Podcasts about Gulf states

Our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, Bishop Jim Curry, has appeared as a guest on the December 2025 episode of Middle East Analysis, a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States. Sitting alongside regular studio guest Dr Harry […]

Our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, Bishop Jim Curry, has appeared as a guest on the December 2025 episode of Middle East Analysis, a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States. Sitting alongside regular studio guest Dr Harry […]

Our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, Bishop Jim Curry, has appeared as a guest on the December 2025 episode of Middle East Analysis, a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States. Sitting alongside regular studio guest Dr Harry […]

Europe’s far-right parties split over whether backing from Trump gives them legitimacy. Then: The Gulf states look to invest in Hollywood as they back Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Brothers Discovery. Plus: Sarkozy’s prison memoir is published. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Gulf leaders convene for the 46th GCC summit during a tense time for the region, we discuss what role the US could play in a joint defence plan. Plus: Design Miami, how taxes might have birthed civilisation and the International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our 225th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!Recorded on 11/16/2025Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and co-hosted by Michelle LeeFeel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.aiRead out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/In this episode:New AI model releases include GPT-5.1 from OpenAI and Ernie 5.0 from Baidu, each with updated features and capabilities.Self-driving technology advancements from Baidu's Apollo Go and Pony AI's IPO highlight significant progress in the automotive sector.Startup funding updates include Incept taking $50M for diffusion models, while Cursor and Gamma secure significant valuations for coding and presentation tools respectively.AI-generated content is gaining traction with songs topping charts and new marketplaces for AI-generated voices, indicating evolving trends in synthetic media.Timestamps:(00:01:19) News PreviewTools & Apps(00:02:13) OpenAI says the brand-new GPT-5.1 is ‘warmer' and has more ‘personality' options | The Verge(00:04:51) Baidu Unveils ERNIE 5.0 and a Series of AI Applications at Baidu World 2025, Ramps Up Global Push(00:07:00) ByteDance's Volcano Engine debuts coding agent at $1.3 promo price(00:08:04) Google will let users call stores, browse products, and check out using AI | The Verge(00:10:41) Fei-Fei Li's World Labs speeds up the world model race with Marble, its first commercial product | TechCrunch(00:13:30) OpenAI says it's fixed ChatGPT's em dash problem | TechCrunchApplications & Business(00:16:01) Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan | TechCrunch(00:18:06) Baidu teases next-gen AI training, inference accelerators • The Register(00:20:50) Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to exit and launch own start-up(00:24:41) Amazon Demands Perplexity Stop AI Tool From Making Purchases - Bloomberg(00:27:32) AI PowerPoint-killer Gamma hits $2.1B valuation, $100M ARR, founder says | TechCrunch(00:29:33) Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models for code and text | TechCrunch(00:31:14) Coding assistant Cursor raises $2.3B 5 months after its previous round | TechCrunch(00:33:56) China's Baidu says it's running 250,000 robotaxi rides a week — same as Alphabet's Waymo(00:35:26) Driverless Tech Firm Pony AI Raises $863 Million in HK ListingProjects & Open Source(00:36:30) Moonshot's Kimi K2 Thinking emerges as leading open source AIResearch & Advancements(00:39:22) [2510.26787] Remote Labor Index: Measuring AI Automation of Remote Work(00:45:21) OpenAI Researchers Train Weight Sparse Transformers to Expose Interpretable Circuits - MarkTechPost(00:49:34) Kimi Linear: An Expressive, Efficient Attention Architecture(00:53:33) Watch Google DeepMind's new AI agent learn to play video games | The Verge(00:57:34) arXiv Changes Rules After Getting Spammed With AI-Generated 'Research' PapersPolicy & Safety(00:59:35) Stability AI largely wins UK court battle against Getty Images over copyright and trademark | AP News(01:01:48) Court rules that OpenAI violated German copyright law; orders it to pay damages | TechCrunch(01:03:48) Microsoft's $15.2B UAE investment turns Gulf State into test case for US AI diplomacy | TechCrunchSynthetic Media & Art(01:06:39) An AI-Generated Country Song Is Topping A Billboard Chart, And That Should Infuriate Us All | Whiskey Riff(01:10:59) Xania Monet is the first AI-powered artist to debut on a Billboard airplay chart, but she likely won't be the last | CNN(01:13:34) ElevenLabs' new AI marketplace lets brands use famous voices for ads | The VergeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Languages of Home by John Edgar Wideman is a collection of the acclaimed author and cultural critic's most influential works — five decades in the making. John joins us to talk about the creative process, improvisation, basketball, storytelling, the evolution of voice, translation and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Languages of Home: Essays on Writing, Hoop, and American Lives 1975-2025 by John Edgar Wideman Slaveroad by John Edgar Wideman Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad and the Fiction of Autobiography by Edward Said The Homewood Trilogy by John Edgar Wideman The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X Corregidora by Gayl Jones Ulysses by James Joyce Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folk-tales from the Gulf States by Zora Neale Hurston  

In this episode, Sean Rost talks with Nick Kromrie of Missouri State Parks about Grand Gulf State Park. Episode Image: A person gazes out at Grand Gulf [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO] About the Guest: Nick Kromrie is park superintendent of Grand Gulf State Park, Bryant Creek State Park, and Eleven Point State Park

In this powerful clip of Market Mondays, Rashad Bilal, Ian Dunlap, and Troy Millings dive deep into the global tech and investing landscape—focusing on Nvidia's sudden departure from the Chinese market. Host Rashad kicks off the discussion by raising questions about Nvidia's abrupt shift from having 95% market share in China to zero, following US-China tech tensions. Is this move long-term trouble for Nvidia's stock, or is CEO Jensen Huang playing political chess?Ian Dunlap pulls no punches, comparing the situation to historic moments like the moon landing and drawing parallels to Apple's strategic moves in India. He highlights how companies can't play both sides in a technological war and that sometimes, greed can blind executives to geopolitical realities. Ian predicts Nvidia will work to offset losses by forging partnerships elsewhere—most likely in India or the UAE, where tech investments are surging.Troy Millings zeros in on Nvidia's resilient stock price, pointing out that the market barely budged despite this major announcement. The conversation pivots to the importance of geographical diversification and the rising influence of Gulf States like UAE and Saudi Arabia as the new funding hubs for global tech.The trio also gets into the nitty-gritty of international policy, IP theft, and global supply chains—breaking down how America innovates, the Middle East invests, China copies, and Europe regulates. Rashad and Ian discuss the tightrope walk companies like Apple and Nvidia face in China, noting the government's drive to develop and protect its own tech sector—even if it means bypassing superior American products.They explore the potential fallout if China invades Taiwan and the role of semiconductor titans like TSMC—where kill switches in chip fabs could be a game-changer for global tech dominance. With constant shifts in trade agreements, aggressive copycat strategies by China, and new opportunities blooming in UAE, India, and Saudi Arabia, this clip exposes how cutthroat and rapidly evolving the tech world has become.Tune in to hear why the guys believe America's short-term strategic planning could come back to haunt it as countries like China think decades ahead, and why your investment strategy should account for more than quarterly earnings.*Hashtags:* #MarketMondays #Nvidia #ChinaTech #GlobalInvesting #IanDunlap #RashadBilal #TroyMillings #UAEInvestment #TechWar #Apple #TSMC #Semiconductors #Geopolitics #StockMarket #AI #TradeWar #Innovation #BusinessNews #Investing #MiddleEastTechOur Sponsors:* Check out PNC Bank: https://www.pnc.com* Check out Square: https://square.com/go/eylSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marketmondays/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

All the living hostages have now been returned to Israel. Delays over the Hamas terror group's return of deceased hostages, is causing the ceasefire to hang in the balance. Hamas has again shown their true colours with lynchings and torture of their own people within the Gaza strip. Trump has been able to unite a large portion of the oil rich Gulf States to get behind his ceasefire agreement, which is a large achievement and force Hamas to give up the hostages. Trump’s next step, is the expansion of the Abraham accords, which would bring peace and more prosperity to the region.

Drop Site's Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill return to talk more about the ceasefire deal in Gaza. We discuss what finally led to this moment, whether this ceasefire will be any different than the previous ones, and the future of Gaza, Israel, and the Gulf States. We then turn to the media's coverage of Gaza: Jeremy's new story on The Free Press' “debunking” of the photos of malnourished Gazan children, the news that Douglas Murray and David Frum were writing speeches for an Israeli ambassador, a supposed document from Mohammad Sinwar, and Jacki Karsh's pro-Israel journalism fellowship. Subscribe to Drop Site here: https://www.dropsitenews.com/ NEW MERCH IS OUT NOW! Go to https://chapotraphouse.store/ and buy a new hat or shirt, especially our great new “Carousel Club” design. AND be sure to pre-save the date of October 28 for Will and Hesse's LIVE WATCH PARTY of Re-Animator! Tickets available now – use the promo code CHAPO20 for 20% off! https://checkout.stagepilot.com/collections/chapo-trap-house

David Commins, author of the new book Saudi Arabia: A Modern History, brings decades of scholarship and firsthand experience to explain the kingdom's unlikely rise. Tyler and David discuss why Wahhabism was essential for Saudi state-building, the treatment of Shiites in the Eastern Province and whether discrimination has truly ended, why the Saudi state emerged from its poorer and least cosmopolitan regions, the lasting significance of the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure by millenarian extremists, what's kept Gulf states stable, the differing motivations behind Saudi sports investments, the disappointing performance of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology despite its $10 billion endowment, the main barrier to improving its k-12 education, how Yemen became the region's outlier of instability and whether Saudi Arabia learned from its mistakes there, the Houthis' unclear strategic goals, the prospects for the kingdom's post-oil future, the topic of David's next book, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded August 22nd, 2025. This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

The Gulf defence and security analyst Andreas Krieg joins Arab Digest's William Law as they assess implications for the Gulf States and the wider Middle East of Israel's missile strike on Doha. With Donald Trump functioning as a loyal sidekick rather than as the president of the mightiest military nation in the world Benjamin Netanyahu continues to wreak regional havoc crossing red line after red line with impunity. Sign up NOW at ArabDigest.org for free to join the club and start receiving our daily newsletter & weekly podcasts.

