Episodios

  • S8 Ep294: IRAN'S QUEST FOR SUPREMACY AND FUTURE NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS Colleague Brandon Weichert. Weichert discusses Iran's ultimate goal of regional supremacy, describing the regime as the "octopus brain" directing proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel.

    S8 Ep294: IRAN'S QUEST FOR SUPREMACY AND FUTURE NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS Colleague Brandon Weichert. Weichert discusses Iran's ultimate goal of regional supremacy, describing the regime as the "octopus brain" directing proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel.
    Jan 10 2026
    IRAN'S QUEST FOR SUPREMACY AND FUTURE NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS Colleague Brandon Weichert. Weichert discusses Iran's ultimate goal of regional supremacy, describing the regime as the "octopus brain" directing proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel. He notes that his book anticipated the proxy attacks that occurred on October 7. Looking forward, Weichert analyzes potential US responses, contrasting the flaws of the original JCPOA—specifically its sunset clauses which would have allowed nuclear weapons by 2025—with a potentially tougher stance under a second Trump term. The segment concludes with the grim warning that the regime may choose destruction over abandoning its nuclear ambitions. SHADOW WAR BY BRANDON WEICHERT NUMBER 4
    1960 NASSER IN DAMASCUS
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    7 m
  • S8 Ep294: SHIFTS IN US POLICY AND THE RISE OF THE SHIA CRESCENT Colleague Brandon Weichert. This section tracks US policy shifts from Clinton's diplomatic attempts to the unintended consequences of the 2003 Iraq War. Weichert argues that removing Saddam Hussein el

    S8 Ep294: SHIFTS IN US POLICY AND THE RISE OF THE SHIA CRESCENT Colleague Brandon Weichert. This section tracks US policy shifts from Clinton's diplomatic attempts to the unintended consequences of the 2003 Iraq War. Weichert argues that removing Saddam Hussein el
    Jan 10 2026
    SHIFTS IN US POLICY AND THE RISE OF THE SHIA CRESCENT Colleague Brandon Weichert. This section tracks US policy shifts from Clinton's diplomatic attempts to the unintended consequences of the 2003 Iraq War. Weichert argues that removing Saddam Hussein eliminated a check on Iranian power, allowing Tehran to establish a "Shia Crescent" of influence stretching to Lebanon. The conversation covers the deep Sunni-Shia hostility and Iran'sstrategic co-opting of the Palestinian cause to weaken Israel. It also critiques the Obama administration's JCPOA, describing it as a failed attempt to equalize regional power between Iran and Israel, and traces Iran's nuclear ambitions back to Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program. SHADOW WAR BY BRANDON WEICHERT NUMBER 3
    1897 DAMASCUS
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    12 m
  • S8 Ep294: THE HOSTAGE CRISIS, THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, AND THE CARTER DOCTRINE Colleague Brandon Weichert. Focusing on the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, this segment explores the American hostage crisis and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War initiated by Saddam Hussein in

    S8 Ep294: THE HOSTAGE CRISIS, THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, AND THE CARTER DOCTRINE Colleague Brandon Weichert. Focusing on the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, this segment explores the American hostage crisis and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War initiated by Saddam Hussein in
    Jan 10 2026
    THE HOSTAGE CRISIS, THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, AND THE CARTER DOCTRINE Colleague Brandon Weichert. Focusing on the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, this segment explores the American hostage crisis and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War initiated by Saddam Hussein in 1980. Hussein attacked to exploit Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and seize the Shatt al-Arab waterway, fearing the spread of radical Islamism. Weichert explains the Carter Doctrine, which committed the US to military intervention to protect Persian Gulf interests, a policy expanded by the "Reagan Corollary." The discussion notes that neither the American public nor the administration fully grasped the deep-seated grievances fueling the Iranian revolution. SHADOW WAR BY BRANDON WEICHERT NUMBER 2
    1917 BAGHDAD
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    8 m
  • S8 Ep294: US INTERVENTION IN IRAN: FROM OPERATION AJAX TO THE SHAH'S FALL Colleague Brandon Weichert. This segment introduces Brandon Weichert's book, The Shadow War, and examines the history of US interference in Iran. It details Ambassador William Sullivan's 1978

    S8 Ep294: US INTERVENTION IN IRAN: FROM OPERATION AJAX TO THE SHAH'S FALL Colleague Brandon Weichert. This segment introduces Brandon Weichert's book, The Shadow War, and examines the history of US interference in Iran. It details Ambassador William Sullivan's 1978
    Jan 10 2026
    US INTERVENTION IN IRAN: FROM OPERATION AJAX TO THE SHAH'S FALL Colleague Brandon Weichert. This segment introduces Brandon Weichert's book, The Shadow War, and examines the history of USinterference in Iran. It details Ambassador William Sullivan's 1978 "Thinking the Unthinkable" memo, which suggested the Carter administration prepare for the Shah's removal as he weakened. The discussion highlights how the USconsidered Ayatollah Khomeini a potential replacement to stabilize Iran, a massive miscalculation. It also revisits the 1953 Operation Ajax, clarifying that pro-Western Iranian military forces, aided by the British and CIA, ousted Prime Minister Mosaddegh after he attempted to consolidate power and nationalize oil. SHADOW WAR BY BRANDON WEICHERT NUMBER
    1850 TEHRAN
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    10 m
  • S8 Ep293: THE CHINESE JUDGE AND THE MODERN LEGACY OF THE TRIAL Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Mei Ju-ao represented China, striving to center the suffering of Asian peoples in the judgment before returning to a China engulfed by revolution. The trial's leg

