All episodes

Ep. 90: Vance on World Stage

Hey FRs, This week we broke down the MOU that JD Vance will eventually be saddled with. Go, JD! I mean, I'm sure he won't blow it. In any case, it's a sh*tty deal, so there's not much he can do

Ep. 89: World Cup Drama

Hey FRs, This week the Islamic Republic secured $25 billion in frozen assets, Strait of Hormuz management authority, and sanction relief. But why talk about that when there's fútbol?! Or even better, why not tie it all together? This week Seena and Travis braved LA traffic, possible ejection,

Ep. 88: Here We Go Again...😑

Hey FRs, Remember when we invaded Venezuela and abducted their president? That was crazy, right, like some colonialist fever dream? That happened on January 3. On February 28, the US launched strikes on Iran (the timeline is insane). It's been hard to turn our focus away from the

Ep. 87: We Hate to Say It, But....

Hey FRs ICYMI, this week we did our first "I told you so" episode. Normally, we would feel some satisfaction in saying that, but in this case, you know, with like the destruction of the world order and death as consequences, we felt none. We may be the

Ep. 86: The S#*t Jailbreak Plan

Hey FRs, ICYMI, this week we covered an ill-conceived jailbreak that blew up in everyone's face. And who was in charge of the plan's conception? You guessed it– Donald Trump & Bibi Netanyahu, the Beavis and Butthead of geopolitics. Did the U.S. and Israel

Ep. 85: The Factless Fact Sheet

Hey FRs, ICYMI, this week we broke down Trump's much ballyhooed (by his administration at least) trip to China and his meeting President Xi. Their version pretty much went like this: two great leaders met (one slightly greater than the other), the markets celebrated, and every structural problem

Ep. 84: At Least Trae Crowder Can Make Us Smile

Hey FRs, ICYMI, this week we had Trae Crowder join us to talk about a war no one except Netanyahu seems able to make sense of, a strait that continues to be held hostage, and a potentially (maybe, hopefully, please?) crumbling Trump base. Did we really go to war with

Ep. 83: Hiding In Plain Sight

Hey FRs, ICYMI, this week we covered "the Memo." Yeah, the memo. No idea what I'm talking about? Well, buckle up, it's not a pretty ride. Did one secret memo actually blueprint the corporate takeover of America? Yep, and the author made sure you&

Ep. 82: Surprise Attack

Week of April 27, 2025 Hey FRs A 1955-era jet just punched a hole in U.S. air defenses, and that's somehow not the most consequential thing that happened this week, which, of course, is that we punched up our newsletter. Let us know what you think!

Ep. 81: Tanked Man Walking

Hey FRs, When the world is on fire, it's sometimes a relief to find humor in the casual ineptitude of the Trump administration. It's just so ludicrous it's impossible to look away. When I read the Atlantic article on Kash Patel I couldn'

Ep. 80: Stretching for Hope

Hey FRs, I can't help but feel a little like this woman when I'm trying to find things to be hopeful about... That's why I love listening to people smarter than me who have somehow maintained their hold on it. If you haven'

Ep. 79: Words Shmerds

Hey FRs, When did the word ceasefire become a funhouse mirror that completely distorts the reality of a situation? Let's see...I doubt it started with the October 2025 "ceasefire" between Israel and Gaza, after which bombs continued (and continue) to fall, killing over 700 Palestinians

Ep. 78: The Past is Never Dead...

Hey FRs, Just thought I'd add a little Faulkner to your Friday. You're welcome. If you're unfamiliar the full quote is: "The past is never dead. It's not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were

Ep. 77: ALL CAPS Diplomacy

Hey FRs, What a week. I mean, for fucks sake. Can you believe Travis shaved his beard?! JK. I wish that was the biggest "announcement" this week. Between declarations of victory and word of troop deployments, it's hard to know whether to laugh at the idiocy

Ep. 76: Khaaaarg Island, Ahoy!

