Trying to Make Sense of the Mideast Mess

At this week's UN General Assembly, President Trump threatened to “annihilate” Iran, and defended a worldview where, as he put it, “to the victor belong the spoils.” But behind the scenes in New York, diplomacy is also underway. Top US and Iranian officials have held their first ...  Show more

President Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a major summit today. Europe will be watching closely, and the EU itself has much to grapple with, from a resurgent far-right, to the threat from Russia, to managing its relationship with the US. European Commission Presiden ...  Show more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces trouble at home and abroad. AP correspondent Tia Goldenberg and scholar Hussein Ibish explain the significance of a high-profile killing in Lebanon. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette ...  Show more

Tommy and Ben discuss the escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah into all-out war, the shuttering of Al Jazeera in the West Bank, the importance and futility of the United Nations General Assembly, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to the US with a “v ...  Show more

Tommy and Ben discuss the escalating war between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran after Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. They also talk about Nasrallah’s importance and th ...  Show more

Israel’s military carried out a series of bombings against its northern neighbour of Lebanon yesterday; bombings that have been condemned by many, but surprising to no one. Israel have claimed the strikes were targeting Hezbollah but once again, scores of innocent civilians are n ...  Show more