    S8 Ep293: THE CHINESE JUDGE AND THE MODERN LEGACY OF THE TRIAL Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Mei Ju-ao represented China, striving to center the suffering of Asian peoples in the judgment before returning to a China engulfed by revolution. The trial's leg
    Jan 10 2026
    THE CHINESE JUDGE AND THE MODERN LEGACY OF THE TRIAL Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Mei Ju-ao represented China, striving to center the suffering of Asian peoples in the judgment before returning to a China engulfed by revolution. The trial's legacy remains volatile in modern Asia, exemplified by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose grandfather, Kishi Nobusuke, was a suspected Class A war criminal released without trial. Abe and other conservatives scrutinized the tribunal as "victor's justice," symbolized by visits to the Yasukuni Shrine where war criminals are enshrined. This historical grievance continues to strain Japan's relations with China and Korea, keeping the war's memory alive in 21st-century politics. NUMBER 8
    1934 TOKYO
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    7 m
  • S8 Ep293: DISSENT, EXECUTION, AND THE SHADOW OF IMPERIALISM Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Radhabinod Pal of India issued a massive 1,200-page dissent, arguing the tribunal was illegitimate and driven by the racism of colonial powers. Pal viewed Japanese a

    S8 Ep293: DISSENT, EXECUTION, AND THE SHADOW OF IMPERIALISM Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Radhabinod Pal of India issued a massive 1,200-page dissent, arguing the tribunal was illegitimate and driven by the racism of colonial powers. Pal viewed Japanese a
    Jan 10 2026
    DISSENT, EXECUTION, AND THE SHADOW OF IMPERIALISM Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. Judge Radhabinod Pal of India issued a massive 1,200-page dissent, arguing the tribunal was illegitimate and driven by the racism of colonial powers. Pal viewed Japanese actions as defense against Western encroachment and, controversially, questioned evidence of the Nanjing atrocities. Despite dissents from French, Dutch, and Indian judges, the executions proceeded in December 1948, with Tojo chanting "Banzai" (Long live the Emperor) on the gallows. The US Supreme Court refused to intervene, issuing a narrow ruling that it lacked jurisdiction over an international tribunal, allowing the executions to occur despite the judicial discord. NUMBER 7
    1931 TOKYO
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    13 m
  • S8 Ep293: CONSPIRACY CHARGES AND THE LEGALITY OF AGGRESSIVE WAR Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. The prosecution focused on 28 Class A defendants, alleging a grand conspiracy to wage aggressive war. This conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, fit awkwardly wi

    S8 Ep293: CONSPIRACY CHARGES AND THE LEGALITY OF AGGRESSIVE WAR Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. The prosecution focused on 28 Class A defendants, alleging a grand conspiracy to wage aggressive war. This conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, fit awkwardly wi
    Jan 10 2026
    CONSPIRACY CHARGES AND THE LEGALITY OF AGGRESSIVE WAR Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. The prosecution focused on 28 Class A defendants, alleging a grand conspiracy to wage aggressive war. This conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, fit awkwardly with the fractured reality of the Japanese government, where defendants were often bitter rivals. To prosecute "aggressive war," the tribunal relied on the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, despite it lacking criminal penalties for signatories. Ultimately, all surviving defendants received convictions, though verdicts were mixed; for example, Shigenori Togo was convicted of aggression but acquitted of conventional war crimes, while Kido was convicted of aggression but not held responsible for atrocities against POWs. NUMBER 6
    1930 NATIONAL DIET TOKYO
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    8 m
  • S8 Ep293: THE COLD WAR SHIFT: GEORGE KENNAN'S STRATEGIC PIVOT Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. By 1948, the trial's context shifted dramatically with the onset of the Cold War and the Chinese Civil War. George Kennan, the architect of containment, visited Tokyo to

    S8 Ep293: THE COLD WAR SHIFT: GEORGE KENNAN'S STRATEGIC PIVOT Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. By 1948, the trial's context shifted dramatically with the onset of the Cold War and the Chinese Civil War. George Kennan, the architect of containment, visited Tokyo to
    Jan 10 2026

    THE COLD WAR SHIFT: GEORGE KENNAN'S STRATEGIC PIVOT Colleague Professor Gary J. Bass. By 1948, the trial's context shifted dramatically with the onset of the Cold War and the Chinese Civil War. George Kennan, the architect of containment, visited Tokyo to convince MacArthur that democratization was less important than establishing Japan as a strong anti-communist bulwark against the Soviets. Kennan argued that the US must secure Japan as a strategic prize rather than focus on China, which was falling to Mao. This "reverse course" prioritized stability and industrial strength over the initial progressive reforms, viewing Japan as the essential anchor for Americanforeign policy in the Pacific. NUMBER 5
    1929 TOKYO
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    10 m
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