EP59: Is Journalism Dead? with Jonathan Alter

One decision can wipe out a decade of diplomacy and one crisis can bury a lifetime of competence. We sit down with journalist, author, and longtime Newsweek editor Jonathan Alter to wrestle with the Carter paradox: a president who delivers historic foreign policy achievements and still becomes a cultural shorthand for weakness. Starting with Alter’s Carter biography, we pull on the thread that keeps snagging American leaders, from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump: Iran, escalation, and the brutal way domestic politics reshapes national security choices. We unpack Carter’s biggest foreign policy successes, including the Camp David Accords and normalization with China, then pivot to the Iranian Revolution, the Shah’s medical entry into the US, and how the 444-day hostage crisis boxed Carter in strategically and psychologically. Alter breaks down why revolutions create “blowback” no White House can fully control, why deterrence signaling matters, and why easy talk about regime change often ignores the basic monopoly on violence that governments hold. From there, the conversation widens to the Middle East today: settlement expansion, why the two-state solution remains the least bad option, and what new Israeli leadership could realistically change. We also connect the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal to a dangerous long-term future of repeated strikes to prevent a nuclear Iran. Finally, we go deep on media trust, the strengths and failures of mainstream journalism, the rise of independent media like Substack, and how to avoid the self-validation trap that keeps all of us intellectually stuck. If you care about US foreign policy, Iran, the Israel-Palestine debate, the JCPOA, and the future of journalism, hit play, share this with a friend who argues with you in good faith, and please subscribe and leave a review. CHAPTERS: 00:00:23 - Welcome And Guest Jonathan Alter 00:01:22 - Carter And Trump Through Iran 00:05:31 - Carter’s Biggest Foreign Policy Wins 00:09:40 - Iran Revolution And The Hostages 00:21:02 - Two States Or Endless War 00:30:45 - Israeli Election And A Reset Chance 00:37:39 - Iran’s Nuclear Clock And Whack A Mole 00:41:19 - Why Trust In Media Collapsed 00:53:04 - DSA, USAID, And Real World Costs 00:56:31 - Ukraine, “Unprovoked,” And Editorial Power 01:08:50 - Borders, Deterrence, And “Existential” Claims 01:10:06 - Alter’s Substack And New Book Review