This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem has changed during that time, and his advice to those entering the field. Jon an ... Show More
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 2025
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
May 2025
Dina Esfandiary: Will Iran Make a Deal with Trump?
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dina Esfandiary, the Middle East Geoeconomics Lead at Bloomberg. Previously, Dr. Esfandiary served as a senior adviser for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group and was a fellow at The Century Foundation. H ... Show More
42m 27s
Dec 2024
TDS Time Machine | Jon's 2024 After the Cut
Jon Stewart shares stories of high-security interviews with the former Pakistani President, book recommendations, advice to young people, messages of hope, and whether TV is dying.
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25m 29s
Feb 2025
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Jon Stewart examines Trump's attacks on trans people, Canada, and DEI as his first presidential orders of business and asks: How is that making America great again? Plus, the Best F**kin' News Team debate on where they rank in the DEI hierarchy.
Mo Amer, writer, stand-up comedia ... Show More
40m 29s
Jan 2025
Jonathan Turley: Justin Trudeau Resigns, Trump's Victory Confirmed, & Chaos On X
Story #1: Will is back! He explains how the H-1B visa controversy, the New Orleans terrorist attack, and the British trafficking story all tie together into a larger conversation about societal integration, with The Crew.
Story #2: Will sits down with FOX News Legal Analyst and G ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2025
Jon Stewart on Trump’s Heel Turn on Zelenskyy & Elon's Interview Challenge | Matthew Desmond
Jon Stewart dives into the Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy, which shocked viewers more than John Cena's heel-turn. Plus, Jon calls bulls**t on Elon Musk's challenge to an interview.
Sociologist at Princeton University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ... Show More
49m 9s
May 2025
Decolonizing the Future: Karen Hao on Resisting the Empire of AI
In his New York Times review of the book, Columbia Law School professor and former White House official Tim Wu calls journalist Karen Hao’s new book, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, “a corrective to tech journalism that rarely leaves Silicon Valley.” H ... Show More
44m 32s