August 19, 2026
Pod Save The World
Trump’s Unrequited Love for Kim Jong Un
In This Episode
Tommy and Ben walk through a week of leaders making bad decisions. President Trump kneecaps military exercises with South Korea, Vladimir Putin’s paranoia reaches new heights, and British PM Andy Burnham gets pranked.
They start with Trump’s decision to scale back joint US-South Korean military exercises, what it means for an ally facing a rapidly modernizing North Korean military, and why Trump’s love for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains unrequited.
Then, Jared Kushner heads back to the Middle East to reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel won’t actually have to live up to its obligations under the Gaza peace plan, even as violence in the West Bank keeps escalating. Next, they look at Vladimir Putin’s extreme paranoia and subterfuge techniques, like his secret train and decoy offices, Trump’s history of making racist comments about Somalia, and why Andy Burnham and other world leaders keep getting pranked.
Then Tommy speaks with Natalia Oliverio, independent journalist and Navy veteran, about the horrible conditions and the mental toll that an extended deployment is taking on sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
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