Hey FRs, It's a complicated time to write this, but Nowruz Mobarak, or Happy Persian New Year. To those in Iran or the diaspora, I hope you find time and space to gather and draw strength from each other. Be-salāmat. Our show this week focused on the

Ep. 74: So Many Feelings

Hey FRs, It's been, well....a long week. We're about to enter into week 2 of Operation Epic Fury, a name so childish and ridiculous it can't even qualify as funny. Despite the layers of approval they say these things go through, I feel

Ep. 73: Cartel Chaos

Hey FRs, I guess Trump and Netanyahu decided they needed the spotlight back. Sooooo, lots to come on this week's show covering our brand new war with Iran. 🫩 But, ICYMI or are already feeling nostalgic for a world where west Asia wasn't as actively imploding, take

Ep. 70: Witkoff To the Rescue! 😑

Hey FRs, The latest episode dropped Thursday and it was jammed packed. Lots to cover on the show, maybe best exemplified by our old bud Steve Witkoff, who spent last weekend chatting up the Russians, before Zelenskyy finally forced his way to the table. He also made a stop in

Ep. 69: ✊

Hey FRs, We're skipped the newsletter on Friday to honor those taking to the streets and/or participating in the general strike. Stay safe out there. ICYMI, here's last week's episode, where we covered the murder of Alex Pretti and how the administration has

Ep. 68: A New Path?

Hey FRs, If you haven't had a chance to listen to our most recent episode, please do. We had a great conversation with Iranian-Kurdish filmmaker, Hamoun Dolatshahi about the Kurdish perspective on the recently squashed uprising in Iran. It's a perspective we don't

Ep. 67: Iran at the Crossroads

Hey FRs, I tried to come up with some clever pun about the possible return to Iran of Reza Pahlavi, which was the focus of this week's show, but, with the blackout entering it's 8th day, it's just too bleak of a situation over

Ep 65: Dems, Please Wake the F*** Up

Ep. 66: New Year's Rendition

Hey FRs, Not technically a rendition, I know, but do we even have a word for it? ICYMI, Trump rang in 2026 by kidnapping the president of Venezuela. Yep, the supposed president of peace is attempting to bring a war to all continents– better look out Antartica. On this week&

Ep. 63: 2026 Here We Come 😬

Hey FRs, We're almost there. We've almost crossed the 2025 finish line. It's been, shall we say, a rough one. But, hey, I'm sure 2026 will be totally different. New outrages, new war crimes, new global flare-ups....., but also new jokes,

Ep. 62: And You Thought It Couldn't Get Worse 🙃

Hey FRs, On last week's show we covered the unfolding story of Hegseth's attempts to shunt off blame for the Venezuelan double tap. Let me tell ya, it's not looking good. So the two guys had no way of escaping and were just desperately

Ep. 61: Hegseth Passes the Buck

Dear FRs, On last week's show, Seena and Travis opened their history books to look at the Peleus Affair– which provides a clear and simple illustration of how what constitutes a war crime at sea became enshrined. Against such damning evidence, Hegseth simply channeled Shaggy. As unsurprising, and

Ep. 60: Int'l Spy of Infamy?

Hey FRs, During the long holiday weekend, I hope you all ate a lot of food, took numerous naps, and managed to avoid any familial strife. ICYMI, on last week's episode, in addition to diving into new revelations about Jeffrey Epstein's geopolitical back-channeling and alleged

Ep. 59: MBS in the House

Hey FRs, On last week's show we covered climate talks at COP30, or, really, how climate discussions, like most things, are subject to the whims of the wealthy and powerful. COP30 and its lobbyists provided a perfect segue to another topic greatly colored (or sand-washed?) by money–

Ep. 58: ISO a Brighter Side

Hey FRs, We had a "fun" show with Ed Larson last week, and by fun I mean a well-earned, expletive-strewn rant-fest. It was great. If you haven't listened already, please do: The Foreign Report | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | LinktreeView theforeignreport’s Linktree to discover

Ep. 57: JD's a Creep

Hey FRs - For the first time ever, we led last week's show with some good news. The Dems, who badly needed a win, swept all the big election night races, with Democrats winning the governorship in NJ and Virginia, California succeeding with their attempt to re-re-rig

