Tommy and Ben discuss President Trump’s firing of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and the dangers that come along with consolidating responsibilities into fewer hands, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House, and cuts to the CIA, military, and other intelligence agencies while Trump plans a “big, beautiful” military parade on his birthday. They also talk about Israel’s plan to occupy and hold Gaza indefinitely, the anti-Trump effect in the Australian election, but a rightward turn for elections in the UK and Romania. Additionally, they cover the rocky start for Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Trump administration’s defense of Germany’s far-right AfD party after being designated as an “extremist endeavor”, India’s military response to a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, and they take bets on the papal conclave. Finally, Ben speaks to Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders in the US about the grim state of global press freedom.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Ben and Tommy discuss the Liberal Party’s shocking come-from-behind victory in the Canadian election and why it was a rebuke of Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump’s meeting at the Vatican and why Trump’s peace talks with Russia have failed, and the never-ending chaos swirling around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They also talk about the escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region, the horrifying, deteriorating situation on the ground in Gaza, and a new investigation from Channel 13 news in Israel about the Biden administration’s disastrous approach to the war in Gaza. Then Ben speaks to Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about the devastating humanitarian impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest scandal engulfing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and why even his defenders say the Pentagon is in chaos, a report about the FBI Director’s jet-setting lifestyle, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s mindless reorganization of the State Department. They also talk about Pope Francis’ moral leadership on global affairs, how China is winning the trade war and concern that the impact of Trump’s tariffs might be irreversible, why US airstrikes on the Houthi rebels have failed to deter them, a new political crisis for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, the latest from Gaza, and why Swedes are Netflix and chilling to the Moose Migration.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.