Ep. 53: JD Just Can't Stop
Hey FRs,
So in last week's show we did our best to explain, well, just about everything, and I'm fairly sure we nailed it. We explained why there's no such thing as the "Middle East" and walked listeners through the Sykes-Picot Agreement and how, in many ways, the thorny, back-stabby series of sh*tty decisions that came out of it led to where we are now with Israel and Palestine.
We also rejoiced in Italy's general strike and threw up our hands at Trump's call for regime change in Venezuela. I mean, when doesn't that go well?
We also, of course, covered JD Vance and why he is basically already the worst and somehow continues to sink lower. Just spouting absolute nonsense that is also super dangerous. Really the best combo. If you haven't listened already, please do!
If for no other reason than to weigh in on the big Travis' beard debate.
Seena's Corner: Am I Supposed to Hate María Corina Machado?
Am I supposed to hate Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado?
Am I supposed to be happy that Trump didn’t win and she did?
Her win feels like the perfect Foreign Report moment, that uneasy mix of joy and rage, idealism and “what now?” Because if we’re being honest, Machado isn’t exactly the kind of political figure I would have a poster of over my bed (I actually had several Agassi posters). She’s a pro-business, anti-socialist crusader who’s been compared to Margaret Thatcher… … … oof.
And yet… we can still celebrate what her win represents: the right to free and fair elections. Something we better take seriously as we approach the mid-terms next year. I believe the election system overall in the US will be challenged by this administration in an attempt to retain power.
But sometimes democracy gives you leftist reformers, sometimes it gives you right-wing populists, and sometimes, like now, it gives you someone who just refused to quit in the face of authoritarian power.
So How Did We Get Here?
Back in ‘99 when we were running around worried about Y2K, Hugo Chávez took power on a wave of populism, promising to rid Venezuela of corruption and use oil wealth to lift up the poor. THIS SOUNDED MUCH BETTER THAN Y2K! But, unfortunately it didn't hold up as well as the 1995 movie Strange Days with Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett!
For Chávez, things were great at first, oil was at $17 a barrel and shot up to a record $147 by 2008. With all that cash, Chávez built his “Bolivarian socialism” — meaning nationalism, welfare populism, and a hearty “f*** you” to the U.S.
But here’s the thing about oil-fueled utopias: they work until oil prices crash. When prices fell back to $40 that same year, the economy collapsed. After Chávez’s death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro took over, doubling down on repression while the country spiraled into hyperinflation, food shortages, and a mass migration exodus.
Enter María Corina Machado.
An engineer-turned-activist who founded an NGO to monitor elections, she called out Chávez and Maduro early and paid the price. Banned from office in 2015, she built her following among the hollowed-out Venezuelan middle class. Her message was simple: liberal democracy, private property, and a clean break from Chavismo.
In 2025, against all odds, she helped lead a movement that forced new elections and sparked a peaceful transition. The Nobel Prize? It’s not for her ideology, it’s for her courage.
So, What Do We Do With That?
We sit in the discomfort. We can disagree with her politics and still support her principles. We can celebrate the fact that someone stood up to a dictator and did it without violence. She led middle class Venezuelans, women, and students in non-violent protest against the government. We can celebrate that while also critiquing her point of view, and stressing that the pendulum should not swing too far in the other direction. If it does, then we’re back to the same cycle.
Meanwhile in Ohio: What Travis is Reading...
, The Enquirer
A few weeks ago during the "JD Vance Corner" on TFR, we talked about how JD's hometown of Middletown, Ohio has been dealing with a large amount of air pollution, so much so that people are having to clean their cars with toilet bowl cleaner! Now as the local election season in The Buckeye State goes into full swing, several city council candidates in Middletown are claiming that JD and Trump's administration are "harming" the city with their federal policies –– but because the city voted overwhelmingly for Trump and JD, it's fair to say several folks are getting exactly what they voted for.
Next Week...
We are thrilled to announce that Jena Friedman will be joining this week's show! Watch her hilarious TED Talk on AI, her true crime series on AMC, or her Cannibal Cop Dating Show Soft Focus episode. Basically, if you're not already on the Jena Friedman train, now is the time.
As Always
We want to hear from you! Yay or nay on the beard? Let us know! Theforeignreportlpn@gmail.com