What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead - podcast cover

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead

Tablet Magazinewww.tabletmag.com
Walter Russell Mead, a historian, pundit, and popular author, is encyclopedic about politics, culture, and history. On What Really Matters, Mead and Tablet deputy editor Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what news matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. Check out Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column at https://www.tabletmag.com/columns/via-meadia.
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

US Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump

This week, Walter gives a lecture and Q&A at the London School of Economics on American foreign policy in the Trump era. The recording is from February 19 and is republished here with the permission of the LSE.

Jun 05, 20261 hr 32 min

Why Peace With Iran Is Elusive

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Pope's AI encyclical, the UAE's role in the Iran war, new concerns about the divide between labor and capital, and why America and Iran's minimum requirements for a peace agreement are unlikely to be met.

May 30, 202624 min

A Visit to Ukraine

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump's creation of a $1.8 billion slush fund, the noose tightening around Cuba, and what Walter saw and heard on a recent trip to Ukraine.

May 22, 202633 minEp. 128

The Rise of Islam and the Radicalization of America

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the greater global influence of Muslim-majority societies, the state of political radicalization in America, and to what extent the US is actually in decline.

May 12, 202631 minEp. 127

25 Years of Putin

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Trump's flirtation with regulating AI, Narendra Modi's big election victory in Bengal, reports of a potential coup plot in Russia, and what a quarter-century of Vladimir Putin has done to the world.

May 05, 202627 min

God Save the King

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the US national debt, the Supreme Court's decision on a provision of the Voting Rights Act, the UAE's exit from OPEC, why Trump doesn't believe the Iran war is the catastrophe the establishment thinks it is, and King Charles' very successful visit to America.

May 01, 202629 min

Trump v. Pope

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Iran ceasefire and negotiations, the meaning of Japan's decision to open its military technology market, the global rise of clean energy sources and decline of coal, and how Pope Leo XIV's roots in Latin American Catholicism explain his particular distaste for Donald Trump.

Apr 22, 202628 min

What Orbán Meant

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Pentagon plans to use US commercial enterprises for weapons production, the rise in young American men's religiosity, Trump's fallout with the European populist right, and the successes and (mostly) failures of Viktor Orbán.

Apr 17, 202628 min

How Not to Follow Events in Iran

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the ceasefire, the situation in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz, how the war has impacted US defense capabilities, and how Trump's domestic and international political status is faring.

Apr 10, 202633 min

Will Trump Try to Get a Declaration of War?

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the latest headlines from Iran, Trump and Rubio's fight with NATO, whether Trump might try to obtain a Declaration of War from Congress, and the best and worst wartime presidents in American history.

Apr 01, 202627 min

How Everyone Got Iran Wrong

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the other strait Iran is threatening to close, the Trump administration's interest in Ukrainian territorial concessions, rumors of increasing US troop deployments to the Middle East, and how the doves and the hawks both got Iran wrong.

Mar 28, 202632 min

Kent, NATO, Orban, Iran

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Joe Kent's resignation, Trump's frustration with NATO's refusal to help in the Gulf, JD Vance's show of support for Viktor Orban, and the state of the war in Iran.

Mar 20, 202635 minEp. 119

How Iran Ends

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Iran campaign's economic shocks, the upsides for Russia, US-Cuba negotiations, and the three ways the Iran war could end.

Mar 13, 202639 minEp. 118

The Winners and Losers in Iran (So Far)

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Anthropic's standoff with the Pentagon, whether munitions being used in Iran are really drawing down US stockpiles in other theaters, the CIA's attempt to arm a Kurdish rebellion, the cards the Ayatollahs still have left to play, and Trump's war with the Tuckerverse.

Mar 06, 202640 min

Tariffs Are Dead, Long Live Tariffs

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the drug wars in Mexico, the tides turning against Russia in Ukraine, Trump's plans to strike Iran, and the Supreme Court's ruling against his tariff regime.

Feb 25, 202634 minEp. 116

Saudi Arabia's Coalition Against Israel

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Russia's oil problem, Trump's war on the climate, China's arctic ambitions, and the new Saudi-led bloc against Israel.

Feb 14, 202639 min

Xi, ICE, Iran, and the Tech Right

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Xi Jinping's purge of the People's Liberation Army, the ongoing showdown between ICE and Minneapolis, the death toll in Iran, and how the tech-MAGA alliance could outlast Trump.

Jan 26, 202641 min

Live From Davos 2026

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss why the mood at Davos this year went from denial to fear, why the United States has never been both so unpopular and so dominant there, and what Trump and Zelensky's speeches revealed about the state of the Western alliance.

Jan 23, 202632 min

Trump on Antisemitism, Aid to Israel, and Iran

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Netanyahu's proposal to end U.S. aid to Israel, Trump's disavowal of rightwing antisemites, his ever-changing assessment of what's happening in Iran, and what China and Russia think of his moves in Venezuela and Greenland.

Jan 15, 202626 min

Venezuela, Greenland, Iran

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Trump administration's appetite for Greenland, the ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran, and how America's enemies will try to turn the Maduro operation into a quagmire for Washington.

Jan 10, 202645 min

Heritage, MAGA, Venezuela, Trump, and the Great Ben Sasse

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the downfall of the Heritage Foundation, the fissures that roiled MAGA at the Turning Point festival, the ongoing Venezuela crisis, how Trump's foreign policy might actually be making the world better off, and why we should all aspire to be more like Ben Sasse in 2026. To support Tablet and make a tax-deductible donation, click here ....

Dec 23, 202535 min

Bondi Beach and the Nihilism of Palestinian Strategy

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss new U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Trump's attempts to regain control of economic messaging, the EU's new aid package for Ukraine, and the consequences of allowing the intifada into Australia.

Dec 19, 202534 min

Trump's New National Security Strategy

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the administration's seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, the hidden and rising costs of healthcare premiums, China's energy future, and the implications for China, Russia, Europe, and the GOP of Trump's new National Security Strategy.

Dec 12, 202529 min

The Higher Ed Doom Spiral

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Pete Hegseth's drug boat imbroglio, the Minnesota fraud scandal, the difficulty of managing the MAGA coalition, and the factors contributing to the decline in college enrollment, outcomes, and relevance.

Dec 05, 202534 min

Trump’s Ukraine Ultimatum That Wasn’t

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss how AI is splitting the MAGA coalition, Xi’s phone call with Trump, why young conservative women are having more children than their liberal peers, and what exactly is happening with the Trump administration’s Ukraine peace plan.

Nov 26, 202537 min

Orthodox Christianity in America

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the China-Japan spat, Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, China's lead in scientific paper and patent production, and the apparent rise of Orthodox Christianity among young conservative American men.

Nov 22, 202529 min

Trump in Africa

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Democrats' recent election victories, the end of the government shutdown, Venezuela preparing for a hypothetical US invasion, and why Trump has started to talk about humanitarian intervention in Africa.

Nov 15, 202532 min

The Groyperization of the Right

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the impact of Trump's tariffs, his summit with Xi Jinping, Bill Gates' about-face on climate change, and whether the future of the American right belongs to Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes.

Nov 04, 202542 min

Drug Wars, Sanctions, Nuclear Power, and Japan

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Trump's expanding military operations against Venezuelan drug traffickers, new US sanctions on Russia, China's nuclear power build-out, and Japan's new heavy metal-drumming, Thatcher-admiring, female prime minister.

Oct 24, 202531 min

The Return of the Hostages, an AfPak War, and India

This week, Walter and Jeremy return to discuss the Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal, a possible war between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Walter's travels in India and Sri Lanka.

Oct 14, 202531 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android