Is Iran’s War Escalating Beyond Control?

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch weigh in on the intensifying confrontation with Iran and whether President Donald Trump has any practical means to rein in the hostilities. The discussion covers the toll on American service personnel, climbing fuel costs, assaults on civilian infrastructure, and the absence of a clearly defined aim for a conflict that persists despite numerous ceasefire efforts.

Following that, the editors analyze Trump’s recent tariffs on Brazil and the muddled deployment of trade policy to pursue unrelated political aims. They then assess Trump’s prime-time remarks on election security and whether his attempts to alter electoral rules before the midterm elections deserve serious consideration. The group also explores the rising appeal of democratic socialism, the political magnetism of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and why supporters of free markets might still back socialist candidates. Finally, a listener probes whether concerns about artificial intelligence constitute a moral scare.

 

0:00—The Iran conflict escalates

12:53—Tariffs on Brazil and the widening trade dispute

27:56—Trump’s prime-time address

38:34—Listener question about AI moral panic

47:44—Mamadi’s growing appeal

55:08—This Week’s cultural picks

 

Items cited in the episode:

“The Iran War Is Back, Sort Of,” by Matthew Petti

“As U.S. Starts ‘New’ Iran War, Lawmakers Want Answers About Deadly Elementary School Strike,” by Meagan O’Rourke

“Meet the New War,” by Liz Wolfe

“America Has a Huge Trade Surplus With Brazil. Trump Just Put 25% Tariffs on Brazilian Goods Anyway,” by Eric Boehm

“Trump’s Attacks on Free Trade Have Actually Made It More Popular With Voters,” by John Mueller

“The Most Corrupt Presidency in American History, by the Numbers,” by Matt Welch

“Election Vulnerability,” by Liz Wolfe

“Trump Threatens To Revoke ABC and NBC Licenses for Not Broadcasting His Election Speech,” by Joe Lancaster

“Election interference by foreigners: An assessment,” by John Mueller

“AI Is the Democratic Party’s Next Villain,” by Eugene Volokh

“Labor Unions Hate Robots—and It’s Stopping Democrats From Delivering on Affordability,” by Peter Suderman

“The Age of Stupid—and Self-Serving—AI Regulation Is Here!” by Nick Gillespie

“Is AI Really Taking All the Jobs? Anthropic Co-Founder Jack Clark Reveals the Data,” by Nick Gillespie

“Working Class Hero,” by Liz Wolfe

“The ‘Free Market’ is More Popular than ‘Capitalism,'” by Ilya Somin

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