Expert interviews on the Iran War

Our media environment is constantly changing. But the kind of high-quality podcasts featuring actual experts and serious analysts is something we didn’t have available in anywhere close to this degree during the early years of the Iraq War.

I’m sharing a few recent examples. Starting with this one of Timothy Snyder and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, both experts on authoritarianism. Snyder mentions here the aspect of the moment that has surprised me so much: the fact that US opinion polls show virtually no initial burst of popularity for this current war. (1)

Omer Bartov, an excellent American-Israeli historian and genocide expert (who has been very critical of Israel’s genocide against Gaza) in an interview with Daniel Davis: (2)

Bartov discusses among other things the seemingly near-unanimous support of the current war among Israelis. The mutual influence of the US and Israel on each other’s foreign policies is nothing new. But the current Iran War is the riskiest military adventure the US has so far undertaken at the urging of the Israeli government. But it’s not that Israel is simply driving the bus. The US has done some things on Israel’s behalf that were clearly not in the best interest of the US, including the shameful support from both the Biden and Trump Administrations for the Netanyahu government’s genocide against Gazans that began in 2023 after Hamas’ “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack. But Israel has also helped the US in some of its goals in the Middle East. The current Iran War has been Netanyahu’s dream for decades, as he recently commented himself. And US neoconservatives have wanted a war against Iran for decades as well, for reasons not entirely identical with Netanyahu’s.

The following is David Rothkopf hosting Joe Cirincione, Jon Wolfsthal and Ed Luce. Cirincione’s comments are particularly interesting: (3)

This is an interview with Foreign Affairs by Nate Swanson and Richard Haass (two separate interviews, same video). Foreign Affairs is the longtime journal of the Council on Foreign Relations, the stereotypically Establishment international relations journal. Richard Haass was president of the council for 20 years, which gives him the highest of Establishment respectability ratings. I don’t always agree with him but he’s well-informed and leans more to the liberal-interventionist side than the neocon orientation. He’s not interventionist on the current Iran War: (4)

And here is Ben Hodges, a former commanding general of the US Army in Europe. His commentary in support of Ukraine in its current war with Russia tends to be too much of the rah-rah side for me. Which is to say, he tends to downplay the military advantage that Russia currently has in the war. But his commentary here on the Iran War is good. I’m also not ready to go with Third World War talk. But having the US collapse foreign policy into a reality show starring a mentally ailing Orange Anomaly has really been, uh, disturbing. (5)

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who had high-level experience the reckless Iraq War, is not impressed with the approach to this war that the Orange Anomaly and his “Secretary of War” Pete Kegsbreath are taking: (6)

Notes:

(1) Thinking Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Iran, Strongmen, and more. Victor Shi YouTube channel 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-06-03).

(2) Iran War: fmr IDF Soldier & Historian Omer Bartov. Daniel Davis-Deep Dive YouTube channel 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-05-03).

(3) Preparing for the Horrific Unintended Consequences of the Iran War. The DSR Network 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-05-03).

(4) Nate Swanson & Richard Haass: America's War of Choice on Iran-Foreign Affairs Interview Foreign Affairs YouTube channel 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-05-03).

(5) Trump’s Iran war is already a ‘global conflict’-Lt General Ben Hodges. The Trump Report 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-05-03).

(6) COL. Lawrence Wilkerson: Trump’s War: What Washington Doesn’t See. Judge Napolitano-Judging Freedom YouTube channel 03/05/2026. (Accessed: 2026-05-03).