International condemnation at the UN Security Council for Israel's attack on Qatar. Qatari prime minister meets US President Donald Trump ahead of a regional summit in Doha. What can Gulf states do? And how much has Israel's attack damaged the US? In this episode: Muhanad Seloom, Assistant Professor, Critical Security Studies, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Omar Rahman, Fellow, Middle East Council on Global Affairs. Chris Hedges, Former Middle East Bureau Chief, The New York Times. Host: Sami Zeidan Connect with us:@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. It’s September 15, 2020, and on the South Lawn of the White House, a group of leaders from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain assembled to mark a once-unlikely normalization agreement. Berman talks us through why these countries were originally included in the accords and which were on deck before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, that launched the Gaza War. We hear what gains were made through these accords -- and what setbacks there have been since the Gaza War erupted. We also discuss how Israel’s recent attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership this week in Qatar may affect relations with Gulf States moving forward. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo on the Blue Room Balcony after signing the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Was the United States aware of Israel's plans to conduct an Israeli airstrike targeting a meeting of Hamas’s top leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Tuesday? According to some reports, the leadership had gathered to discuss a new US-sponsored hostage-ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza. At recording time, reports still differ as to whether the attack was successful. Horovitz untangles what the US may have known of the attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on Wednesday against mounting international criticism over Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day. Can the furious Qataris and other Gulf States be assured that Israel will not repeat such an attack if the opportunity presents itself? President Isaac Herzog sat down on Wednesday in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what local media described as a tense meeting. Horovitz delves into how Starmer, in the current anti-Israel climate, was asked to defend himself for meeting with the Israeli president. We also hear what message Herzog attempted to convey. The Munich Philharmonic, led by its future chief conductor, Israeli musician Lahav Shani, was disinvited from a performance on September 18 at the Flanders Festival Ghent, because Shani -- the current conductor of the Israel Philharmonic -- has not clearly disavowed the Israeli government. “We have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime,” the organizers said in a statement. We discuss this incident, which occurred even as the Toronto International Film Festival screened a previously canceled documentary, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” which charts how retired Israeli general Noam Tibon saved his family and others during the 2023 Hamas attack. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: PM, ministers mourn ‘lion-hearted’ Charlie Kirk; some warn of copycat killings in Israel Netanyahu tells Qatar to expel Hamas chiefs or bring them to justice: ‘If you don’t, we will’ Netanyahu takes a calculated risk on a legitimate target in a deeply problematic location Amid strained UK-Israel ties, Herzog holds ‘tough’ meeting with Starmer in London Belgian festival scraps performance by Munich Philharmonic over Israeli conductor Israeli film on Oct. 7 premieres at Toronto film festival after initially being dropped Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves. Illustrative image: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers a question, as US President Donald Trump looks on, during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is today? In Saudi Arabia: A Modern History (Yale UP, 2025), David Commins narrates the full history of Saudi Arabia from oasis emirate to present-day attempts to leap to a post-petroleum economy. Moving through the ages, Commins traces how the Saud dynasty's reliance on sectarianism, foreign expertise, and petroleum to stabilize power has unintentionally spawned secular and religious movements seeking accountability and justice. He incorporates the experiences of activists, women, religious minorities, Bedouin, and expatriate workers as the country transformed from subsistence agrarian life to urban consumer society. This is a perceptive portrait of Saudi Arabia's complex and evolving story—and a country that is all too easily misunderstood. David Commins is the Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States, and The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is today? In Saudi Arabia: A Modern History (Yale UP, 2025), David Commins narrates the full history of Saudi Arabia from oasis emirate to present-day attempts to leap to a post-petroleum economy. Moving through the ages, Commins traces how the Saud dynasty's reliance on sectarianism, foreign expertise, and petroleum to stabilize power has unintentionally spawned secular and religious movements seeking accountability and justice. He incorporates the experiences of activists, women, religious minorities, Bedouin, and expatriate workers as the country transformed from subsistence agrarian life to urban consumer society. This is a perceptive portrait of Saudi Arabia's complex and evolving story—and a country that is all too easily misunderstood. David Commins is the Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States, and The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is today? In Saudi Arabia: A Modern History (Yale UP, 2025), David Commins narrates the full history of Saudi Arabia from oasis emirate to present-day attempts to leap to a post-petroleum economy. Moving through the ages, Commins traces how the Saud dynasty's reliance on sectarianism, foreign expertise, and petroleum to stabilize power has unintentionally spawned secular and religious movements seeking accountability and justice. He incorporates the experiences of activists, women, religious minorities, Bedouin, and expatriate workers as the country transformed from subsistence agrarian life to urban consumer society. This is a perceptive portrait of Saudi Arabia's complex and evolving story—and a country that is all too easily misunderstood. David Commins is the Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States, and The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is today? In Saudi Arabia: A Modern History (Yale UP, 2025), David Commins narrates the full history of Saudi Arabia from oasis emirate to present-day attempts to leap to a post-petroleum economy. Moving through the ages, Commins traces how the Saud dynasty's reliance on sectarianism, foreign expertise, and petroleum to stabilize power has unintentionally spawned secular and religious movements seeking accountability and justice. He incorporates the experiences of activists, women, religious minorities, Bedouin, and expatriate workers as the country transformed from subsistence agrarian life to urban consumer society. This is a perceptive portrait of Saudi Arabia's complex and evolving story—and a country that is all too easily misunderstood. David Commins is the Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States, and The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is today? In Saudi Arabia: A Modern History (Yale UP, 2025), David Commins narrates the full history of Saudi Arabia from oasis emirate to present-day attempts to leap to a post-petroleum economy. Moving through the ages, Commins traces how the Saud dynasty's reliance on sectarianism, foreign expertise, and petroleum to stabilize power has unintentionally spawned secular and religious movements seeking accountability and justice. He incorporates the experiences of activists, women, religious minorities, Bedouin, and expatriate workers as the country transformed from subsistence agrarian life to urban consumer society. This is a perceptive portrait of Saudi Arabia's complex and evolving story—and a country that is all too easily misunderstood. David Commins is the Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States, and The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In a week where:Perplexity offers to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion.Trump & Putin meet in Alaska for peace talks.Sean Kingston is sentenced to 3.5 years for fraud.Volodymyr Zelenskyy & European leaders visit Trump.Israelis engage in nationwide protests, calling for government to secure ceasefire, return hostages.In the 1st of three Life segments: (8:34) Israel is nearing "Final Solution" territory. But not before The West makes a few more empty threats. (Article By Jonathan Cook)In the 2nd Life segment: (28:22) Zambia have struck gold! But as with everything, it's not all celebratory... (Article By Pamela Kapekele)In Tech: (38:27) The Gulf States want in on the AI boom, but there's only one problem: Where are they getting the water to cool servers? (Article By Divsha Bhat)Lastly, in the third Life segment: (50:35) We're in a great moment in irony. As Trans people get pilloried for existing and women get ridiculed for their plastic surgery, it turns out that men have never before invested in plastic surgery as much as right now. (Article By Olivia Goldhill)Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me questions or voicing your opinion in any way, peep the contact links below and I'll respond accordingly. Let me know "What's Good?"Rate & ReviewE-Mail: the5thelelmentpub@gmail.comTwitter & IG: @The5thElementUKWebsite: https://the5thelement.co.ukPhotography: https://www.crt.photographyIntro Music - "Too Much" By VanillaInterlude - "Charismatic" By NappyHighChillHop MusicOther Podcasts Under The 5EPN:Diggin' In The Digits5EPN RadioBlack Women Watch...In Search of SauceThe Beauty Of Independence

