Special - Iran War Update: Failed Diplomacy and Israeli Operations (Preview)

Danny and Derek speak with Sina Azodi about the first month of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and why expectations of a rapid Iranian collapse have failed. They talk about the failure of expectations of a quick Iranian surrender, Iran’s asymmetric response strategy, energy and economic choke points, the influence of the IRGC, the historical context of U.S.-Iran relations, domestic political dynamics and public sentiment inside Iran, diaspora politics, and what lies ahead for Iran’s nuclear program.  Be sure to grab a copy of Sina’s book Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with writers China Miéville (the forthcoming The Rouse) and Richard Seymour (Disaster Nationalism) about the changing character of the U.S. empire and global politics. They discuss the war with Iran as an expression of imperial decline, the absence of a coherent strategy in U.S. foreign policy, the collapse of ideological justification for war, the shift toward raw power politics, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel in this conflict, the weakening of liberal hegemony, and the broader implications for global capitalism and conflicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for access to all of our specials and to avoid ads. Derek speaks with journalist Afeef Nessouli about Israel’s war on Lebanon and the political and social consequences. They talk discuss Israeli airstrikes and the ground invasion in southern Lebanon, mass displacement and humanitarian conditions, destruction of infrastructure and barriers to evacuation, Hezbollah’s role as both military and political organization, public opinion toward Hezbollah, the weakness of the Lebanese government, sectarian tensions and external manipulation, and grassroots relief efforts amid the crisis. You can support affected Lebanese people at local organizations like Ahla Fawda, Nation Station and Truth Be Told. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek join Mark Ames and John Dolan for the first AP–⁠Radio War Nerd⁠ crossover episode discussing, you guessed it, Iran and geopolitics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and for access to all of our episodes. Just a reminder: there was too much Iran news to fit into this episode, so we gave it a standalone special you can find here. Otherwise, this week around the world: in Israel-Palestine, the Gaza Board of Peace negotiates a Hamas disarmament agreement (1:54) while the West Bank sees settler violence surge around Nablus (3:35); Pakistan resumes its war with Afghanistan after the Eid ceasefire expires (7:09); Trump reschedules his China trip for May (8:26); in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, RSF and SPLM-N militants seize Kormuk as Chad boosts its border military presence after Sudan spillover violence (11:19); in Ukraine, Russia launches a massive drone barrage as a new offensive begins (14:14), the United States ties security guarantees for Ukraine to territorial concessions (16:04), and Russia reportedly offers to end support for Iran in exchange for the U.S. ends support for Ukraine (19:00); Denmark’s snap election leaves Mette Frederiksen weakened, but still in contention to govern (21:46); Raul Castro joins Cuba’s talks with the United States (23:55); in Ecuador, a U.S.-backed operation reportedly destroys a dairy farm instead of a drug camp (27:12); the UN General Assembly condemns the transatlantic slave trade, the United States votes no (29:56); Trump pays TotalEnergies to halt East Coast wind projects (31:22). Be sure to check out our new series premiering Tuesday, Marx Prestige. Listen to the trailer here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek give you the latest on the war on Iran. They discuss Trump’s failed peace proposal and shifting threats, mediation attempts involving regional actors, Iran’s strategic position and deterrence problem, US troop deployments and potential military options, Israeli operations in Iran and Lebanon, Trump’s claims about regime change and a mysterious “present,” reports of a possible Diego Garcia attack, sanctions relief on Iranian oil, and global economic effects including disruptions to the helium supply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more episodes. Danny and Derek welcome back to the show historian Udi Greenberg to talk about Israeli public opinion, politics, and its strategy vis-à-vis the war with Iran. They discuss the overwhelming public support for military operations, the underlying strategic consensus across Israeli politics prioritizing military dominance over negotiation, the absence of meaningful debate over a two-state solution or Palestinian sovereignty, the stability of Israeli domestic political divisions despite the war, how media and military messaging shapes public perception, and the relationship between Israeli strategy and continued U.S. support. Don't forget to mark your calendars for our series Marx Prestige, coming March 31. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming March 31: Marx Prestige, a series where Danny and historian Andrew Hartman discuss Karl Marx and how the philosophy and politics he created shaped and reshaped the United States. Annual subscribers will get free access, so be on the lookout for an email with instructions! Be sure to check out Andrew's book ⁠Karl Marx in America⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with Sam Biddle of The Intercept about the role of AI in modern warfare, including the current Iran conflict. They talk about Palantir’s Maven system, LLMs in target selection, the use of Claude in airstrike planning, the integration of drone, satellite, and intelligence data, the acceleration of targeting and strike decisions, large-scale target lists, risks from outdated or misinterpreted intelligence, the limits of human review in the kill chain, and the absence of meaningful guardrails on this technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our specials. Danny and Derek give an update on the conflict in Iran. They talk about the overall state of the war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, casualty figures across multiple countries, the prospect of a ground invasion, the state of Iran’s leadership, the strike on South Pars and its effects on Gulf energy infrastructure, Iran’s attacks on Israel, Israeli public support for the war, and polling on American support for the intervention. Watch our video exclusive with Samuel Moyn about Jürgen Habermas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices