Podcast / The Time of Monsters / Sep 14, 2025

The Failures of the Foreign Policy Elite

On The Time of Monsters: Matt Duss on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The Failures of the Foreign Policy Elite | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

Matt Duss, vice-president of the Center for International Policy, wrote an excellent review for The Nation of Bob Woodward’s book War, which is a celebration of Joe Biden as a foreign policy sage. Duss is rightly skeptical of the book. We discuss Biden’s actual record on Ukraine and especially Gaza. Matt’s essay on this topic for Foreign Policy is also worth reading.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Joe Biden speaks at a Department of Defense Commander in Chief Farewell Ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, on January 16, 2025.

(Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)

Matt Duss, vice-president of the Center for International Policy, wrote an excellent review for The Nation of Bob Woodward’s book War, which is a celebration of Joe Biden as a foreign policy sage. Duss is rightly skeptical of the book. We discuss Biden’s actual record on Ukraine and especially Gaza. Matt’s essay on this topic for Foreign Policy is also worth reading. 

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Iran War Heats Up w/ Matt Duss / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

The purported ceasefire in the Iran War was always tenuous and now the war is not only heating up but entering a dangerous new phase. The Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis are firing on the Red Sea while Donald Trump promises a new wave of attacks on Iran’s civilian infrastructure. I talk about the state of the Middle East and related matters with Matt Duss, vice president of the Center for International Policy.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Jeet Heer

Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The GuardianThe New Republic, and The Boston Globe.

More from The Nation

Iran War Heats Up

Iran War Heats Up Iran War Heats Up

Matt Duss on Trump’s flailing foreign policy.

Jeet Heer

The bridge linking Bandar Abbas and Kehuristan in Iran’s Hormozgan province, where Iranian authorities said the US carried out attacks on 95 locations across 12 cities over the past 10 days, on July 19, 2026.

The Iran War Kills US Troops, the US and Saudi Arabia Strike a Nuclear Deal, Zelensky Fires His Top General The Iran War Kills US Troops, the US and Saudi Arabia Strike a Nuclear Deal, Zelensky Fires His Top General

Danny and Derek break down the week’s global headlines, from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Gaza to Lebanon, Ukraine, the DRC, Trump’s tariffs, and US foreign policy.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

Librarians Are Helping the Public Ditch AI—With Hannah Cyrus & Alison Macrina

Librarians Are Helping the Public Ditch AI—With Hannah Cyrus & Alison Macrina Librarians Are Helping the Public Ditch AI—With Hannah Cyrus & Alison Macrina

Paris Marx is joined by Hannah Cyrus and Alison Macrina to discuss the role of library workers in the digital landscape.

Paris Marx

President Franklin D. Roosevelt endorses New Deal candidates during a radio broadcast from his Hyde Park home.

How the New Deal Invented the National Security State—With Andrew Preston How the New Deal Invented the National Security State—With Andrew Preston

Andrew Preston joins Danny and Derek to trace the evolution of the American national security state, from the early republic to the Cold War and beyond.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

The Plan for November—and After

The Plan for November—and After The Plan for November—and After

Ben Wikler lays out Democratic strategy, and John Nichols talks about progressive candidates for the Senate.

Jon Wiener

President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during the daily morning briefing at Palacio Nacional on July 15, 2026, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Borderlands—With Ken Salazar  Borderlands—With Ken Salazar 

Former Senator Ken Salazar joins Fighting Fascism to discuss immigration, the US-Mexico border, Democratic strategy, and the politics of Mexico under AMLO and Claudia Sheinbaum.

x