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All Episodes

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead — 132 episodes

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Title
1

The Cuban Quagmire

2

US Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump

3

Why Peace With Iran Is Elusive

4

A Visit to Ukraine

5

The Rise of Islam and the Radicalization of America

6

25 Years of Putin

7

God Save the King

8

Trump v. Pope

9

What Orbán Meant

10

How Not to Follow Events in Iran

11

Will Trump Try to Get a Declaration of War?

12

How Everyone Got Iran Wrong

13

Kent, NATO, Orban, Iran

14

How Iran Ends

15

The Winners and Losers in Iran (So Far)

16

Tariffs Are Dead, Long Live Tariffs

17

Saudi Arabia's Coalition Against Israel

18

Xi, ICE, Iran, and the Tech Right

19

Live From Davos 2026

20

Trump on Antisemitism, Aid to Israel, and Iran

21

Venezuela, Greenland, Iran

22

Heritage, MAGA, Venezuela, Trump, and the Great Ben Sasse

23

Bondi Beach and the Nihilism of Palestinian Strategy

24

Trump's New National Security Strategy

25

The Higher Ed Doom Spiral

26

Trump’s Ukraine Ultimatum That Wasn’t

27

Orthodox Christianity in America

28

Trump in Africa

29

The Groyperization of the Right

30

Drug Wars, Sanctions, Nuclear Power, and Japan

31

The Return of the Hostages, an AfPak War, and India

32

The Week When Decades Happened

33

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

34

Mr. Modi Goes to China

35

The Trump-Putin Summit

36

How Trump Is Like Napoleon

37

The Art of Trump's Trade Deals

38

The Role of Public Intellectuals

39

Right Nation

40

Gaza, Ukraine, Energy, and the Big Beautiful Bill

41

What Does Trump’s Bombing of Iran Mean for the Middle East?

42

Trump and the Israel-Iran War

43

Unrest in Los Angeles

44

The Trump-Musk Eruption

45

The Foreign Policy Consequences of Biden’s Decline and Fall

46

Resistance Fighters of the World Unite

47

Trump's Persian Gulf Tour

48

The New Pope and the Scramble for Africa

49

Lurching Toward Hot War in Asia

50

Why the Papacy Is One of the Greatest Shows on Earth

51

The Almighty Dollar

52

The Consolidation of Trump's Power

53

Liberation Week

54

The View of the Middle East From Mar-a-Lago

55

The Current State of US-China Competition

56

Trump's Deal With Moscow?

57

Trump, China, and the Tariff Wars

58

Trump's Establishment Russia Policy

59

Which Way Euro Man?

60

JFK, DOGE, China, Jews

61

What Is Foreign Aid For?

62

Walter’s Holiday Gift Buying Guide

63

The Syrian Quagmire

64

The Trump Team: Season 2

65

Trump and the Spirit of Davy Crockett

66

America’s Crisis of Leadership

67

Ukraine’s Future Under Kamala and Trump

68

It’s a (Red) Trap!

69

One Year of October 7

70

Biden’s Magical Unicorn Diplomacy

71

America Is Sleepwalking Into World War III

72

How Sept. 11 Still Shapes Our Politics

73

Tucker Finds Hitler

74

Bibi the Great

75

Kamala’s Economics and Alexander Hamilton

76

Does Soft Power Actually Matter?

77

Walz, Sinwar, Biden, Stocks

78

Ding Dong Haniyeh and Shukr Are Dead

79

The Foreign Policy of Kamala Harris

80

Trump, Vance, and the Shot Heard Round the World

81

Putin, Xi, Modi, Kim

82

The Geopolitics of Biden’s Decline

83

About Last Night

84

Biden’s Fearful Foreign Policy

85

On The Front Lines in Ukraine

86

The Trump Verdict

87

The Sino-Russian-Iranian Alliance

88

Checking in on American Democracy Promotion

89

Did Biden Just Abandon Israel?

90

Where Did the Democratic Party’s Pro-Hamas Wing Come From?

91

America's Popular Universities for Palestine

92

The Rise of the Cyber City

93

Czar Tucker and the Antisemitic Right

94

Foreign Policy in a Second Trump Term

95

Twilight of the Wonks

96

Build Back Better Palestinian Authority

97

Biden v. Bibi

98

Where The Green Movement Went Wrong

99

The Great MacGuffin and the Quest for the Holy Grail

100

The Zionist Hindu Crusader Alliance

101

Biden, Tucker, Putin, Trump

102

America Isn’t Headed for Civil War

103

What Was the Iran Deal?

104

The Scourge of Elite Corruption

105

Live from Davos

106

Is America a Western Country?

107

That Was the Year That Was

108

Biden’s Suez Crisis

109

The Politics of Jewish Support for Israel

110

Kissinger’s Middle East Legacy

111

Biden Bear Hugs Israel and Ukraine

112

When Israel Policy is Iran Policy

113

How Israel Went From Enemy to Darling of the Right

114

How Israel Went From Darling to Enemy of the Left

115

The Quest for the Israel-Palestine Holy Grail

116

Why the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Pushes People’s Buttons

117

‘Paragliders From Hell

118

Americans Are Happier Than You Think

119

Why Is Everything Blue?

120

Roe v. Dobbs

121

America’s Near Abroad

122

Are the BRICS a Thing?

123

Debating Civil Rights Law

124

Trouble in China

125

Big Green

126

Ukraine Blame Games

127

The Blue Model: Rise and Fall

128

Cakes and Ale

129

The A(braham) Bomb

130

Surfin' USA

131

The Age of Apocalypse

132

What Really Matters - a Tablet Magazine Podcast Featuring Walter Russell Mead