Podcast / The Time of Monsters / Aug 23, 2026

Israel’s Escalating Conflict With Turkey

Adam Weinstein on Syria as a battleground for regional hegemony.

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.

Israel’s Escalating Conflict with Turkey w/ Adam Weinstein
byThe Nation Magazine

The current conflict in the Middle East might escalate on a new front. In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjaman Netanyahu has been touting Turkey as a potential threat on par with Iran. This conflict is partly spurred by the fact that Syria, currently rebuilding after a brutal civil war, is becoming a battleground for competing projects of regional hegemony. To discuss this as well as the prospects for a more realistic foreign policy, I talked to Adam Weinstein of the Quincy Institute.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on August 14, 2026.

(Ercin Erturk / Anadolu via Getty Images)

The current conflict in the Middle East might escalate on a new front. In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjaman Netanyahu has been touting Turkey as a potential threat on par with Iran. This conflict is partly spurred by the fact that Syria, currently rebuilding after a brutal civil war, is becoming a battleground for competing projects of regional hegemony. To discuss this as well as the prospects for a more realistic foreign policy, I talked to Adam Weinstein of the Quincy Institute.

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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 Iran War Stalemate w/ Trita Parsi / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

The Trump administration has announced a new set of harsh sanctions against Iran. This is a strange development since originally Trump launched a war on Iran on the pretext that sanctions weren’t working. Trita Parsi of the Qunicy Institute argues the current tactic won’t work and is a holding action as both the US and Iran bide their time in a long conflict. Parsi’s writings can be found on his Substack. In the interview, we discuss his column on the surprising way many governments are rooting for Iran to check US imperialism.

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