Ep. 56: The Art of the Sh** Deal

Hey FRs, On last week's episode we talked trade– trade with China, trade with Japan, trade (or no trade) with Canada, trade with Southeast Asia. Are these trade deals as successful as Trump thinks? Uh, no. We talked bailouts, soybeans, beef, and elections in Argentina. Are we surprised

Ep. 55: Trump Can't Commit

Howdy FRs, Thanks for all the comments (that Seena definitely did not read) on our recent show featuring Corinne Fisher. She's one of our faves so we're happy y'all feel the same way. I mean, with whom else can we ponder how Trump'

Ep. 54: Online Take Culture Sucks

Hey FRs- Happy Diwali! Let's all do our best to light up a dark space or two this week. Speaking of lighting up a dark space, if you haven't listened or watched our recent episode with Jena Friedman yet, please do. We're pretty proud

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

Ep. 52: Peace in Gaza?

Hey FRs, We had a big show on Friday covering Trump's 20-point plan and some even bigger updates after the show was recorded, with the news that Hamas has accepted parts of the proposal and agreed to talks. How that plan is operationalized has a lot of-

Jonathan Panikoff - Trump's 20 Point "Peace" Plan - FULL INTERVIEW (members only)

Here's our full interview with Jonathan Panikoff who is the Director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative and a former Deputy National Intelligence Officer. We didn't go through the ENTIRE 20 points but we did cover the overall strategy, holes within it, and Netanyahu's response.

Ep. 51: Marcus Parks Exercises His Free Speech

Howdy FRs, Well, we had a doozy of an episode last week as Marcus Parks joined us to vent some well-earned rage at the current crop of attacks on free speech launched by the Trump administration and his allies. It got a little heated and we loved it. Thank

Ep. 50: Conspiracy Stew, Vance Froth + Sports!

Howdy FRers, Last week's show saw us wading into some pretty murky water, but with all the misinformation out there what's a podcast host to do? FP Zaddy & T-Ceps' answer? Hike up their pants, plug their nose, and jump right in. I won&

Ep. 49: Wars Everywhere

What's up FRs! (Pronounced "ferrrs") Well I think we can all say that last week was probably a week best served not being on social media, but we're happy to have you here. We talked about Charlie Kirk's murder on our YouTube

Ep. 48: TFR Gets Right With God

Hey TFRers, John Fugelsang stopped by last week to enlighten us with his takes on the GOP, Jesus, and Trump's cankles. Thank you @thedonnaparty-c8x for the +1. But even better than the takes was the positivity. Who knew John was so good at bright-siding! If you

Ep. 47 The Good Liars Tell The Truth About MAGA

Hey TFRers, Coming to you a day late and many dollars short, but we hope you all had a lovely long weekend full of grilled items and sunshine. We also hope you checked out last week's show featuring the Good Liars. In the ep we went looking for

Ep 46: Red Carpets & Hot Mics

Hey TFRers, ICYMI, we awarded ourselves nicknames and they're killer. So last week, Seena & Travis, AKA FP Zaddy & T-Ceps, brought the heat talking about the Alaska summit, which if you haven't heard went fabulously well, for Putin anyway. For Trump, it was more.

EP 45: War Crimes, Troops Everywhere & JD's On A Boat

Hey TFRers, So last week's show was super lighthearted, just a fun riff on the Geneva Conventions and quick stop to cover some troops in the nation's capitol. Some seriously fun stuff. Ok, ok so the show wasn't a light one but we sure

Ep. 44 - Starvation, Elections, and JD’s Looking for Aliens

TFRers - On last week's show we looked into the "confusion" around whether or not people are dying of starvation in Gaza. It seems fairly simple that when the stated policy of a government is to occupy and promote the "voluntary migration" of a minority

TFR Ep. 43: Epstein Conspiracies, Ukraine, and the End of the Trump/Putin Situationship

Last week's episode was a doozy, folks. With Marcus Parks, we covered it all - from Epstein to the list to the island to Trump to Putin to Ukraine to good ole reliable JD. How could we not talk about the amazing meme version of JD posted by DJT?

