Episode
Ben Rhodes On Iran, Israel, And America
- Published
- Jun 5, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3356
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Summary
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.com Ben is a writer and political adviser. He served as a deputy national security advisor and speechwriter to Obama for both terms. He’s currently a co-host of “Pod Save the World,” a contributing opinion writer for the NYT, and a contributor for MS NOW. He’s the author of After the Fall and The World as It Is , and his new book is All We Say : The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches . We avoided saying anything that might upset the Ellisons. Enjoy! For two clips of the episode — on AIPAC opposing the JCPOA, and our latest catastrophe in the Middle East — head to our YouTube page . Other topics: raised in NYC by a Methodist dad from small-town Texas and a Jewish mom whose relatives died in the Holocaust; lots of political debate growing up; Hemingway and Fitzgerald as formative writers; Orwell; Graham Greene and the brokenness of the world; Obama’s sense of realism; Lee Hamilton a key mentor; moving to DC after 9/11 to write about foreign policy; Obama and Crimea; Syria and the refugee crisis; the Paris agreement; Netanyahu’s disdain for Obama; the antisemite card; the Iron Dome; the Dish covering the Green Revolution; Hegseth’s hubris; the LEGO meme videos; Trump’s supervillain statements; the Hormuz debacle; the IDF quartering its soldiers in Palestine; the never-ending settlements; pogroms in the West Bank; the abuse in Israel prisons; the Greenland threat; NATO stepping up to fund Ukraine; the drone revolution; Trump’s demagogic genius; Obama’s speechmaking; his Peace Prize; Niebuhr; Lincoln’s second inaugural; FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech to end isolationism; JFK; the talent of Jon Ossoff; and the disappointments of Obama’s post-presidency. Browse the Dishcast…