelming public support for military operations, the underlying strategic consensus across Israeli politics prioritizing military dominance over negotiation, the absence of meaningful debate over a two-state solution or Palestinian sovereignty, the stability of Israeli domestic political divisions despite the war, how media and military messaging shapes public perception, and the relationship between Israeli strategy and continued U.S. support. Don't forget to mark your calendars for our series Marx Prestige, coming March 31. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Trailer: Marx Prestige

    Trailer: Marx Prestige
    Mar 24 2026
    Coming March 31: Marx Prestige, a series where Danny and historian Andrew Hartman discuss how Karl Marx and how the philosophy and politics he created shaped and reshaped the United States. Annual subscribers will get free access, so be on the lookout for an email with instructions! Be sure to check out Andrew's book ⁠Karl Marx in America⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 min
  • Bonus - AI Targeting in Modern War w/ Sam Biddle (Preview)

    Bonus - AI Targeting in Modern War w/ Sam Biddle (Preview)
    Mar 22 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with Sam Biddle of The Intercept about the role of AI in modern warfare, including the current Iran conflict. They talk about Palantir’s Maven system, LLMs in target selection, the use of Claude in airstrike planning, the integration of drone, satellite, and intelligence data, the acceleration of targeting and strike decisions, large-scale target lists, risks from outdated or misinterpreted intelligence, the limits of human review in the kill chain, and the absence of meaningful guardrails on this technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    11 mins
  • Special - Iran War: Strait of Hormuz, Regional Escalation, Casualty Figures (Preview)

    Special - Iran War: Strait of Hormuz, Regional Escalation, Casualty Figures (Preview)
    Mar 20 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our specials. Danny and Derek give an update on the conflict in Iran. They talk about the overall state of the war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, casualty figures across multiple countries, the prospect of a ground invasion, the state of Iran’s leadership, the strike on South Pars and its effects on Gulf energy infrastructure, Iran’s attacks on Israel, Israeli public support for the war, and polling on American support for the intervention. Watch our video exclusive with Samuel Moyn about Jürgen Habermas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • News - Iran Assassinations Escalate, Israel Invades Southern Lebanon, U.S. Pressures Zambia Over Aid for Minerals

    News - Iran Assassinations Escalate, Israel Invades Southern Lebanon, U.S. Pressures Zambia Over Aid for Minerals
    Mar 20 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek wore his Fitbit to a CIA black site, both exposing the security state and meeting his daily step goal. This week’s news: in the Iran war, Israel assassinates Ali Larijani and other senior Iranian officials (1:15), U.S. allies refuse Trump’s demand that they help reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force (5:41), and the Pentagon seeks roughly $200 billion for the war (8:32) as it considers new deployments to the region (13:27); in southern Lebanon, the IDF begins its ground invasion (14:41); Israel continues killing people in Gaza during the supposed ceasefire while Rafah reopens for medical evacuations after pressure from Hamas (17:31); Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to a five-day Eid ceasefire (21:30) as the two countries dispute the circumstances Pakistani airstrike in Kabul (22:57); Trump postpones his planned trip to China as the Iran war consumes Washington’s attention (25:22); in Sudan, the RSF retakes the strategic town of Bara (27:39); the Trump administration reportedly threatens to cut PEPFAR and other health aid to Zambia unless it gets favorable mineral concessions (29:37); Russia increases its support for Tehran with drone tactics, technology, and possible intelligence sharing (33:45); the United States reopens its embassy in Venezuela as normalization moves ahead (37:11), plus Delcy Rodríguez replaces Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino with intelligence chief Gustavo González López (38:21); and Trump pressures Cuba’s leadership amid a grid collapse and reports of U.S. talks about political change (40:24). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins