NVIDIA’s CEO is ensnared in a Chinese spy scandal that Trump and US intelligence knew about, Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and at least one Republican in Congress agrees, and CENTCOM enters the content mines.
Tommy and Ben break down the scandal engulfing NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang—how his affair with a Chinese spy could have given Xi Jinping access to frontier AI technology, and why Trump is refusing to say what he knew about the affair and when. Then, all the reasons to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and whether that movement can gain steam, Trump’s endless lies and impossible choices around the war in Iran, Bibi Netanyahu’s vile speech to Israel’s Knesset amid his rival’s attempts to form a coalition to oust him, and an update on conditions in Gaza ahead of another hard winter. Also covered: this week’s talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi and CENTCOM’s baffling new podcast. At the end of the show, Tommy speaks to veteran journalist and host of the podcast Face Off: Nuclear Anarchy?, Jane Perlez, about China’s nuclear ambitions, her experience watching Ukraine dismantle its nukes in the nineties, and her trip with Madeleine Albright to North Korea in 2000.
Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.
You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.