What’s Happening in Iran Right Now?

This week, editors Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by The Gist‘s Mike Pesca to examine the ongoing tensions in the Iran situation, the fragility of current ceasefire talks, and whether anyone in Washington can articulate a clear aim for what the United States is pursuing. The panel scrutinizes President Donald Trump’s evolving justification for the conflict, the mounting calls for changing the regime, and why many of the same foreign policy debates from the Iraq era feel like they’re unfolding again in real time. They also question whether the American political class has gained any insight from two decades of interventionism.

Next, the discussion shifts to Spencer Pratt’s unexpectedly competitive bid for Los Angeles mayor and what his surge reveals about discontent with the city’s political establishment. They explore why coverage of Pratt increasingly mirrors the early-stage backlash against Trump, whether a one-party political culture can deliver genuine reform, and why even Pratt’s critics concede that Los Angeles governance seems deeply dysfunctional. The editors then revisit the alarm surrounding Project 2025 and ask how much of that agenda actually came to fruition during Trump’s second term. Finally, the panel analyzes Trump’s controversial $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and why some Republicans view it as an extraordinary overreach of executive power.

 

0:00—What lessons have emerged from this conflict with Iran?

9:38—Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confronts the Trump administration

14:19—Spencer Pratt and the Los Angeles mayoral race

27:11—Listener question about Project 2025

37:28—The Anti-Weaponization Fund

47:29—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

Mentioned in the podcast:

“Is the Iran War a War of Choice and a Poor One?” by Nick Gillespie

“What Motivates Trump to Bring Up Decades-Old Foreign Grievances?” by Matthew Petti

“Drew Carey Goes on a Censored tirade about Spencer Pratt’s LA mayoral bid: ‘F—k This Guy,’” by Antoinette Bueno

“Trump’s $1.776 Billion for the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ Fits a Pattern of Fantastical Figures,” by Jacob Sullum

“Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ Is Built on a Contradiction,” by Billy Binion

“The DOJ’s Weak Legal Theories to Support Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund,’” by Joe Lancaster

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