Speaker
Nicholas Kristof
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
The PEPFAR program started by President Bush in 2003 has saved 26 million lives, and disruption to it by DOGE funding freezes has caused preventable deaths in children.
A peace deal that excludes the central armed party is not a peace deal. Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor break down why the Israel-Lebanon 14-point agreement, which Hezbollah never signed and explicitly rejects, is more fig leaf than solution — a diplomatic veneer designed to keep the US-Iran MOU alive rather than resolve the conflict.
Iran's real strategic prize from the US-Iran conflict isn't sanctions relief or even a nuclear program — it's permanent control of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Rhodes argues that by establishing the right to regulate ship traffic and eventually charge fees, Iran has secured a revenue stream worth more than any temporary deal.
Energy experts predicted $150-per-barrel oil after the US-Iran war. They were wrong. Tommy Vietor walks through the real reasons: a weaker Chinese economy cutting 3 million barrels per day of demand, Trump bullying futures markets, countries tapping strategic reserves faster than expected, and tankers willing to run the gauntlet through the Strait.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling stripping Temporary Protected Status from 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians — while white South Africans get refugee welcome bags — is not a close legal question. Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor argue the racial double standard is self-evident and that the Court's blessing of Stephen Miller's immigration agenda is a lasting stain.
Ben Rhodes was in London when it hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit — and podcasted through it in his un-air-conditioned Airbnb. He describes the genuine danger of a city where no bus, no train, no restaurant, no workplace offers any relief from the heat. The Tube stopped in a tunnel. A conference on extreme heat was canceled due to extreme heat.
Ben Rhodes woke up at 5 AM in Amsterdam to the sounds of the city reacting to each Dutch penalty kick — and then to the sound of drunk people making 'very unpleasant noises' after Morocco knocked them out. Tommy adds that South Korea's president has ordered an investigation into the team's performance. The World Cup is delivering more drama off the pitch than on.
Elon Musk demanded that critics name a single person who died because of DOGE's USAID cuts. Nicholas Kristof names them: Peter Dande, Evan Anzu, HIV-positive children who died after health workers were fired. Yama Freeman, who bled to death because DOGE cut ambulance diesel. Jabea, a 4th-grade girl ranked third in her class who died of malaria after cuts eliminated bed nets, health workers, medicine, and fuel in a cascade of failure.
Rebuilding USAID doesn't require recreating it exactly as it was. Kristof argues the key is evidence-based programs with randomized controlled trials behind them — cutting both Democratic 'touchy-feely' empowerment programs without evidence and Republican abstinence-only HIV programs. Keep it at State if needed, but fund it and focus it on the places that need it most.
Nicholas Kristof describes how his investigation into Israeli prison sexual violence started with a single account from a Palestinian peace activist two years ago and grew into 14 independent, corroborating accounts of rape and assault by prison guards, settlers, and Shin Bet agents. Netanyahu called it a 'blood libel.' Kristof says the right response would be to let the Red Cross in.
France is having an identity crisis over air conditioning while people drown trying to escape the heat. 1,000+ extra deaths. Hospitals with 95-degree wards. A maternity unit asking patients to bring fans from home. Tommy Vietor documents the maddening debate, and Ben Rhodes delivers the political verdict: if the left opposes AC in public buildings, Marine Le Pen will ride this straight to the Élysée.
The Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship — but barely. The 6-3 ruling is more like 5-4 because Kavanaugh agreed with the outcome but not the majority opinion and has signaled a path to eliminating it later. Tommy and Ben note the absurdity of celebrating a ruling that simply upheld the plain text of the 14th Amendment.
Ben Rhodes traces the Kazakhstan corruption story back to its roots in post-Soviet oligarchic capitalism, where resources were gifted to whoever had political power. Fast-forward to 2025: the Trump and Lutnick families are doing the same thing — using the Pentagon's trillion-dollar budget as a piggy bank, cutting no-bid deals with Central Asian autocrats for minerals essential to US military hardware.
The Lancet estimates 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030 from USAID cuts. A Boston University tracker puts current deaths above 780,000. Nicholas Kristof explains why these numbers are probably right in order of magnitude: the cuts also destroyed data collection systems, deaths are cumulative and lagged, and malnutrition combined with disease multiplies fatality rates over time.
Trump's social media posts threatening to end Iran as a civilization aren't diplomatic signals — they're content for his most credulous supporters. Ben Rhodes argues Iran has correctly decoded this, which is why they keep testing the ceasefire: they know the posts are performance, not policy.
Venezuela's catastrophic earthquakes — 1,700+ dead, 50,000 missing — are testing Delcy Rodriguez's interim government in ways that expose how little changed when Maduro was ousted. The military sat by while citizens dug through rubble with their hands. Ben Rhodes argues the Trump administration's 'success' in Venezuela was always just tribute extraction, not real political change.
Analysis
What they talk about
- News 60%
- Health & Fitness 40%
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