The DSR Network

Original Air Date: April 4, 2023

All friends are not allies and all allies are not friends. Sometimes countries that start out as allies stop behaving in an ally like way. And sometimes allies become annoying because their prime minister is too good looking. We list some of America's most annoying allies...and discuss why we're a pretty annoying ally ourselves. Join Rosa Brooks, Kori Schake, Ed Luce and David Sanger for this lively, timely discussion.

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Recent reporting has suggested that Russia began preparations for a nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022. But how close did they actually get to pressing the big red button? Security analyst Michael Kofman joins Heather Williams to get to the heart of why Russia would deploy one or more nuclear weapons, and what's keeping Putin away from the brink.

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On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we discuss Senator Schumer’s surprising speech on Israel, Kamala Harris visiting a Minnesota abortion clinic, the UK’s new policy on extremism, and more.

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On March 13, 2020, COVID was declared a national emergency. Four years on, Norm Ornstein and Kavita Patel reflect on fallout of the COVID pandemic, what we learned, and why we're more prepared than ever for the next pandemic. Members get exclusive access to a discussion on the chaos around Representative Ken Buck's surprise early departure from Congress.

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On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave an extraordinary speech lacerating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel over the horrific civilian toll in Gaza. This is an important moment in U.S. politics: The highest ranking Jewish Democrat stood strongly for Palestinian rights at a time when the war in Gaza is badly dividing the Democratic coalition. To navigate these complexities, we talked to Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, which is promoting a peace effort called Standing Together, and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, who writes regularly about intra-coalitional tensions among Democrats.

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To the surprise of no one, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have officially secured their party's nomination for president. But while President Biden’s campaign is on a roll, Donald Trump’s is self-destructing. Veteran political strategists Simon Rosenberg and Tara McGowan join David Rothkopf to bring us the latest news from the 2024 campaigns.

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On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Ken Buck's surprise departure from Congress, Israel saying that it will ‘flood’ Gaza with aid, a report that Trump started a CIA influence operation against China, and more

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Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg has prominently argued that it’s premature to freak out about Donald Trump’s lead in the polls. Rosenberg’s case is partly that the Democratic Party is strong and has been winning lots of elections lately, as readers of his “Hopium Chronicles” well know. But there’s another, less-appreciated side to his analysis: That the people who make ads and run campaigns and do politics for a living know that Trump’s unfathomably high pile-up of negatives is, in the end, probably insurmountable for him. So we chatted with Rosenberg about this side of his theory — and about why the Biden team appears quietly confident of victory.

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Mehdi Hasan, founder of the new media company Zeteo, joins Ed Luce, Kori Schake, and David Rothkopf to break down he ever-present threat of a global authoritarian-right alliance, continued destruction in Gaza and Ukraine, and the disturbingly real possibility of a Trump second term.

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On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Russia’s firing of a top naval commander, Congress considering a potential ban on TikTok, AI regulation in India, and more.

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This week, a group of prominent “Never Trump” Republicans and conservatives announced that they will spend $50 million to defeat Donald Trump this fall. The group, Republican Voters against Trump, hopes to appeal to independents and moderate Republicans who backed him in 2020 and might be persuaded not to in 2024. But how big is this pool of voters, and what’s the best way to reach them? We chatted with strategist Sarah Longwell, who runs the group and regularly conducts focus groups to figure out what really makes these elusive voters tick.

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The great power competition between the US and China and Russia poses an enormous challenge to US leadership. But this is not the first time the US has been faced with such a task. Jim Sciutto joins David Rothkopf to discuss his new book, “The Return of Great Powers,” and why we’re currently living in a “1939 moment.”

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On our Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the resignation of Haiti’s Prime Minister, a aid ship carrying 200 tons of food to Gaza, Robert Hur’s impending testimony in front of Congress, and more. 

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Over the weekend, The New York Times published a news analysis entitled, “The Biden-Trump rerun: A nation craving change gets more of the same.” This has become a constant refrain in the press: One of the candidates is running on an explicit set of promises to destroy American democracy, yet the press keeps calling this a “rerun” of 2020, almost as if it’s all a sporting event. We chatted with Mark Jacob, a former veteran journalist who writes the “Stop the Presses” newsletter, about all the insidious ways that press coverage is sanitizing the threat posed by Donald Trump and MAGA.

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With such a heavy focus on the situations in Gaza and Ukraine, other foreign policy priorities have taken a back seat. Syria is one priority that is likely to get worse before it gets better. Director of the Middle East Institute’s Syria program Charles Lister joins Marc Polymeropoulos to outline the need for a coherent strategy to deal with Syria, and how the country is primed to explode. 

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On the Monday edition of the DSR Daily, we discuss Donald Trump’s meeting with Viktor Orban, the US evacuating nonessential personnel amid escalating violence in Haiti, Joe Biden’s new budget proposal, and more.

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Have you heard of Bridget Ziegler? A co-founder of the far right Moms for Liberty, she is embroiled in a three-way sex scandal involving her husband, Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler. Now some Florida parents are running brutal ads attacking her, even as the Moms for Liberty movement is unexpectedly losing ground everywhere. We chatted with journalist Jennifer Berkshire, the author of a forthcoming book on our cultural battles over education, who explained the bigger, deeper story here: The right are the ones now on the defensive in the school wars.