Ark Media is looking to add a Production Manager to the team: https://tinyurl.com/ark-prod-mgrSubscribe to INSIDE Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.orgGift a subscription of INSIDE Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/giftsWatch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastCheck out Ark Media's other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/rbGlvMFor sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.orgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorTo order Dan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdnToday's Episode: Late last week, the Israeli security cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister Netanyahu to conquer Gaza City, where roughly half the Gazan population resides, and which has been largely untouched by the IDF thus far.This decision has prompted widespread international backlash, which was already mounting from concerns over a possible food crisis in Gaza. It also comes as more countries move to recognize a Palestinian state, forcing us to grapple with the high price Israel is paying on the global stage for the ongoing Gaza war. With this in mind, on today's episode, Dan speaks with Dr. Micah Goodman about whether there's a difference between winning the war in Gaza and winning the wider, regional war. Is it possible that Israel will need to modify its definition of victory in Gaza in order to emerge victorious in the larger re-shaping of the geopolitics of the Middle East?Micah Goodman is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and co-host of the popular Israeli podcast Mifleget Hamachshavot produced by Beit Avi Chai.CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive ProducerMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorMARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional EditingMAYA RACKOFF - Operations DirectorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Why have we forgotten that much of the Arabian peninsula was once legally part of India? How were the founding fathers of Yemen influenced by Indian nationalists? Which British spy was a double agent for the CIA and the KGB when he was based in Bahrain?  William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple, author of Shattered Lands: Five Partitions And The Making of Modern Asia, to discuss how the Gulf States were once part of the Raj. Become a member of the Empire Club via empirepoduk.com to receive early access to miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, bonus episodes, book discounts, our exclusive newsletter, and access to our members' chatroom on Discord! Head to empirepoduk.com to sign up. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Eoghan O'Neill, Senior Policy Officer at the European Commission's AI Office, to break down the EU AI Act, Europe's strategy to lead the global AI wave with trust, safety, and world-class infrastructure.They dive into why the EU's approach to AI is not just regulatory red tape but a proactive framework to ensure innovation and adoption flourish across sectors—from startups to supercomputers. Eoghan unpacks how startups can navigate the Act, why Europe's regulatory clarity is an advantage, and how investors should be thinking about this new paradigm.Here's what's covered:02:41 Eoghan's Unorthodox Journey: From Gravy Systems to AI Policy04:32 The Mission & Structure of the AI Office05:52 Understanding the AI Act: A Product Safety Framework09:40 How the AI Act Was Created: An Open, 1,000+ Stakeholder Process17:42 What Counts as High-Risk AI (And What Doesn't)21:23 Learning from GDPR & Ensuring Innovation Isn't Crushed26:10 Transparency, Trust & The Limits of Regulation30:15 What VCs Need to Know: Obligations, Timelines & Opportunities34:42 Europe's Global AI Position: Infra, Engineers, Strategy43:33 Global Dynamics: Commoditization, Gulf States & the Future of AGI48:46 What's Coming: Apply AI Strategy in September

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,With tariff and immigration policies uncertain, and the emerging AI revolution continuing to emerge, there's plenty to speculate about when it comes to the US economy. Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I invite Joseph Politano to help us try and make sense of it all.He is the author of the popular Apricitas Economics Substack newsletter. Politano previously worked as an analyst at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.In This Episode* Trade and immigration headwinds (1:03)* Unpredictable trade policy (7:32)* Tariffs as a political tool (12:10)* The goal: higher tariffs (17:53)* An AI tailwind (20:42)Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation. Trade and immigration headwinds (1:03)You're going to have what is probably the largest one-year change in immigration in US history.Pethokoukis: What are the main economic headwinds that you're tracking right now? Or is it just trade, trade, trade?Politano: It's hard for me to not say it's trade, trade, trade because that's what my newsletter has been covering since the start of this administration and I think it's where the biggest change in longstanding policy is. If you look back on, say, the last 100 years of economic history in the United States, that's the kind of level you have to go to find a similar period where tariffs and trade restrictions were this high in the United States.At the start of this year, we were at a high compared to the early 2000s, but it was not that large compared to the 1970s, 1960s, the early post-war era. Most of that, especially in Trump's first term, was concentrated in China, and then a couple of specific sectors like steel or cars from Mexico. Now we have one, you had the big jump in the baseline — there's ten percent tariffs on almost all goods that come to the United States, with some very important exceptions, but ten percent for most things that go into the US. Then, on top of that, you have very large tariffs on, say, cars are 25 percent, steel and aluminum right now are 50 percent. China was up to 20 percent then went to the crazy 150 percent tariffs we had for about a month, and now it's back down to only 30 percent. That's still the highest trade war in American history. I think that is a big headwind.The headwind that I don't spend as much time covering, just because it's more consistent policy — even if it is, in my opinion, bad policy — is on the immigration stuff. You're going to have what is probably the largest one-year change in immigration in US history. So we're going to go from about 2.8 million net immigration to a year, to people like Stan Veuger projecting net-zero immigration this year in the United States, which would be not entirely unprecedented — but again, the biggest shift in modern American history. I think those are the two biggest headwinds for the US economy right now.You're highlighting two big drivers of the US economy: trade and immigration. But analyzing them is tricky because recent examples are limited. To understand the effects of these changes, you often have to look back 50 or 100 years, when the economic landscape was very different. I would think that would make drawing clear conclusions more difficult and pose a real challenge for you as an analyst.Again, I'm going to start with trade because that's where I focused a lot of my energy here, but the key thing I'm trying to communicate to people — when people think of the protectionist era in US history, the number one thing people think about is Smoot-Hawley, which were the very large tariffs right before the Great Depression — in my opinion, obviously did not cause the Great Depression, but were part of the bad policy packages that exacerbated the Great Depression. That is an era in which one, the US is not a big net importer to the same degree; and two, trade was just a much smaller share of the economy, even though goods were a much larger share of the economy.This is pre- the really big post-war globalization and pre- the now technology-era globalization. So if you're doing tariffs in 1930 or prior, you're hitting a more important sector. Manufacturing is a much larger share of the economy, construction is a larger share of the economy, but conversely, you're hitting it less hard. And now you have this change of going from a globalized world in which trade is a much larger share of GDP and hitting that with very large tariffs.The immigration example is hard to find. I think the gap is America has not done . . . let's call it extensive interior enforcement in a long time. There's obviously been changes to immigration policy. Legally the tariffs have gone up. Legally, lot of immigration policy has not changed. We don't pass bills on immigration in the same way. We don't pass bills on tariffs, but we do pass bills on tax policy. So immigration has changed mostly through the enforcement mechanisms, primarily at the border, and then secondarily, but I think this is the bigger change, is the kind of aggressive interior enforcement.The Steven Miller quote that was in the Wall Street Journal is what I think about, like, why aren't you going to Home Depot to try to deport people who are here undocumented? That's a really big change in economic policy from the first term where it was like, “Okay, we are going to restrict the flow of legal and undocumented immigrants at the border, and then mostly the people who are in the interior of the United States, we're only going to focus on people who've committed some other crime.” They got picked up by local law enforcement doing something else, and then we're going to deport them because of that.This is very different, and I think also very different tonally. In the first term, there was a lot of, “People don't want refugees.” Refugee resettlement was cut a lot, but there was a rhetorical push for, “We should let some people in from Venezuela or Cuba, people who were fleeing socialist dictatorships.” That program [was] also very much torn up. So it's hard to find examples, in that case, where you've got to go back to 1924 immigration policy, you've got to go back to 1930 trade policy for the closest analogs.Unpredictable trade policy (7:32)People notice if the specific things that they associate with other countries go up in price, even if those aren't their most important export.Trade policy seems especially difficult to analyze these days because it's been so mercurial and it's constantly evolving. It's not like there's one or two clear policy shifts you can study — new announcements and reversals happen daily, or weekly. I think that unpredictability itself creates uncertainty, which many analysts see as a drag on growth, often as much as the tariffs themselves.I think that's exactly right. I used to joke that there were three people in Washington, DC who know what the current tariff levels are, and I'm not sure any of them are in the White House, because they do change them extremely frequently. I'm going to give an example of the last 24 hours: We had the announced rate on imports from the Philippines from 20 percent to 19 percent, the rate on imports from Indonesia went from 32 to 19, the rate on Japan went from 25 to 15. None of those are legal changes. They've not published, “Here's the comprehensive list of exactly what we're changing, exactly when these are going to go into effect, yada, yada, yada.” It's just stuff that administration officials or Trump, in particular, said. So it's really hard to know with any certainty what's going on.Even just this morning, the Financial Times had a good article basically saying that the US and the European Union are close to a quote-unquote “deal” where the tariffs on the EU would be at 15 percent. Then literally 30 minutes ago, Peter Navarro is on TV and he's like, “I would take that with a grain of salt.” So I don't know. Clearly some people internally know. This is actually the longest period of time that Trump has gone without legally changing the tariffs since he was inaugurated. 28 days was the previous record.Normally — I'll give an example of the last Trump administration — what would happen is you'd have, “Hey, we are doing this Section 301 investigation against China. This is a legal procedure that you say that the Chinese government is doing ABC, XYZ unfair trade practices and we're going to retaliate by putting tariffs on these specific goods.” But you would have a very long list of goods at least a couple of months before the tariffs would take effect.It wasn't quite to this degree, I don't want to make it sound like Trump won, everything was peachy keen, and there was no uncertainty. Trump would occasionally say something and then it would change the next week, but it was much more contained, and now it's like all facets of trade policy.I think a really good example was when they did the tariffs on China going from 10 to 20 to then 145 percent, and then they had to come back a week later and be like, “We're exempting smartphones and certain types of computers.” And then they came back a week after that and were like, “We're exempting other types of electronics and electronic parts.” It does not take an expert to know that smartphones come from China. It's on the package that Apple sends you. And if you were very strategically planning this out, if you were like, “Well, are going to do 150 percent tariffs on China,” that would be one of the first questions someone would be like, “Well, people are going to notice if their iPhone prices go up. Have we thought about exempting them?”During Trump's first term — again, you can take this as political or economic strategy — they mostly focused a lot of the tariffs on intermediate goods: computer parts, but not computers; brakes, not cars. That has more complicated economic costs. It, on balance, hurts manufacturing in the United States more and hurts consumers less, but it's clearly trying to set up a political salience. It's trying to solve a political salience problem. People notice if the specific things that they associate with other countries go up in price, even if those aren't their most important export. There's been much less of that this time around.We're doing tariffs on coffee and bananas. I complain about that all the time, but I think it is useful symbolism because, in an administration that was less concerned about political blowback, you'd be like, “Oh yeah, give me a list of common grocery items to exempt.” This is much less concerned with that blowback and much more slap-dash.Tariffs as a political tool (12:10). . . we're now in the process of sending out these quote-unquote “letters” to other countries threatening higher tariffs. It doesn't seem to me like there's a rhyme or reason why some countries are getting a letter or some countries aren't.I think there's a lot of uncertainty in interpreting administration statements, since they can change basically overnight. Even if the policy seems settled, unexpected events — like, oh, I don't know, a there's a trial of a politician who Trump likes in another country and all of a sudden there's a tariff to nudge that country to let that politician go. If the president views tariffs as a universal tool, he may use them for unpredictable, non-economic reasons, making it even harder to analyze, I would think.I think that's exactly right, and if you remember very early on in the Trump administration, the Columbian government did not want to take deportees on military aircraft. They viewed this as unjust treatment of Columbian nationals, and then Trump was like, “I'm going to do a 20, 30 percent tariff,” whatever the number was, and then that was resolved the next day, and then we stopped doing the military flights two weeks after that. I think that was a clear example . . . Columbia is an important US trading partner, but there's a lot more who are larger economies, unfortunately for Columbia.The example you're giving about Brazil is one of the funnier ones because . . . on April 2nd, Trump comes out and says, “We're doing reciprocal tariffs.” If you take that idea seriously, we should do tariffs against countries that employ unfair trade practices against US exports. You take that idea seriously, Brazil should be in your top offender categories. They have very high trade barriers, they have very high tariffs, they have domestic industrial policy that's not super successful, but does clearly hurt US exports to the region. They got one of the lowest tariff rates because they didn't actually do it by trade barriers, they did it by a formula, and Brazil happens to export some oil, and coffee, and cashews, and orange juice to the United States more than they buy from us. That was the bad formula they did looking at the bilateral trade deficit.So you come back, and we're now in the process of sending out these quote-unquote “letters” to other countries threatening higher tariffs. It doesn't seem to me like there's a rhyme or reason why some countries are getting a letter or some countries aren't. We sent one to Libya, which is not an important trading partner, and we sent one to the Philippines, which is. But the letter to Brazil is half, “Okay, now we remembered that we have these unfair trade practices that we're complaining about,” and then it's half, “You have to let Jair Bolsonaro go and stop prosecuting him for the attempt to stay in power when he lost the election.”It's really hard to say, okay, what is Lula supposed to do? It's one thing to be like, economically, a country like Brazil could lower its tariffs and then the United States would lower its tariff threat. You'd still be worse off than you were at the start of the year. Tariffs would still be higher, trade barriers would still be higher, but they'd at least not be as bad as they could be. But tying it up in this political process makes it much less clear and it's much harder to find an internally consistent push on the political thing. There are out-and-out dictatorships that we have very normal trade relationships with. I think you could say we should just trade with everybody regardless their internal politics, or you could say trade is a tool of specific political grievances that we have, but neither of those principles are being applied consistently.As a business owner, totally separate from the political considerations, is it safe to import something from Mexico? Is Trump going to get upset at Claudia Sheinbaum over internal political matters? I don't know. He was upset with Justin Trudeau for a long period of time. Trudeau got replaced with Mark Carney, who is not exactly the same political figure, but they're in the same party, they're very similar people, and the complaints from Trump have dropped off a cliff. So it's hard to tell what the actual impulse is. I follow this stuff every day, and I have been wrong so many times, it is hard to count. I'll give an example: I thought Trump, last month, was like, “We're going to do 50 percent tariffs on the European Union.” And in my head I was like, “Oh, this makes sense.”With every other major trading partner, we go from a baseline level, we raise to a very large level, we keep that on for a very short amount of time, and then we lower back down to a level that is much higher than what we started at, but much lower than what was in practice. We went from average 20 percent-ish tariffs on China, we went from that to average 40 percent-ish tariffs, and then we went into the mid-100s, and now we're back down to average 50 percent-ish tariffs on China if you count stuff from Trump's first term.So I was like, “Oh, they paused this for 90 days, they're going to come back and they're going to say, ‘Well, everyone except the European Union, everyone except Japan, everyone except Brazil is doing really well in negotiations. We're going to raise tariffs on Brazil to 50 percent for a week and then we're going to lower them back.'” And that was obviously just wrong. They just kicked the can down the road unceremoniously.The goal: higher tariffs (17:53)It's not as though Donald Trump has a specific vision of what he wants the tariff rates to look like in five years, at a number level, per country per good. It's that he wants them to be higher.Do you feel that you have a good understanding, at this point, about what the president wants, ultimately, out of his trade policy?I do. In one word, he wants tariffs to be higher. Beyond that, all of the secondary goals are fungible. Recently, the White House has been saying, “Oh, tariffs don't raise prices,” which is an economic conjecture I think is empirically wrong. You can look at pre- and post-tariff import prices, post-tariff prices are up. It's not a 100 percent being passed through to consumers, but you can see some of that passed through in stuff like toys, and audio equipment, and coffee, and yada, yada.Point being, if you believe that conjecture, then it really can't industrialize the nation because it's implying that foreigners are just absorbing the costs to continue passing products that they make in Japan, or China, or Canada, into the United States. And then inversely, they'll say, “Well, it is industrializing the nation. Look at this investment, this factory that's being built, and we think it's because of the tariffs.”Well, if that's happening, it can't raise revenue. And then they'll come back and say, “Well, actually, it's fixing the budget deficit.” If that's happening, then you're in the worst of both worlds because it's raising prices and you're still importing stuff. So it's hard to find an internally consistent justification.Part of my mental model of how this White House works is that there's different camps on every issue, and it's very much not a consensus institution on policy, but it's also not a top-down institution. It's not as though Donald Trump has a specific vision of what he wants the tariff rates to look like in five years, at a number level, per country per good. It's that he wants them to be higher.He has this general impulse that he wants to reduce trade openness, and then somebody comes up to Trump and goes, “Hey, Mr. President, we should do 25 percent tariffs on cars. Remember where they come from?” And he goes, “That's a good idea.”And then somebody comes up to him and goes, “Hey, Mr. President, we should do a 10 percent baseline tariff on everything that comes into the United States.” And he goes, “That's a good idea.”And then somebody goes and says, “Hey, Mr. President, we should do a tariff that's reciprocal that's based on other countries trade barriers.” And he goes, “That's actually a good idea.”Those are very, very wildly different goals that are conflicting, even in just that area. But it's not that there's one vision that's being spread across all these policies, it's that there's multiple competing visions that are all getting partially implemented.An AI tailwind (20:42)This is the one area where it's only American companies that dominate, and the depth is so high that [other countries] feel like they're not even competing.I see AI as a potential tailwind toward productivity gains, but my concern is that any positive impact may only cancel out the headwinds of current trade and immigration policies, rather than accelerating growth. Is it a big enough tailwind?I do think it's a tailwind, and the US has several distinct advantages specific to AI. The first being that most of the companies that are major players, both from a software-development and from an infrastructure-development point of view, are in the United States. We are here in the DMV, and this is the largest data center cluster on planet Earth, which is kind of crazy that it's in Loudoun County. But that kind of stuff is actually very important. Secondarily, that we have the depth of financing and the expertise that exists in Silicon Valley that is so rare across the rest of the world. So I am optimistic that it will increase GDP growth, increase productivity, maybe not show up as a growth in productivity growth immediately, if that makes sense. Not quite an acceleration, but definitely a positive tailwind and a tailwind that is more beneficial in the United States than it is in other countries.The counter to that is that the AI stuff is obviously not constrained by borders to even a nominal degree, at this point. The fact that everyone talks about DeepSeek, for obvious reasons, but there are tons of models in the Gulf States, in Western Europe, in Australia, and you can access them all from anywhere. The fact that you can access ChatGPT from Europe means that not all the benefits are just captured in the narrow area around open AI headquarters in San Francisco.The secondary thing is that, in my opinion, one of the most important reasons why the United States continues to benefit from this high-tech economy that most other high-income countries are extremely jealous of — you talk to people from Europe, and Japan, and even places like Canada, the prize that they're jealous of is the stuff in Silicon Valley, because they feel like, reasonably, they can make cars and do finance just as well as the Americans. This is the one area where it's only American companies that dominate, and the depth is so high that they feel like they're not even competing. Anyone who wants to found a company moves to San Francisco immediately, but that relies on both a big research ecosystem and also a big immigration ecosystem. I don't know if you saw the Facebook superstars that they're paying, but I believe it was 50 percent non-American-born talent. That's a really big advantage in the United States' case that lots of people want to move to the US to found a company to work for some of these big companies. I don't think that's demolished, but it's clearly partially under threat by a lot of these immigration restrictions.The other important thing to remember is that even though the president's most controversial immigration policies are all about undocumented immigrants, and then to a lesser extent, people who are documented asylees, people who are coming from Haiti, and El Salvador, Venezuela, et cetera, the biggest direct power that they have is over legal immigration, just from a raw numerical standpoint. So the idea that they want to cut back on student visas, they want to cut back on OPT, which is the way that student visas basically start working in the United States, they want to add more intensive restrictions to the H-1B program, those are all going to undermine the benefits that the US will get from having this lead in artificial intelligence.The last thing that I'll say to wrap a big bow around this: We talked about it before, I think that when Trump was like, “We're doing infinity tariffs April 2nd,” there were so many bits of the computer ecosystem that were still tariffed. You would've had a very large tariff on Taiwanese computer parts, which mostly is very expensive TSMC equipment that goes into US data centers. I think that Jensen Huang — I don't know if he personally did this . . . or it was the coalition of tech people, but I am using him as a representative here — I think Jensen Huang went in and was like, “We really badly need this,” and they got their exemption. The Trump administration had been talking about doing tariffs on semiconductors at some point, I'm sure they will come up with something, but in the meantime, right now, we are importing absolute record amounts of large computers. It's at a run-rate of close to $150 billion a year.This is not all computers, this is specific to the kind of large computers that go into data centers and are not for personal or normal business use. I don't know what happens to that, let's say a year and a half from now, if the tariffs are 25 percent, considering how much of the cost of a data center is in the semiconductors. If you're going to have to then say, “Well, we would really like to put this somewhere in Virginia, somewhere in Pennsylvania, somewhere in Arizona, but you have a 25 percent premium on all this stuff, we're going to put it in Vancouver. We're going to put it in somewhere in the Gulf States,” or what I think the administration is very worried about is, “We're going to put it somewhere in China.” That chart of US computer imports, in trade policy, it's really rare to get a chart that is just a straight line up, and this is just a straight line up.On sale everywhere The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were PromisedMicro ReadsPlease check out the website or Substack app for the latest Up Wing economic, business, and tech news contained in this new edition of the newsletter. Lots of great stuff! Faster, Please! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fasterplease.substack.com/subscribe

The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball to Dubai? SOURCES:Simon Chadwick, professor of afroeurasian sport at Emlyon Business School.Derek Fisher, high school basketball coach, former N.B.A. coach and player.Kash Shaikh, chairman, C.E.O., and co-founder of Baseball United.Rory Smith, football correspondent at The Observer. RESOURCES:"China Keeps Building Stadiums in Africa. But at What Cost?" by Elian Peltier (New York Times, 2024)."Manchester Off-Shored: A Public Interest Report on the Manchester Life Partnership Between Manchester City Council + The Abu Dhabi United Group," by Richard Goulding, Adam Leaver, and Jonathan Silver (Centripetal Cities, 2022)."Manchester City's Cozy Ties to Abu Dhabi: Sponsorship Money – Paid for by the State," by Rafael Buschmann, Nicola Naber, and Christoph Winterbach (Spiegel International, 2022)."China Renews Its ‘Belt and Road' Push for Global Sway," by Keith Bradsher (New York Times, 2020). EXTRAS:"What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Note: There's a little bit of crackle in the audio in this episode. Attempts were made to remove crackle as much as possible, but it remains at some point. Hopefully it does not pose too much of a problem for listening.

In Episode 425 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical and intelligence analyst Dmitri Alperovitch about the new security dynamics and economic opportunities that arise from America's and Israel's attacks on Iran, the risks of strategic overreach, and whether U.S. actions do more to compel or deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. In the first hour, Alperovitch scrutinizes Israel's decision to initiate a series of targeted strikes against Iran's nuclear program, including their decision to assassinate key nuclear scientists and senior members of the IRGC. We discuss America's choice to participate in this campaign, Iran's response, potential additional repercussions from these attacks, political conditions within the Islamic Republic, and whether this latest round of violence might precipitate the collapse of the Iranian government or incite a coup against its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. In the second hour, Alperovitch is asked whether he believes Trump's decision to involve the American military directly in Israel's war with Iran was in America's national interests or if it results in strategic overreach that will further undermine American security and the credibility of American global leadership. He and Kofinas discuss how this move is perceived by other regional players like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, how it alters the security dynamics in the Middle East, and how it affects Dmitri's assessment of the risks Washington faces in its broader Cold War with the People's Republic of China. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 06/23/2025

US forces launched bomb and missile strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, followed soon by an Iran-Israel ceasefire and the beginning of what could be a diplomatic realignment across the Middle East. The GoodFellows regulars and Hoover Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and former White House National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster discuss the collateral impact of the Trump administration's move against the Iranian regime. The fallout includes: a possible expansion of Abraham Accords participants (as the Gulf States help Iran pursue a more peaceful nuclear program); NATO members willing to invest more in military readiness; the media's second-guessing the effectiveness and wisdom of the B2 sorties; plus what message Trump's use of military might—as opposed to revolving-door diplomacy—sends to the world's various mischief-making capitals (Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang). Recorded on June 27, 2025. 

This week on the pod, Jen and Brett sat down with Professor Mo Ogrodnik from NYU. They talked about Mo's new book Gulf, featuring stories from women in the Gulf States. They also covered the impact of international education, shifting geopolitics in the region, and Brett's experience as one of Mo's students.Mo's Recommendations:Secondhand Time by Svetlana AlexievichWe Do Not Part by Han KangThe Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica KincaidThe Village Well Podcast is brought to you by Village Well Books & Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in downtown Culver City, CA. Each episode, we interview authors and readers about books that capture our imagination. New episodes every Wednesday.If you'd like to get in touch, you can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast@villagewell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.If you love the show and want us to keep creating, please consider subscribing on YouTube or leaving us a review wherever you listen!

Despite Climate Change Committee warnings, the Scottish Government says it will not reduce livestock numbers.Some good news on rural crime, but livestock theft remains high.Could a trade deal with the Gulf States open the door to low-welfare meat imports?Mud sunscreen for pigs: farmers tell us what they do for livestock and crops to combat a heatwave.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The NFU has confirmed it sent a private letter to the Prime Minister, raising concerns over a prospective trade deal with the Gulf States. It said the deal could open the UK up to imports of low-welfare meat from the Gulf, and more importantly, many other countries around the world. Although meat from the Gulf States might come up to UK hygiene standards, some welfare groups are concerned about the conditions animals are kept in, and the intensive nature of production, especially poultry.Annual payments farmers in England receive based on the amount of land they have will be capped at just £600 next year. New details have emerged after last week's Spending Review.And there's evidence that humans have been using seaweed as a fertiliser for thousands of years. When chemical fertilisers were developed a century ago, that use of seaweed largely died out, but for some, it's making a comeback.Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down to break down the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran and how the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are navigating the growing tensions. They also examine the recent military parade that honored both the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and President Donald Trump's birthday, and the political significance of military parades worldwide. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Middle East analyst James M. Dorsey, proprietor of The Turbulent World w/ James M. Dorsey blog/Substack, returns to the program to discuss what he considers a paradigm shift moment for the Middle East: last night's Israeli strike on Iran. What does it mean? How did we get to this point? Could this evolve into an all-out regional war? All those questions and many more are addressed in this conversation. We will also discuss the divisions in the Trump/MAGA base over Iran, particularly the conflict between the America First foreign policy elements of MAGA and the Iran hawks within MAGA. James will also address the internal divisions in Israeli politics, as exemplified by Ehud Olmert and Yair Golan's recent critical comments about Netanyahu's approach to Gaza. Trump's strongman approach to foreign policy, the perpetual cycle between Trump and Iran that keeps repeating itself, the Gulf States, Turkey, Syria, the ultra-religious Zionist vs. the Likud, and more all comes up in this conversation as well.

President Trump's recent visit to the Gulf region marked a dramatic shift from the previous administration's Middle East diplomacy. In his visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, Trump focused on securing significant investment commitments and commercial partnerships to support the region's AI and other ambitions.  The trip showcased Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy—one focused on bilateral deals rather than regional frameworks, and economic partnerships over military interventions. It also raised important questions about oil markets, geopolitical competition with China, nuclear agreements, and the future of energy prices. So what are the likely impacts of massive investment pledges from Gulf nations? Do low oil prices limit the ability to make good on them? What is the outlook for oil prices with uncertainty over OPEC+ policy, a possible Iran deal, and possible new sanctions on Russia? And what does Trump's transactional diplomacy mean for traditional alliances and regional stability?  This week, Jason Bordoff speaks with Helima Croft, Joe McMonigle, and Karen Young about how the Trump administration is reshaping U.S. relations with Middle East countries and the long- and short-term implications it will have on energy markets and geopolitics. Helima is managing director and global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, where she leads the coverage of energy markets and geopolitical risk. Joe is a distinguished visiting fellow here at the Center on Global Energy Policy and the founder and president of the Global Center for Energy Analysis, an independent research and analysis firm. Karen is a senior research scholar here at the Center on Global Energy Policy and a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where she focuses on the political economy of the Gulf States and energy policy. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive producer.  

Preview Colleague Gordon Chang comments in approval of the Trump administration competing to win the Gulf states with AI tech. More tonight. 1959

If you like your presidential travel mixed with $B self-enrichment for Trump and sons, this is the week for you, guided by a terrific only-on-Talking Feds panel of Peter Baker, Tara Setmayer, & Jacob Weisberg. Trump makes for the Gulf States with bags open for booty before coming back to face the unraveling of his big beautiful bill of tax breaks for the wealthy funded by sacrifices in health & welfare for the rest of us. We end w/ the legal landscape and the DOA scheme to suspend habeas corpus. Read Harry's Substack on the "Palace in the Sky": https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/trumps-palace-in-sky-is-a-clear-constitutional Check out Talking San Diego: https://www.talkingsandiego.net/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many films have we watched in which the plot gets so bogged down you want to run from the theater? We might even know how it ends, "predictably" even, but things get so complicated in the middle you wonder if it will ever be resolved. As Bible students watching the Mideast, we often feel that way, especially with our current admin believing that everything is resolvable ultimately. Simplistic perhaps, especially where God's acreage is concerned. Today we welcome back John Haller and try and make sense of all the plot twists. I know I am really having trouble following, and if you feel that way, you are not alone. Bring popcorn. Topics include the first Syrian visit with the US in 25 years; what Trump is hoping for following their protracted war. We also look at the Gulf Cooperation Summit and the big price tag on defensive weaponry that Gulf States are shopping for. Saudi has a big desert city in their sights, is it even possible to finish this incredibly ambitious project? We talk mostly Mideast today, and it's been a whirlwind week.   Stand Up For The Truth Videos: https://rumble.com/user/CTRNOnline & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQQSvKiMcglId7oGc5c46A

How many films have we watched in which the plot gets so bogged down you want to run from the theater? We might even know how it ends, "predictably" even, but things get so complicated in the middle you wonder if it will ever be resolved. As Bible students watching the Mideast, we often feel that way, especially with our current admin believing that everything is resolvable ultimately. Simplistic perhaps, especially where God's acreage is concerned. Today we welcome back John Haller and try and make sense of all the plot twists. I know I am really having trouble following, and if you feel that way, you are not alone. Bring popcorn. Topics include the first Syrian visit with the US in 25 years; what Trump is hoping for following their protracted war. We also look at the Gulf Cooperation Summit and the big price tag on defensive weaponry that Gulf States are shopping for. Saudi has a big desert city in their sights, is it even possible to finish this incredibly ambitious project? We talk mostly Mideast today, and it's been a whirlwind week.   Stand Up For The Truth Videos: https://rumble.com/user/CTRNOnline & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQQSvKiMcglId7oGc5c46A

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode. US President Donald Trump is still in the region and is visiting the United Arab Emirates today. After landmark deals in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, we discuss what may come out of the UAE trip — and the entire trip’s resonance for Israel, including Trump’s new relationship with Syria. We begin by discussing a half-hour meetup in Riyadh with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Trump announced the US was lifting sanctions on the country the previous day and urged Syria to join the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel. It was the first encounter between leaders of the countries in 25 years. We hear how Israel views this budding relationship. In Qatar, Trump signed an agreement with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that will “generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion,” the White House said. The announcement came as negotiations kicked off in Doha over a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group. Horovitz describes how Israel was not apart of the Trump visit, yet Israeli representatives are currently in the country in a renewed US push to negotiate an end to the war. To end the program, we speak about Israel’s approaching participation in tonight’s Eurovision semifinal. Horovitz describes the antipathy already experienced by Yuval Raphael, Israel’s 2025 contestant, who survived the Nova festival massacre on October 7, 2023. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Woman en route to hospital to give birth killed in West Bank terror shooting Hailing Syria, arming Saudis, dealing with Iran and Houthis, Trump relegates Israeli concerns Trump puts an American First, and Israel rejoices Trump urges Syria’s Sharaa to join Abraham Accords, praises him as ‘attractive, tough guy’ Hostage talks kick off in Doha, but PM’s insistence on not ending war curbs optimism Trump, in Qatar, announces ‘record’ deals with Gulf State for US planes, drone tech Trump says Israel is not sidelined by his Gulf trip: ‘This is very good for Israel’ Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before posing for a family picture with Gulf leaders during a gathering of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh on May 14, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“This has been my favorite session of the three days. Thank you,” said one attendee following a powerful live conversation at AJC Global Forum 2025. This exclusive episode of AJC's People of the Pod, presented by AJC's Women's Global Leadership Network, features a candid discussion on the critical impact of Jewish women leaders in global diplomacy and conflict resolution. Casey Kustin, AJC's Chief Impact and Operations Officer, joins former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mira Resnick and Dana Stroul, Research Director and Kassen Family Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, to share how they've navigated the corridors of power, shaped international policy from the Middle East to Europe and beyond, and opened doors for the next generation of women in foreign affairs. ___ Resources– AJC Global Forum 2025 News and Video AJC Global Forum 2026 returns to Washington, D.C. Will you be in the room? Listen – AJC Podcasts: Most Recent Episodes: A United Front: U.S. Colleges and AJC Commit to Fighting Campus Antisemitism What is Pope Francis' Legacy with the Jewish People? Why TikTok is the Place to Talk about Antisemitism: With Holocaust Survivor Tova Friedman The Forgotten Exodus: Untold stories of Jews who left or were driven from Arab nations and Iran People of the PodFollow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Interview Transcript: Manya Brachear Pashman:  Live from AJC Global Forum 2025, welcome to People of the Pod. For audience members who are not in this room, you are listening to a show that was recorded in front of a live studio audience on April 29 at AJC Global Forum 2025 in New York. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Thank you all for being here. In countries around the world, women are working more than ever before. But compared to men, they are not earning as much or being afforded an equal voice – at work, at home, or in the community. In no country in the world do women have an equal role. Let me repeat that. In no country in the world, do women have an equal role–when it comes to setting policy agendas, allocating resources, or leading companies.  With us today are three modern-day Miriams who have raised their voices and earned unprecedented roles that recognize the intellect and compassion they bring to international diplomacy. To my left is AJC Chief Impact and Operations Officer, Casey Kustin. Casey served as the staff director of the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for 10 years. She has worked on political campaigns at the state and national level, including on Jewish outreach for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Welcome, Casey.  To Casey's left is Dana Strohl. She is the Director of Research for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. In this role, she led the development of U.S. Department of Defense policy and strategy for Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq–I'm not done–Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Prior to that, she also served on Capitol Hill as the senior professional staff member for the Middle East on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Welcome, Dana. And last but not least, Mira Resnick. Mira was the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, in which she handled two crucial Middle East portfolios, usually helmed by two separate people. Previously, she oversaw the Department's Office of regional security and arms transfers, where she managed foreign arms sales and shepherded the Biden administration's military assistance to Ukraine and Israel after Russia's invasion and after the October 7 Hamas attacks. Like Casey, Mira has also served as a senior professional staff member with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. Thank you for being here, Mira.  Welcome to all of you, to People of the Pod.  I think it's safe to say, this panel right here, and all the knowledge and experience it represents could solve the Middle East conflict in one day, if given the chance. Casey, you served for a decade as staff director for the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee. A decade, wow. You witnessed a lot of transition, but what were the constants when it came to regional cooperation and security needs?  Casey Kustin: What's the saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And that's the world that we're all trying to build. So, you know, from an American perspective, which we all came from in our government work, it was trying to find those shared interests, and trying to cultivate, where we could, points of common interest. And even with the challenges of October 7 now, perhaps stalling some of those areas of progress, you still see that the Abraham Accords haven't fallen apart. You saw when Iran launched missiles at Israel. You saw other countries in the region come to, maybe they wouldn't say Israel's defense. It was their airspace defense. But you saw that still working. You see that still working now. And it's every day when we come to work at AJC, we're thinking about how to increase and strengthen Israel's place in the world. Manya Brachear Pashman:  So Mira, your role encompassed both Israel and the Gulf for the first time, right? Mira Resnick:   That was the first time at my level. Yes.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   Okay, so whose idea was that, and did that put you or the US in a position to work for the good of the neighborhood, rather than just Israel, or just the Gulf States? Mira Resnick:   Yeah, this was an opportunity for the State Department to be able to see all of the different threads that were coming throughout the region. This is something that Dana did on a daily basis. This is something that our colleagues at the NSC did on a daily basis. The Secretary, of course, needs to be able to manage multiple threads at the same time. When I was overseeing arms sales, of course, I would have to consider Israel and the Gulf at the same time.  So this wasn't a new idea, that our interests can be aligned within one portfolio, but it was particularly important timing for the United States to be able to see and to talk to and to hear our Gulf partners and our Israeli partners at the same time within the same prism, to be able to truly understand what the trends were in the region at that particularly critical moment, post-October 7. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Dana, in your role as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense, you met with military leaders in the Middle East, around the world, and you were often the only woman at the table. What do women contribute to international conflict resolution that's missing when they're not given a seat at the table? Dana Strohl:   Well, let me start out by stating the obvious, which is that women make up 50% of the global population of the world. So if 50% of the world is missing from the negotiating table, from the peacemaking table, from conflict prevention mechanisms, then you're missing 50% of the critical voices. There's evidence, clear evidence, that when women are part of peace processes, when they are part of negotiations, the outcomes on the other side are 35% more sustainable. So we have evidence and data to back up the contention that women must be at the table if we are going to have sustainable outcomes.  When I think about the necessity, the imperative, of women being included, I think about the full range of conflict. So there's preventing it, managing it, and then transitioning to peace and political processes in a post-war or post-conflict situation. In every part of that, there's a critical role for women. As examples, I always think about, when you make policy, when you have a memo, when there's a statement that's really nice, in the big capital of some country, or in a fancy, beautiful palace somewhere in the Middle East or in Europe.  But peace only happens if it's implemented at a local level. Everyone in the world wants the same things. They want a better life for their kids. They want safety. They want access to basic services, school, health, clean water and some sort of future which requires jobs. Confidence you can turn the light on. You can drive your car on a road without potholes. Those are details that often are not included in the big sweeping statements of peace, usually between men, that require really significant compromises.  But peace gets implemented at a very local level. And at the local level, at the family level, at the community level, at the school level, it's women. So how those big things get implemented requires women to champion them, to advance them. And I will also just say, you know, generally we should aspire to prevent conflict from happening. There's data to suggest that in countries with higher levels of gender equality, they are less likely to descend into conflict in the first place.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   Can you recall a particularly consequential moment during your tenure, when you were at the table and it mattered? Dana Strohl:   So my view on this is that it was important for me to be at the table as a woman, just to make the point. That women can serve, just like men. Do the same job. And frankly, a lot of the times I felt like I was doing a better job. So what was really important to me, and I can also just say sitting up here with Mira and Casey, is that all of us have worked together now for more than a decade, at different stages of, getting married, thinking through having kids, getting pregnant, taking parental leave, and then transitioning back to work. And all of us have been able to manage our careers at the same time. That only happens in supportive communities, in ecosystems, and I don't just mean having a really supportive partner.  My friends up here know, I ask my mom for a lot of help. I do have a partner who really supported me, but it also means normalizing parenthood and being a woman, and having other obligations in the office space. I would make a point of talking about being a parent or talking about being a woman. To normalize that women can be there. And often there were women, really across the whole Middle East, there were always women in the room. They were just on the back wall, not at the table. And I could see them looking at me.  And so I thought it was really important to make the point that, one, a woman can be up here, but I don't have to be like the men at the table. I can actually talk about, well, I can't stay for an extra day because I have a kindergarten, you know, theater thing, and I have to run back and do that.  Or there were many times actually, I think Mira was Zooming for parent teacher conferences after we were having the official meeting. But I think it's important to actually say that, at the table, I'm going to leave now and go back to my hotel room because I'm making a parent teacher conference. Or, I have to be back by Friday because I'm taking a kid to a doctor's appointment.  So all the women that come after us can see that you can do both, and the men at the table can understand that women have a right to be here. Can do the jobs just as effectively and professionally as the men, and do this other absolutely critical thing. Manya Brachear Pashman:   But your point about, it requires a supportive network, a supportive work community. You told me a story before we got up here about just how supportive your colleagues were in the Department of Defense.  Dana Strohl:   I will give a shout out to Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense. So one of the things you do in our positions is travel with the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense. And these are not the kind of things where they get on a plane and you land in whatever country. There's a tremendous amount of planning that goes into these. So on a particular trip, it was a four country trip, early in 2023. Secretary Austin was going to multiple countries. He had switched the day, not he, but his travel team, of his departure, which then caused us to switch the day of my son's birthday party. And then they switched the time of his departure from Andrews Air Force Base, and we could not change the birthday party.  So I called Secretary Austin's office and said, Listen, I want to be at my son's birthday party. So I've looked and it looks like I can take this commercial flight. So I won't be on the Secretary of Defense's plane, but I can largely land around the same time as you all and still do my job in the region. And to their credit, they said, okay, and then one of the things that you do in my position is you get on the airplane and you talk to the Secretary of Defense about the objectives and the goals and the meetings. So they said, Okay, we'll just change that to earlier. You can do it the day before we depart, so that he can hear from you. You're on the same page. You can make the birthday party. He can do the thing. So we were actually going to Jordan for the first stop. And it turns out, in his itinerary, the first thing we were doing when we landed in Jordan, was going to dinner with the King. And it was very unclear whether I was going to make it or not. And quite a high stakes negotiation.  But the bottom line is this, I finished the birthday party, had my mother come to the birthday party to help me clean up from the birthday party, changed my clothes, went to Dulles, got on the airplane, sort of took a nap, get off the airplane. And there is an entire delegation of people waiting for me as you exit the runway of the airplane, and they said, Well, you need to go to this bathroom right here and change your clothes.  I changed my clothes, put on my suit, ran a brush through my hair, get in a car, and they drove me to the King's palace, and I made the dinner with the king. It's an example of a team, and in particular Secretary Austin, who understood that for women to have the opportunities but also have other obligations, that there has to be an understanding and some flexibility, but we can do both, and it took understanding and accommodation from his team, but also a lot of people who are willing to work with me, to get me to the dinner. And I sat next to him, and it was a very, very good meal. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I find that so encouraging and empowering. Thank you so much. Casey, I want to turn to you. Mira and Dana worked under particular administrations. You worked with members of Congress from different parties. So how did the increasing polarization in politics affect your work, or did it? Casey Kustin:   It's funny, I was traveling last week for an AJC event, and I ended up at the same place with a member of Congress who was on my subcommittee, and I knew pretty well. And he looked at me and he said, the foreign affairs committee, as you know it, is no longer. And that was a really sad moment for me, because people always described our committee as the last bastion of bipartisanship. And the polarization that is seeping through every part of society is really impacting even the foreign policy space now. As you see our colleague, our Managing Director of [AJC] Europe, Simone Rodan[-Benzaquen], who many of you know, just wrote a piece this week talking about how, as Israel has become to the progressive, when Ukraine has become to the far right.  And I think about all the years I spent when Ted Deutch, our CEO, was the top Democrat on the Middle East subcommittee, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), a great friend of AJC, was the chair of the subcommittee. And Ted and Ileana would travel around together. And when she was the chair, she always made a point of kind of joking like Ted's, my co chair, and we did so many pieces–with Mira's great support of legislation for the US, Israel relationship, for Syria, for Iran, that we worked on together, really together. Like at the table with my staff counterparts, trying to figure out, you know, what can your side swallow? What can your side swallow? And I hear from so many of our former colleagues that those conversations aren't really taking place anymore. And you know, the great thing about AJC is we are nonpartisan, and we try so hard to have both viewpoints at the table. But even that gets harder and harder. And Dana's story about the King of Jordan made me laugh, because I remember a very similar experience where I was on a congressional delegation and Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen, and I was six months pregnant at the time, and I wanted to go on the trip, and the doctor said I could go on the trip. And we were seated around the table having the meeting.  And I, as you won't be able to hear on the podcast, but you in this room know, look very young, despite my age. And you're self conscious about that. And I remember Ileana just being so caring and supportive of me the entire trip. And I wasn't even her staffer, and I remember she announced to the King of Jordan that I was six months pregnant, and you could kind of see him go, okay. That's very like, thank you. That's very nice. But even just having that moment of having the chairwoman on the other side of the aisle. That whole trip. I think I've told some AJC people another funny story of on that same trip, we met with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem, and she pulled me up to him, and she said to the patriarch, will you bless her unborn child? Knowing I'm Jewish, she leaned over and said to me: Can't hurt. So I hope that we return to a place like that on Capitol Hill. I think there are really good staffers like us who want that to happen, but it is just as hard a space now in foreign policy as you see in other parts of politics. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Mira, I want to ask you another policy related question. How did the Abraham Accords change the dynamics of your combined portfolio, and how could it shape the future? Mira Resnik:   My first, one of my first trips, certainly my first trip to the Middle East, when I was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security, overseeing security assistance and security cooperation, was to Dubai, as the State Department representative for the Dubai Airshow. And it is a huge event that showcases the world's technology. And I remember walking into the huge hangar, that every country that has a defense industry was showcasing their most important, their most important munitions, their most important aircraft. And I remember seeing the enormous Israeli pavilion when I was there. And I was staying at a hotel, and I get to the breakfast and they said, Would you like the kosher breakfast or the non-kosher breakfast. And I'm like, Am I in Israel?  And I was blown away by the very warm relationship–in the security space, in the humanitarian space. I agree with Casey that things have gotten a little tougher since October 7, and since the aftermath in Gaza. But what I would also point out is that April and October, during the time when when we witnessed Israel under cover, when we witnessed Iran's missiles and projectiles going toward Israel and going toward other regional airspace, our diplomats, our militaries, our intelligence officials, all had earlier warning because of the work of other Gulf governments, even those who have not joined the Abraham Accords. And that is a prime example of where this security cooperation really matters. It saves lives. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So Casey, so much of what AJC does has to do with international diplomacy and maintaining that regional cooperation and security, and that sounds a lot like your previous role. So I'm really curious how much your job truly has changed since you came to AJC? Casey Kustin:   You're absolutely right. There are so many similarities in what we do at AJC and what we did in the government. And the core of that is really those relationships that you build with partners and interlocutors in other countries and other governments, and the foundation, over decades that AJC has laid. Particularly in the Middle East, thanks to 30 years of quiet travel to the region.  It struck me when I first came here, the access that AJC has is nearly the same that we had traveling as members of Congress. And the meetings and the quality and the level of meetings that AJC is afforded in these other countries.  Our missions, which many of you have been on, often feel like congressional delegation trips to me, and the conversations and the candor with which partners speak to AJC is almost the same that was afforded to members of Congress. And that has been comforting, in a way, as you said Manya, Because there feels like there's continuity in the work that we're doing, and it has made me realize that organizations, non-governmental organizations, advocacy organizations, play such a crucial role in supporting the work of a government, of your country's government. And in reinforcing the values and the interests that we as AJC want to communicate that very much dovetail, with hopefully any US administration.  I think that the role that an organization like ours, like AJC, can play in a particular moment, like we're in, where, as we've discussed, there's hyperpartisanship, and we hear a lot, Dana mentioned this. We hear a lot from foreign partners that the way our democracy works with a change in administration every four years is unsettling to some of them, because they don't know if a particular policy or agreement is going to continue the role that we can play, providing some of that continuity and providing a nonpartisan and thoughtful place to have conversations. Because they know that we have that kind of nuanced and thoughtful and nonpartisan insight. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I really appreciate your insights on the roles that you've played, and I think the audience has as well. But I want to pivot back to your role as women. Dana, I mentioned that you were often the only woman at the table. Would you discover that when you arrived at meetings and events? Dana Strohl:   In Washington, DC, and in particular, I'm very proud to have served in the Biden administration, where there were always women at the table. And I will also say that there was a network of women, and it was the same on the Hill. On the hill, there was actually a box of maternity clothes that was kept in then-Senate Leader Harry Reid's office.  And his National Security Advisor called me when she heard I was pregnant the first time, which was during the 2015 JCPOA negotiations on the Hill, which meant that I was super tired and doing all of those congressional hearings and briefings, but there was a network of women who were supporting each other and giving me clothes as I got bigger and bigger. And it continued into the Pentagon and the State Department, where there were always women and when we saw each other at the White House Situation Room or in the different meetings, there was always the quiet pull aside. How are you doing? How are your kids? Are you managing? What's the trade off on your day to day basis? Can I do anything to help you?  And in particular, after October 7, that network of people really kicked into high gear, and we were all checking in with each other. Because it was the most intense, most devastating time to work in the government and try to both support Israel and prevent World War III from breaking out across the Middle East. So that was DC. In the Middle East, I largely assumed that I was going to be the only woman at the table, and so I decided to just own it. There are some great pictures of me always in a pink jacket, but the point you know, was that I expected it, and there were always women, again, against the back walls. I made an effort whenever possible to make sure everyone at the table, regardless of your gender, had an opportunity to speak and participate, but I was also not just the only woman.  A lot of times, I was the co-chair with whatever partner it was in the Middle East, so I had a speaking role, and I felt was incumbent upon me to present a model of leadership and inclusivity in how we engage with our partners, spoke to our partners, listened to our partners concerns, and that that was part of the job. And only once, I remember it very clearly. We were at a dinner after a big meeting, and somebody looks at me, it's a meeting with all, y7all men, all men for a dinner. And they said, Is this what it's like for you all the time? And I said, Yes, it is. And you know, it took two and a half years for somebody to notice, so. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Mira, what have you experienced? And have you ever worried as a woman that you weren't being taken seriously? Mira Resnick:   I think that every woman in one of these jobs has imposter syndrome every so often, and walking into the room and owning it, fake it till you make it right. That's the solution. I will. I agree with Dana wholeheartedly that in Washington, I was really proud to walk into the room and never fear that I was the only woman. And I even remember traveling where another delegation was all women, and our delegation was all women, and how surprising that was, and then how disappointing, how surprising that was, but to take notice of the moment, because they don't happen very often.  I think that in Washington and throughout diplomacy, the goal is to pay it forward to other women. And I wasn't the last person to pump in the Ramallah Coca Cola factory, and I wasn't the first person to pump in the Ramallah Coca Cola factory. But that is, that was, like, my moment where I was like, Oh, this is a strange place to be a woman, right?  But I do find that women really bring holistic views into our policy making, and whether it's meeting with civil society, even if your job is strictly security cooperation to understand the human impacts of your security decisions, or making sure that you are nurturing your people, that you are a good leader of people.  I remember post-October 7, I was looking for some way that I could nurture in the personal life. And I see Nadine Binstock here, who goes to my shul, and Stephanie also. Stephanie Guiloff is also in the audience. She's my neighbor, and also goes to my shul. And after October 7, I took on the Kiddush Committee Coordinator at my shul. So that every week, no matter what I was experiencing at the office and no matter where I was in the world, our community would be a little bit more nurtured. And it was a way for me to like to give back to the community, and at the same time be able to continue to do the hard power work of security cooperation. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So Mira, Casey, Dana, thank you so much for joining us, sharing your modern-day Miriam experiences. I want to open it up for questions from the audience. Just raise your hand and someone will bring you a microphone. Audience Member: Hi, I'm Maddie Ingle. I'm a Leaders for Tomorrow alum. What is some advice that any of you have for young women like me in the advocacy space and in general. Casey Kustin:   First of all, thank you for taking the time to come to Global Forum and for joining LFT. You've already taken the first step to better arming yourself as an advocate. I think there is, I wish someone had said to me, probably before I met the two of them who did say it to me, that it was okay to take up space around the table. I remember sitting in secure facilities, getting classified briefings from ambassadors, male ambassadors who were 30 years my senior, and watching the two of you in particular i. Not be scared to challenge the back and forth when I as a probably still, you know, mid 20s, early 30s, did have fear of speaking up.  And I wish someone, when I was your age as a teenager, had, and obviously, I had supportive parents who told me I could do anything, but it's different. It's different than seeing it modeled by people who are in the same space as you, and who are maybe even just a couple years older than you. So I would just say to you not to ever be afraid to use your voice. This is a memory that has stuck with me for 15 years. I was in a meeting, sitting next to my congressman boss, with two men who were probably in their 60s, and a vote was called. And you never know on the Hill when a vote is going to be called. So it interrupts a meeting. And he had to go vote, and he said, Casey will finish the meeting with you. And they looked at him and said, Does she know what we're talking about?  Dana Strohl: We have all been there, Casey. Casey Kustin: We have all been there. So even if you're met with a response like that when you try to use your voice, don't let it deter you. Audience Member: Hi, guys. I'm Jenny. This has been my favorite session of the three days. Thank you guys. My mom is the first female, woman brakeman conductor on Amtrak. So you guys are just so empowering. As a long time Democrat, you guys talked about bipartisan issues. With how the Democratic Party is. I know you guys probably can't go fully into this. Do you have any inspiring words to give us hope when it feels very scary right now, as a Democrat, how divided our party is. Casey Kustin: I work for a nonpartisan organization now, so I'll let them handle that one. Dana Strohl:   I, so were we all on the Hill during the first Trump administration? And there was still bipartisanship. And what I'm looking for right now is the green shoots of our democracy. And I see them. There is thinking through what does it mean to be in this country, to be an American, to live in a democracy? What does democracy do? I think, first of all, it is healthy and okay for Americans to go through times of challenge and questioning. Is this working for us? And you know, the relationship between the government, whether it's legislative, judicial, executive and the people, and it's okay to challenge and question, and I think it's okay for there to be healthy debates inside both the Republican and the Democratic Party about what what this stands for, and what is in the best interest of our country.  And you can see both in polling data and in certain areas where there actually are members of Congress coming together on certain issues, like economic policy, what's in the best interest of our constituents and voters. That there is thinking through what is the right balance between the different branches of our government.  I was talking to somebody the other day who was reminding me this actual, you know, we are, we are in a time of significant transition and debate in our society about the future of our country and the future role of the government and the relationship. But it's not the first time, and it won't be the last. And I found to be that part of my job was to make sure I understood the diversity of voices and views about what the role of the government should be, general views about American foreign policy, which was our job, was just such a humble reminder of democracy and the importance of this back and forth. Audience Member:  [My name is Allie.] My question for you is, what are your hopes and dreams for generation alpha, who will be able to vote in the next election?  Casey Kustin:   I think we all have, all our kids are still in elementary, or Mira, your one is going into middle school now– Mira Resnik: To middle school. Casey Kustin:   So the vast majority of our children are still elementary school age. And for me, I have a very interesting experience of moving my family out of a very diverse community in Washington, DC to Jacksonville, Florida. And it's a very different environment than I thought that my children were going to grow up in, because at the time, we didn't anticipate leaving DC anytime soon, and it's made me realize that I want them to live in a world where no matter what community They are growing up in, they are experiencing a world that gives them different perspectives on life, and I think it's very easy now that I have gone from a city environment to suburbia to live in a bubble, and I just, I hope that every child in this next generation doesn't have to wait until they're adults to learn these kinds of really important lessons. Dana Strohl:   I have two additional things to add. I'm very concerned at what the polling suggests, the apathy of young people toward voting, the power of voting, why it matters. And participation, that you need to be an active citizen in your governments. And you can't just vote every four years in the presidential election, there's actually a ton of voting, including, like the county boards of education, you got to vote all the way up and down you continuously. And that it's okay to have respectful debate, discourse, disagreements in a democracy. So I would like this generation to learn how to have respectful discourse and debate, to believe that their votes matter and just vote. And three, on the YouTube thing, which is terrifying to me, so I'm hoping the educators help me with this is, how to teach our kids to separate the disinformation, the misinformation, and the fiction that they are getting because of YouTube and online. So mine are all elementary schoolers, and I have lost positive control of the information they absorb.  And now I'm trying to teach them well, you know, that's not real. And do I cut off certain things? How do I engage them? How do I use books and when? So they need to not just be active participants in their society, all up and down the ballot, multiple times every year, but they need to know how to inform themselves. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And Mira? Mira Resnick:   I do hope that our children, as they approach voting age, that they see the value in cooperation with each other, that they see the value of face to face conversation. I think that honestly, this is the value of Shabbat in my household. That you take a break from the screens and you have a face to face conversation. My children understand how to have conversations with adults now. Which is, I think, a critical life skill, and that they will use those life skills toward the betterment of their communities, and more broadly, our Jewish community, and more broadly than that, our global community. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone.

