Worldly
We live in a confusing time, bombarded every day with news from around the world that can be hard to follow, or fully understand. Let Worldly be your guide. Every Thursday, senior writer Zack Beauchamp, senior foreign editor Jennifer Williams, and staff defense writer Alex Ward give you the history and context you need to make sense of the moment and navigate the world around you. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
176
Trump has no Syria strategy. Obama didn't either.
President Trump’s threats to bomb Syria after a brutal chemical weapons attack there — and why a US military strike won’t have much impact on the country’s civil war.
30 min
177
A clear guide to the Israel-Gaza crisis
The growing crisis on the Gaza-Israel border, where Israeli troops killed 19 Palestinians during violent clashes with protesters, sparking fears of all-out war.
28 min
178
The rise of Trump's war cabinet (Weeds crossover!)
Trump’s national security cabinet reshuffle — and whether the appointment of incoming National Security Adviser John Bolton increases the risks of war with North Korea and Iran.
33 min
179
Trump’s Russia policy? What Russia policy?
Why President Trump's top aides begged him not to congratulate Vladimir Putin for winning this week's sham Russian election -- and why Trump ignored them and did so anyway.
31 min
180
Putin’s poisonings
The poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK with a deadly nerve agent.
27 min
181
Rexit special!
President Trump finally firing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after publicly and privately mocking him for months.
16 min
182
Make Italy Great Again
How Italy's elections may have paved the way for a far-right prime minister who sees Vladimir Putin as a role model, wants to close mosques, and openly talks about deporting 500,000 migrants.
27 min
183
Why Xi Jinping’s power grab is dangerous for Ch...
China's decision to allow President Xi Jinping to rule the country indefinitely, a move that means the world's biggest country will likely grow even more repressive at home and aggressive abroad.
32 min
184
Russian mercenaries, Israeli airstrikes, and th...
The evolution of Syria’s civil war and how a conflict that once pitted Syrian against Syrian has now drawn in at least six outside countries.
33 min
185
Polish Holocaust denial and the weaponization o...
A controversial new law in Poland that makes it illegal to accuse the "Polish nation" of being complicit in the Holocaust, a change that has infuriated the US, Israel, and Jewish communities around the world.
33 min
186
Why America can’t quit Guantanamo Bay
The controversial prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and President Trump’s announcement this week that he’s keeping it open and may send ISIS fighters there.
30 min
187
Why Trump, who promised to keep America out of ...
President Trump’s decision to escalate America’s military involvement in Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, and beyond — despite having campaigned on an “America First” agenda that promised to reduce US military intervention overseas.
37 min
188
A Saudi-Iran proxy war has torn Yemen apart — a...
The horrific war in Yemen, which has become a battleground in a shadow war between Iran and Saudi Arabia — and where there are real reasons to worry that the US is complicit in war crimes.
29 min
189
Why Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigat...
The state of play in Robert Mueller’s Russia probe — and why obstruction of justice, not collusion, may pose the biggest legal and political threat to President Trump.
35 min
190
How expensive eggs helped kick off the biggest ...
What the massive protests in Iran say about the future of the country — and about its tense relationship with the US.
29 min
191
“Speak loudly and carry a small stick:” Trump’s...
What Donald Trump's first year in office says about his approach to the presidency and how he's likely to handle Iran, North Korea, and China in the future.
40 min
192
The most political Olympics since the Cold War
Hhow global politics will shape next year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea in a way that hasn’t been seen since the height of the Cold War.
27 min
193
Trump said Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Now w...
President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that breaks with decades of US foreign policy -- and that tells us a lot about how Trump makes decisions and how often his actions don't match his tough-guy rhetoric.
49 min
194
Rex Tillerson's departure looks imminent as the...
President Trump’s apparent decision to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will go down as arguably the worst secretary of state in American history.
54 min
195
The president of the world's most powerful demo...
President Trump's trip to Asia, where his warm feelings for foreign autocrats and refusal to discuss human rights abuses raise real questions about whether the leader of the world's biggest democracy actually cares much about democracy.
54 min
196
Saudi Arabia's real-life Game of Thrones
The shocking purge in Saudi Arabia, where the country's young and ambitious crown prince has abruptly begun arresting his relatives and seizing billions of dollars of their money.
42 min
197
The New York attack reveals ISIS’s plan for sur...
What the terror attack in New York says about the true ISIS threat to the US.
52 min
198
What were American troops doing in Niger?
The deaths of four US soldiers in Niger in October, a tragedy at the center of a nasty political fight between President Trump and a grieving military widow
45 min
199
What the fight over Kirkuk means for Iraq's future
Why Washington’s two biggest allies in the fight against ISIS are squaring off over the future of Kirkuk, an oil-rich city in northern Iraq
48 min
200
Trump's risky, pointless plan to undermine the ...
The Iran nuclear deal and the looming Sunday deadline for President Trump to recertify that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the deal
46 min