Ep 42: The SKEWniverse + TFR = Hell Yeah, Y'all!

Hey everyone! This week we welcomed Trae Crowder to the show to talk Trump and how he's managed to hoodwink so many Southern voters. We talk about Trae's book, Round Here and Over Yonder, and hear stories from his travels overseas. He even took the time

Ep 41: Self-Coups & Old Scores

On our most recent show, we talked about a few of the cases from the last Supreme Court term with constitutional law and political science professor Corey Brettschneider. Maybe not the most hopeful conversation ever, but it was lively and full of some pretty good jokes (we're totally

Ep. 40: Sending Weapons Through A Sidedoor & More Tariff Threats

On last week's episode we tried to peer into the (heart) and mind of Bibi Netanyahu to figure out what his desired endgame is for Iran and the Middle East at large. If you haven't already, give it a listen or a watch. Seriously, go now!

Ep 39: A Big Ugly Mess

Republicans in the House and the Senate will tell you that this bill, which is the cornerstone of Trump’s domestic policy agenda, will spark US GDP growth, strengthen the US abroad, and make our country stronger. I want to take those individually and how so many people live in

Ep 38: A Debate Over Damage to Iran's Nuclear Program But Ceasefire Holds

Our episode last week brought on two policy experts: Jonathan Panikoff, from the Atlantic Council, and Rachel Brandenburg, from the Israel Policy Forum, to help us make sense of the US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, the ceasefire that has managed to hold (everyone please knock on wood)

Ep 37: Well That Escalated Quickly... again

On Saturday Trump announced that the US launched Operation Midnight Hammer, working with Israel in striking multiple nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Sources close to the administration said that Operation Hebrew Hammer was taken. According to the administration's resident genius J.D. Vance “we are

Ep 35: The Baba Yaga Strikes Back

On Friday's show we did a deep dive into Ukraine's massive drone attack on Russian air bases across the region and what that attack might signal for the conflict and the future of warfare. We also bid farewell and happy trails to Elon Musk and his

Ep 34: Land, Power, and Inequality

This week TFR welcomed professor and author Michael Albertus to discuss how land ownership infiltrates society in surprising ways. It's a wide-ranging conversation that digs into the affordability crisis, climate change, and Trump's obsession with South Africa's attempts to make reparations for apartheid.

Ep 33: Marcus Parks on Trump Unmasking America and the Great (?) Middle East Realignment

Hi, everyone! We took a break from our usual newsletter in honor of Memorial Day, but be sure to check out our latest episode where Marcus Parks joins Seena and Travis to parse through Trump's recent trip to the Middle East and what this ongoing realignment says about

Ep 32: Trump’s “Free” Plane, India’s Unhappy, and the US Welcomes Some Refugees Who Happen to Be White

We asked nicely, but the world ignored our requests to chill out during our spring break, so this week, Seena and Travis are back with a doozy of a show. ICYMI, here's what we covered: Trump's “Free” $400 Million Plane Trump is explaining his acceptance of

Ep 30: The Longest 100 Days, Ghaznavi(!) Missiles in Pakistan, Canadians Rebuke Trump, and Vance Ruins Easter for the Italians

So much covered this week! The Trump administration crosses the 100 day mark, tensions rise in Kashmir, a surprising victory in Canada, and, of course, not to be forgotten, JD Vance keeps reminding us why he’s hated all over the world. And what's the deal with Seena&

Ep 29: Signal Gate 2.0: Hard Boiled (and now 3.0?)

Welcome to Monday newsletter. The episode dropped on Friday, and between recording last Wednesday and today - we have updates, updates, and more updates! Can the administration stick to one position for more than a week? SO ICYMI, here's what we covered on the show last week and some

Ep 28: Abrego Garcia's (no) Due Process

Welcome to The Foreign Report newsletter! This is where we're going to give you a little glimpse into what we covered on the show and some links for you to doom scroll through. Thank us later for ruining your day! Speaking of days getting ruined, Kilmar Abrego Garcia,