Headlines for May 13, 2025; Gift or Grift? Trump Under Fire over Qatar’s Plan to Give Him $400M “Flying Palace”; “Unprecedented” in U.S. History: Trump & Family Rake In Money from Gulf States, Crypto & Real Estate; “People Are Starving to Death”: Oxfam Warns Israel’s Blockade on Gaza Is Catastrophic; If I Stayed, I Would’ve Died: Journalist Abubaker Abed on “Agonizing” Decision to Leave Gaza

Headlines for May 13, 2025; Gift or Grift? Trump Under Fire over Qatar’s Plan to Give Him $400M “Flying Palace”; “Unprecedented” in U.S. History: Trump & Family Rake In Money from Gulf States, Crypto & Real Estate; “People Are Starving to Death”: Oxfam Warns Israel’s Blockade on Gaza Is Catastrophic; If I Stayed, I Would’ve Died: Journalist Abubaker Abed on “Agonizing” Decision to Leave Gaza

What's going on with Qatar? Qatar is a Middle Eastern country with a complicated history. They've come under fire for human rights violations and supporting Hamas leadership.Today, we take a deep dive into what's really going on with Qatar, why it's important in the era of President Donald Trump, and whether or not they should be considered an ally.Link to today's sources: https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/sources-april-15-2025

While Egypt and the Gulf States submit proposals to rebuild Gaza, Israel is moving forward with President Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the war rages on, and Gazans have been struggling to access essentials like food and medical supplies. Guest: Aya Batrawy, NPR international correspondent based in Dubai.  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Egypt and the Gulf States submit proposals to rebuild Gaza, Israel is moving forward with President Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the war rages on, and Gazans have been struggling to access essentials like food and medical supplies. Guest: Aya Batrawy, NPR international correspondent based in Dubai.  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices