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10 May 2026

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Kelsey D. Atherton (Popular Science, Grand Blog Tarkin) and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (Foundation for Defense of Democracies, daveedgr.com)

On Foreign Entanglements, guest hosts Kelsey and Daveed recount their epic battle as finalists in TwitterFightClub 2014, which Daveed won by using lessons learned from battle rap. Applying comic books to national security, they wonder how Iron Man and Galactus could help the US military. Is the sequel to Top Gun really going to be about drones? They analyze what the large outdoor meeting of Al Qaeda in Yemen reveals about what drones can and can’t do. Daveed offers a counterintuitive take on Al Qaeda’s strength and America’s drone war. Plus: The flaws in a Times op-ed connecting military veterans and white supremacy.

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Recorded:Apr 18    Posted:Apr 21, 2014
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Foreign Entanglements | Apr 21, 2014 | Kelsey D. Atherton & Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

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Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute and Robert Wright look at ways the Iran war could change the Middle East. New fissures among Gulf states? New Turkey-Iran bonding? Israel’s Waterloo? America’s?

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Trump Lost the Hormuz Round

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Robert Wright explains why Iran won the latest round in Hormuz and why Trump’s counter-blockade was never going to work. Nikita Petrov reports on a domestic crisis brewing inside Russia—with drone attacks, mobile internet shutdowns, and frustration boiling up where it didn’t before.

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Mythos and the Future of AI Arms Races

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Why Mattering Matters

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Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of the new book The Mattering Instinct, joins Robert Wright to discuss the human need to justify one’s own existence, the different ways we do that, and how these differences can divide us.

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The Future of Intelligence

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Can Trump and Iran Make a Deal?

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Robert Malley—a lead negotiator for Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran—and Robert Wright discuss what kind of deal between Trump and Iran is conceivable and what kinds of leverage both sides have.

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Iran and the Demise of US Hegemony

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Robert Wright and American Prestige hosts Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner discuss the latest Middle East developments—including whether Trump and Iran can reach a peace deal, who’s winning the Hormuz blockade duel, and what it all means for America’s global standing. Plus: Is Anthropic’s Mythos really scary?

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Can AI Stop Wars?

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Robert Wright and Nikita Petrov discuss whether AI could help resolve international conflicts as the world edges toward catastrophe. Plus: Trump’s “act of war” in the Strait of Hormuz, a case for an Iranian tollgate, the AI model so dangerous Anthropic delayed its release, and more.

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Sizing up the AI Titans

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The Iran War: A Debate

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Robert Wright and The Free Press reporter Eli Lake debate the Iran war in light of the history that brought us here—from the 1953 coup and its aftermath to the origins of Hamas and Hezbollah to Obama’s nuclear deal, to the Gaza war, etc.