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Original Air Date: March 22, 2021

Johns Hopkins scholar and “Active Measures” author Thomas Rid on the DNI report on Russian meddling and how 2020 is different from 2016.

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Original Air Date: February 4, 2019

This week our leader will, as the Constitution mandates, let us know the state of our union. We won't believe a word he says. And we already know the answer. Just look at the week's other events from political chaos in Virginia to brewing wars overseas to upcoming testimony from the president's lawyer that probably won't be good for the occupant of the Oval Office. (Who's not really orange, he just has "good genes." Join us for a discussion with attorney Katie Phang, law professor Rosa Brooks and law-abiding columnist, Ed Luce as we prepare you for the week ahead. 

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How many nukes does Putin have, and what are they for? This is just one of the questions that Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda’s team at the Federation of American Scientists tries to answer in their Nuclear Notebook. Hans and Matt join Jon Wolfsthal this week to discuss their report and the challenges of collecting intel on the largest nuclear arsenals in the world.

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On a special episode of the DSR Daily, David Rothkopf, Chris Cotnoir, and Riley Fessler share their thoughts on the State of the Union and why President Biden was in peak form, sending the Republicans into a tailspin. 

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This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. triggered an online explosion with a very weird defense of himself for spending time with Jeffrey Epstein. Everyone laughed, but we think this saga is revealing: It opens a window on his underappreciated appeal to disaffected young men. So we chatted with Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a New School professor who specializes in politics and culture and has dissected the Kennedy phenomenon in surprising ways. Petrzela helped us uncover the darker undercurrents driving Kennedy’s popularity and the ugly truths it reveals about our politics.

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Joe Biden’s State of the Union address has been a source of speculation, anticipation, and a little bit of dread. The address presents Biden with an opportunity to shape the narrative around the election now that he and Trump have officially secured their nominations. The Washington Post’s Jen Rubin joins David Rothkopf on the day of the address to forecast the President’s message and, crucially, what to look for to make the Oscars less disappointing.

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On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the first civilian deaths from a Houthi attack on a ship in the Read sea, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti, reports of Israel blocking aid into Gaza, and more.

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Texas is a state that keeps breaking the hearts of Democrats everywhere. But hopes are rising again this week, after Representative Colin Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights lawyer, captured the Democratic nomination to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. Six years after Beto O’Rourke fell three points short of beating Cruz, what will be different this time? We chatted with Allred about his path forward, how Democrats can compete in rural America, and why Republicans have turned the border into a fantasy zone.

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While the state of the union is ordinarily focused on domestic policy, nothing about this year has been ordinary. On the eve of the State of the Union address, Kori Schake, Ed Luce, and Alon Pinkas join David Rothkopf to predict how large of a role that foreign policy will play in President Biden’s speech. 

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On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the big results from Super Tuesday, faltering ceasefire talks in Cairo, the hunger crisis in Sudan, and more.

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Earlier this week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico signed a handful of gun control bills in the face of a terrible spate of gun violence in her state that has drawn national attention. Lujan Grisham is smack in the middle of some big trends in our politics right now: The transformation of the southwest, the success of Democrats in border states, and the rise of the female Democratic governor in the era of Donald Trump. We chatted with Lujan Grisham about all these things—and a whole lot more.

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On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the continuing Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo, the Supreme Court’s decision to keep Trump on the ballot, Germany’s response to an intelligence leak, and more.

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On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to zero that Donald Trump will not be disqualified from appearing on the ballot in Colorado, despite having engaged in insurrection. Coupled with the court’s willingness to hear Trump’s demand for full immunity from prosecution for insurrection-related crimes, all this raises serious questions about whether it is functionally placing Trump beyond accountability. We chatted with New Republic writer Matt Ford, author of a new piece eviscerating the court’s latest ruling, about the deeper falsehoods about Trump and the MAGA movement that the court is advancing.

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New York Times award winning journalist Adam Entous joins Marc Polymeropoulos to discuss Adam’s latest NY Times article chronicling the extraordinary evolution between 2014 until today of the partnership between US and Ukrainian intelligence. From initial efforts by the US to “put in the plumbing,” building personal ties and basic intelligence exchanges, to the CIA remaining on the ground during the Russian invasion and an admission from Ukrainian intelligence that without CIA’s targeting help, Kyiv would have fallen, it is an intelligence success story for the ages. 

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On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover Kamala Harris’s scheduled meeting with Benny Gantz, the US airdropping food into Gaza, France preparing to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, and more.

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With Donald Trump set to host Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago retreat this week, it's time to get serious about the rise of the global far right and why its worldview poses such a dire threat.

This week, Donald Trump will host Hungarian leader Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 

Meanwhile, Congress is on the verge of abandoning Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. Trump’s romance with Orban—and the opposition of MAGA Republicans to helping Ukraine—are part of the same story, in which the American right has grown besotted with international strongmen. We chatted with Jacob Heilbrunn, author of “America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators,” about the rise of the global far right and the deeper threats posed by this perilous moment.

