{"podcast":{"title":"The Smerconish Podcast","slug":"the-smerconish-podcast-4474155","podcast_index_feed_id":4474155,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/Dv1m2CJC","website_url":"https://www.siriusxm.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/8436e3c1-2479-4466-ac48-fa58259960bb/3307704c-973a-4ab2-a9c2-8e76f28a7ee9/3000x3000/podcast-20on-20dark-7.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"SiriusXM","episode_count":1991,"summary":"Spirited discussions of government, politics, and current events without predictable left/right bias. The Smerconish Podcast is for Independent Minds. The Michael Smerconish Program airs live on SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 9AM-12PM ET and replays 9PM-12AM East, Monday-Friday.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T06:17:03.780985+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smerconish-podcast-4474155"},"episode":{"title":"The Escalation Trap: Why the Iran Conflict Could Get Much Worse","slug":"the-escalation-trap-why-the-iran-conflict-could-get-much-worse","published_at":"2026-05-27T20:23:07+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smerconish-podcast-4474155/the-escalation-trap-why-the-iran-conflict-could-get-much-worse","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smerconish-podcast-4474155","url":"https://www.siriusxm.com","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/sxm.simplecastaudio.com/d49edecb-af71-4e40-b63b-f7bdc3faae1b/episodes/fddd93cf-e473-431b-be60-89e5b571d2aa/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=d49edecb-af71-4e40-b63b-f7bdc3faae1b&awEpisodeId=fddd93cf-e473-431b-be60-89e5b571d2aa&feed=Dv1m2CJC","summary":"Michael speaks with University of Chicago political scientist Dr. Robert Pape about the growing conflict with Iran, rising oil prices, and the strategic dangers of what Pape calls the “Escalation Trap.” From the Strait of Hormuz to the risks of ground operations and global economic fallout, Pape argues the U.S. may have underestimated both Iran’s capabilities and the long-term consequences of military escalation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.","meta_description":"Michael speaks with University of Chicago political scientist Dr. Robert Pape about the growing conflict with Iran, rising oil prices, and the strategic d…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1172,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-smerconish-podcast-4474155/episodes/the-escalation-trap-why-the-iran-conflict-could-get-much-worse/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smerconish-podcast-4474155/the-escalation-trap-why-the-iran-conflict-could-get-much-worse.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}