Podcast / American Prestige / Aug 14, 2026

The US-Iran Standoff Over Hormus, the Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey Alliance, a West Bank Community Besieged by Israeli Settlers—and More

Danny and Derek unpack the week’s global news, from extreme heat, Iran, and Gaza to Yemen, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Colombia, and shifting regional alliances.

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News—US-Iran Hormuz Standoff, Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey Alliance, Israeli Settlers Besiege West Bank Community
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek bring you the headlines against their better judgment. In this week’s news: Western Europe and the U.S. set new temperature records (2:05); in Iran, the Islamic Republic demands reparations and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz (4:22), Trump declares that the U.S. will keep control of the Strait (8:20), and Iran makes a wave of hardline appointments (10:25); in Yemen, Houthi forces strike a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (13:02); Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey form a new defense alliance (15:00); Netanyahu rejects Hamas's disarmament plan as the Board of Peace agreement collapses (18:11), plus Israeli settlers besiege a Palestinian American family's home in a West Bank village (19:48); a Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death (in absentia) for war crimes (22:19); a new UN report finds that violence against civilians rises in Myanmar (23:43); in Darfur, the Sudanese military and allied militias make key territorial gains against the RSF (25:49); Ukraine bombs the Russian port of Novorossiysk as tensions in the Black Sea push global food prices higher (28:23); Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as Colombia's new far-right president and joins the U.S.-backed Shield of the Americas (31:58); Trump secretly flees Turkey on a decoy aircraft amid reports of an Iranian assassination plot (34:06); and the Pentagon claims its Yemen strikes caused the only U.S.-inflicted civilian casualties of 2025 (37:31).

Watch yesterday’s livestream here.

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The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, on August 10, 2026.

(Khaled Ziad / AFP via Getty Images)

Danny and Derek bring you the headlines against their better judgment. In this week’s news: Western Europe and the US set new temperature records (2:05); in Iran, the Islamic Republic demands reparations and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz (4:22), Trump declares that the US will keep control of the Strait (8:20), and Iran makes a wave of hard-line appointments (10:25); in Yemen, Houthi forces strike a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (13:02); Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey form a new defense alliance (15:00); Netanyahu rejects Hamas’s disarmament plan as the Board of Peace agreement collapses (18:11), plus Israeli settlers besiege a Palestinian American family’s home in a West Bank village (19:48); a Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death (in absentia) for war crimes (22:19); a new UN report finds that violence against civilians rises in Myanmar (23:43); in Darfur, the Sudanese military and allied militias make key territorial gains against the RSF (25:49); Ukraine bombs the Russian port of Novorossiysk as tensions in the Black Sea push global food prices higher (28:23); Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as Colombia’s new, far-right president and joins the US-backed Shield of the Americas (31:58); Trump secretly flees Turkey on a decoy aircraft amid reports of an Iranian assassination plot (34:06); and the Pentagon claims its Yemen strikes caused the only US-inflicted civilian casualties of 2025 (37:31).

Watch yesterday’s livestream here.

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

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.

DRC Ebola Outbreak Surpasses 11,000 Cases, Nvidia CEO Resigns Amid Spy Allegations, Paraguay Impeaches President Peña / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek are taking tango lessons in preparation for the White House Ballroom launch. In this week’s news roundup: a climate update and the opening of COP31 in Turkey (1:04); Trump adopts a “forever war” posture on Iran (3:33); the U.S. plans to extend its blockade of Iran to land routes (7:59); winter storms kill displaced Palestinians in Gaza as Israel blocks shelter materials and continues its attacks (11:01); Israeli President Isaac Herzog selects Gadi Eizenkot to form a government (13:52); China extends its suspension of tariffs on U.S. goods (17:31); Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid Chinese espionage allegations and revelations of extramarital affairs (18:51); Sudan's military makes major gains in West Kordofan (22:00); the DRC's Ebola outbreak surpasses 11,000 confirmed cases (23:27), but Kenya discharges its last Ebola patient and begins the countdown to an Ebola-free declaration (25:44); U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials hold talks on a European security framework (26:41); hoax bomb threats disrupt flights and schools across Europe while French and U.S. authorities accuse Iranian hackers of cyberattacks on refrigeration systems (29:52); Paraguay's Senate removes President Santiago Peña from office (32:48); Salvadoran troops destroy the headquarters of Haiti's 400 Mawozo armed group (32:59); the U.S. military moves aircraft from a British airbase as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent relocates to a military base, both in response to alleged Iranian threats (37:39).

Watch last night's livestream⁠ with Sam Biddle on the Nvidia story.

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Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.

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