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Original Air Date: March 24, 2023

Trump might finally be indicted but what impact will that have on the political landscape? Kavita and Norm seek to answer that question during this engaging conversation. Members get a bonus conversation about COVID and the recent UN Climate Report.

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Original Air Date: January 18, 2023

Davos may attract some of the world's wealthiest people but DSR continues to attract the best foreign policy and national security thinkers and analysis. David Rothkopf talks with David Sanger of the New York Times and Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University about Kissinger's remarks at Davos and other foreign policy issues cropping up around the world. Should Ukraine join NATO? Will Sweden and Finland actually join NATO? How should the U.S. handle the new (old) government in Israel? Find out in this wide-ranging conversation. Don't miss it.

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Climate change is scary enough on its own. But what about the effect of climate change on our nuclear weapons? Expert Jamie Kwong joins Jon Wolfsthal and Heather Williams to break down the recent incident at Pantex, and the increasing risk that effects of climate change poses to our nuclear installations. This episode is best enjoyed with a cocktail in hand.

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Donald Trump is the healthiest, most successful, and most innocent man in America — according to Donald Trump. The grifts and lies show no signs of slowing even as the walls close in around the former president. Norm and Kavita go over the many machinations of the former president, including the New York criminal trial, his efforts to turn the RNC into his personal piggy bank, and more.

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On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the Senate approving a stopgap funding bill, Joe Biden and Donald Trump visiting the border, Alabama passing legislation to protect IVF, and more.

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This week, former MSNBC journalist Mehdi Hasan launched a new digital media company called “Zeteo,” which is Greek for “to seek.” Hasan intends this as an answer to the failings of the mainstream media, which he says is enabling Donald Trump’s effort to “usher in a new era of fascism in the United States.” We chatted with Hasan about his new project’s goals, his belief that the conventions of political reporting are failing to meet this moment, and why the far-right information space is flourishing while the small-L liberal media is in crisis.

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We’re not just disappointed — we’re mad. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear Trump’s immunity claims has dealt another blow to efforts to hold Trump accountable for his numerous misdeeds in office. Experts Norm Eisen and Allison Gill join David Rothkopf to break down the implications of the decision. 

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American society is more polarized than ever before, and disinformation is pouring gasoline on the fire. As we head into an existentially important election, this issue becomes even more pronounced. Barb McQuade joins David Rothkopf to discuss her new book, “Attack from Within,” and how we can fight back against the flood of disinformation. 

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On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we discuss Mitch McConnell stepping down from GOP leadership, the Supreme Court agreeing to consider Trump’s immunity claims, Putin threatening nuclear war, and more.

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The news that Mitch McConnell will step down as GOP senate leader later this year has led many to argue that he was fundamentally a foe of Donald Trump who is no longer welcome in the party of MAGA. But the story is more complicated than that: In crucial ways, McConnell’s own career trajectory helped bring about the descent of our politics into its current disastrous mess. We chatted with Congressional scholar Norman Ornstein, who was among the first to identify McConnell as key to the GOP slide into dysfunction and extremism. He helped us assess McConnell’s real legacy.

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Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, and friends don’t let friends support Russia. The increasingly erratic Republican Party has the US’s allies in Europe worried, especially as Russia gains momentum in its assault on Ukraine and Election Day draws near. Rosa Brooks, David Sanger, and Ed Luce join David Rothkopf to break it all down. 

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On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we discuss plans for Navalny’s funeral on Friday, the results of the Michigan primary, skepticism about a Gaza ceasefire, and more.

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In recent days we’ve learned that Stephen Miller is drawing up plans for a shockingly cruel second-term immigration agenda, complete with mass deportations and huge detention camps. Meanwhile, President Biden is set to visit the southern border—and is mulling a new asylum crackdown of his own. We chatted with Jason Houser, a former senior official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Biden, who explained how operationally absurd Miller’s fantasies truly are—and why new asylum restrictions are a very bad idea.

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Joe Biden brought an a-team of talent with him to the White House in 2021. Between repairing America’s damaged reputation and adapting to crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan, the administration has had its work cut out for it since day one. Alexander Ward joins David Rothkopf to discuss all this and more in his new book, the “Internationalists.”

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On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we break down the self-immolation of a US airman, Biden’s optimism that a temporary ceasefire could be coming soon, declining attacks by Iranian proxies, and more.

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Donald Trump’s victory over Nikki Haley in the South Carolina GOP primary has sparked another round of punditry about his supposed political dominance. Yet the primaries have revealed his weaknesses with independents, and he clearly fears his legal travails are a major liability that will get worse. So what if Trump is weaker than he appears? We chatted about this with political scientist Julia Azari, co-author of a new piece arguing that the long shadow of his 2016 victory is still badly distorting our understanding of the present and the majority coalition that continues handing him and the MAGA movement defeat after defeat.

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Alexander Smirnov has showed us that Russian ‘active measures’ are even more active than we thought. An FBI informant working with Russian intelligence is no small feat, but the extent of the Kremlin’s efforts is even greater. Former CIA officer Alex Finley joins Marc Polymeropoulos to break down how the Russian security threat at home and abroad.

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