The Foreign Report

This week Seena and Travis welcome human rights lawyer and advocate Gissou Nia to explain why she’s more hopeful than most that the Iranian regime will eventually be overthrown. They discuss why issues of human rights always end up taking a backseat and what the world, and us as individuals, can do to help the Iranian people. They also delight in JD Vance’s latest international face plant. Thank goodness that never gets old. 🙃

P-Funk member, historian, and author Danny Bedrosian joins the show this week to contextualize the story of the Armenian Genocide– what led to it, how it was rationalized at the time, and why no one talks about it today. We discuss how it resonates with recent events and debate what people and countries can and should do to help preempt genocide in the future. We also talk about why politicians (like chickenshit JD) are so scared to name it.

This week we dig into Kharg Island– what it is and why it’s critical. We also respond to the rumors of boots (or in this case sandals) on the ground there. Does Trump have any idea what he’s doing? Don’t bet on it. We also ask WTF Kenyans are doing fighting for Russia, WTF the US is doing in Ecuador, and WhoTF JD thinks he’s fooling with his evasions. Lots of questions this week with not as many answers….but double the jokes. Not a bad bargain.

Iran has a new Supreme Leader, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, and the U.S. went to war with somewhere between four and eleven goals depending on who you asked. In this bonus episode, Jonathan Panikoff of the Atlantic Council breaks down what Mojtaba Khamenei's rise actually means, why regime change and leadership change are not the same thing, and what a "best case scenario" looks like when best is a very relative term. If you want to understand what's really at stake, for Iran, for global oil markets, and for the guy paying $5 at the pump in Pittsburgh, this is the episode.

Seena’s back! Join us this week as he and Travis dig into Mexican cartels and wtf success looks like in the “war on drugs.” They talk tariffs and what the recent Supreme Court ruling means for consumers (spoiler alert - probably nada), why Charles Kushner is in the news and making an ass of himself, and offer a few suggestions to simplify the fate of Rodrigo Duterte. And, of course, there’s JD Vance Corner. Yay?

Marcus Parks is back!! This week he joins Travis to wade deep in the Epstein files, braving all their slimy foulness to deliver some dead-on, signature Parks expletive-strewn rants. They also dissect some video to determine, yes, Trump really did sh*t himself on camera, and find a little satisfaction in the fact that the world still hates JD. All must not be lost then, right?

This week we welcome Travis back to the studio(!!) and talk through the nightmare that is unfolding in Minneapolis. How dumb do they think we are? What should Dems do? Will abolishing ICE do anything? We also dive into the US’s options for intervention in Iran. What are they exactly? What does it mean for Trump to promise help and then watch as thousands are killed. Considering our pitiful track record, should we intervene at all? And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, we finish things up with an exceptionally infuriating JD Vance corner. Make yourselves comfortable, folks, it’s going to be a rough (but bearable) ride.

This week, Seena breaks down the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran– how it started, what happened during the Iranian revolution, and how Reza Pahlavi fits into the current situation. Is reverting to a monarchy the pathway to a secular democracy or a slide backwards? We don’t know, but one thing is clear: anything is better than the current regime. We also look into Trump’s embarrassing attempt to take down Jerome Powell, Pakistan’s kangaroo court, and Australia’s crackdown on hate speech. We also raise our blood pressure watching JD Vance’s attempts to gaslight the public over the murder of Renee Good.

Happy New Year! This week on TFR we talk with progressive political strategist Frank Spring who tries to convince us that we should be somewhat hopeful about Democratic prospects in 2026. Arguing against the recent “Deciding to Win” report, he explains that, at least some, Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time. Meaning, they don’t have to abandon core Democratic positions, but they do need to figure out (and quickly) how to talk to real people about the issues that matter the most.

This week on TFR we talk through the horrors of the Bondi Beach and Brown University shootings and the murder of the great Rob Reiner. We question who in their right mind would have the stomach (ahem, Mr. President) to try and score political points in the face of such tragedy. We then shift our focus to the year ahead, which is bound to be better, right? Will JD become prez? Will Israel attack Iran? Will the war in Ukraine finally come to an end? We can’t promise to be particularly hopeful but we can promise to make it bearable!

This week on TFR, we go back in time to WWII and the Peleus Affair to explain why Hegseth is a war criminal. Once that was cleared up, we rolled our eyes at Netanyahu for his pre-emptive pardon request, threw our hands up at Trump for overtly meddling in the Honduran election and lament the continued school closings in Northern Nigeria. Then we look toward 2028 and the inevitable showdown between Cruz and JD. Who will be declared the least likeable?! We can’t wait to find out…

What a week. Seena & Travis are back to talk lobbyists at COP30 and who exactly is getting screwed by climate change. They marvel at Trump’s embrace of the Saudi Crown Prince and what that may augur for the region, check in on raging corruption in the Philippines, and side-eye Trump’s baseless accusations against Nigeria. Oh, and, of course, they had to cover JD’s security detail running over a police officer. 😑