Best Foreign Concept Podcasts (2025)

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What is the moral value of disgust? 56:45

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1h ago56:45

56:45

The decision of OnlyFans and Instagram to ban the porn star Bonnie Blue, who engaged in sequential sex with more than a thousand men in 12 hours, indicates the strength of the backlash of disapproval to the stunt. The reaction of many people has been what the psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls 'moral bafflement', the idea that most of us instinctive…

1
The MAGA Woman Dress Code 20:08

2d ago20:08

20:08

While “Interesting Times” is on vacation, we’re sharing a conversation from “The Opinions” between Meher Ahmad, an editor for Times Opinion, and the Opinion writer Jessica Grose. They talk about the aesthetics of MAGA women — think Kristi Noem and Nancy Mace — and what they signal about femininity and power within the Republican Party. Thoughts? Em…

1
Pro-Life & Pro-Death Penalty: Hypocrisy & Hypoxia. How Does One Reconcile These Polar Opposites? An In-depth Examination of the Pelican State of Louisiana. 1:03:04

6d ago1:03:04

1:03:04

Welcome! We’re thrilled and excited that you joined us as we celebrate an enormous milestone — our 100th episode of Light ‘Em Up. This achievement has been 5 years in the making and something we honestly never envisioned accomplishing when we started this project in January of 2020. Email us here, [email protected] and let us know how …

1
Ross and Ezra Klein Discuss Trump, Mysticism and Psychedelics 1:36:12

9d ago1:36:12

1:36:12

This week, we’re sharing a great conversation Ross had on “The Ezra Klein Show” this past spring. Ezra asks Ross about his most recent book, “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.” But along the way, they debate not just how religion influences the Trump administration but also their own lives. Come for their seeking and stay for their thought…

1
Drones and the Future of War 36:20

14d ago36:20

36:20

Are drones the future of war? What lessons can be learned from Ukraine for the Taiwan contingency? To discuss these topics and more, FPRI President Aaron Stein sat down with Lorenz Meier, CEO of Auterion, to discuss drones and the future of war. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Abolish the Senate. End the Electoral College. Pack the Court. 55:37

16d ago55:37

55:37

For Democrats, President Trump’s victories have revealed the antidemocratic flaws at the core of our government. But could it be an opening for a constitutional revolution as the party searches for its next leader? This week, Ross explores what that revolution would entail with Osita Nwanevu, the author of the book, “The Right of the People: Democr…

1
Whither Strong? Exploring Conceptions of Russian Power 31:38

23d ago31:38

31:38

Why does Russia play such an important role in geopolitics? If it's because of 'strength'... what does strength even mean? And why do conceptions of Russia's strength vary so extremely? Seva Gunitsky joins Aaron Schwartzbaum on this week’s Bear Market Brief podcast. Related Reading Russia is both weak and strong - that's the problem by Seva Gunitsk…

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The Next Parenting Trend Starts Before Conception 1:03:05

23d ago1:03:05

1:03:05

Would you use an algorithm to select your embryos? Enter Orchid, a company that promises parents the ability to protect their future children through genetic testing for embryos before pregnancy. The founder, Noor Siddiqui, and Ross debate the scientific, moral and ethical implications of designing a “healthy” child and what we lose in separating r…

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Unmasking America: Birthright Citizenship, Mass Deportation & the Cost of Exclusion. The 14th Amendment on Trial, Citizenship Under Siege. The Use of the Executive Order to Bypass the Constitution ... 1:05:08

28d ago1:05:08

1:05:08

We welcome you to this in-depth, investigative, fact-finding episode of Light ‘Em Up. Thank you for joining us — as we march one step closer to achieving an enormous milestone, our 100th episode! In this episode we are diving into complex and impactful topics. We’ll drill down on the concept of Birthright Citizenship — enshrined by the 14th Amendme…

1
Whither Strong? Exploring Conceptions of Russian Power 31:38

29d ago31:38

31:38

Why does Russia play such an important role in geopolitics? If it's because of 'strength'... what does strength even mean? And why do conceptions of Russia's strength vary so extremely? Seva Gunitsky joins Aaron Schwartzbaum on this week’s Bear Market Brief podcast. Related Reading Russia is both weak and strong - that's the problem. by Seva Gunits…

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The DOGE Alum Asking if Foreign Aid Is America’s Problem 47:33

1M ago47:33

47:33

Does America have a moral obligation to the world? The former Department of Government Efficiency staffer Jeremy Lewin, now deputy administrator for the United States Agency for International Development, explains how he is implementing President Trump’s foreign aid philosophy and what it means for humanitarian assistance going forward. 01:59 - Fro…

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Future of Collaborative Combat Aircraft 20:47

1M ago20:47

20:47

How might combat collaborative aircraft be used to fight a war in Europe? Or the Indo-Pacific? To discuss these questions, and the latest from the YFQ-44A, President Aaron Stein sat down with Andrew Van Timmeren, the director of air dominance systems at Anduril Industries, about what he and the company are working on. FPRI’s new project, Behind the…

1
What if the Government Believes in U.F.O.s More Than You Do? 59:41

1M ago59:41

59:41

U.F.O.s, fairies and abductions! This week, Ross talks to Diana Walsh Pasulka, a professor of religious studies, about how a deep dive into Catholic archives led her down a path to unravel the connections between religion, extraterrestrial encounters and government secrecy. 01:53 - How Pasulka’s religious studies led to the U.F.O. debate 06:08 - Mo…

1
She Exposed Epstein, and Shares MAGA’s Anger 58:38

1M ago58:38

58:38

Julie K. Brown thinks Jeffrey Epstein didn’t act alone. On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross talks to Brown, the investigative reporter whose work ultimately led to Epstein’s re-arrest, about what the government could release that it hasn’t and how the story is bigger than Epstein. 2:32 - Brown's initial interest in the Epstein case 5:26 - …

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Is ‘Toxic Empathy’ Pulling Christians to the Left? 1:03:37

1M ago1:03:37

1:03:37

The conservative Christian podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey joins Ross on “Interesting Times” this week to explain why “toxic empathy” has a stranglehold on politics, whether evangelical Christians have a red line President Trump could cross and why her commentary has echoes of Phyllis Schlafly. 01:26 “The New Phyllis Schlafly” 9:46 Untangling the web …

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Detained & Damaged: Kids, Cash & the Trump Immigration Machine. A dumpster fire of greed, cruelty & cowardice: The human cost of the relentless, xenophobic attacks on immigrants. Do Trump's policies actually ... 59:59

2M ago59:59

59:59

As we rapidly approach another enormous milestone — our 100th episode (currently #98) we’ve e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d our global footprint to 131 countries. ONLY through your unyielding support could this achievement have been realized. Thank you! Immigration is a “3rd rail” hot topic in the U.S. The issues of immigration decided the ’24 presidential electio…

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Israel’s Moral Balance Beam 46:07

2M ago46:07

46:07

How has the war in Gaza reverberated throughout American politics? Opinion columnist Bret Stephens and Ross Douthat debate the implications of the Israel-Gaza conflict on antisemitism, the morality of war, and why “Monday morning quarterbacking” is not productive when taking stock of military actions in the Middle East. 01:56 Israel actions in Gaza…

1
Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes? 56:49

2M ago56:49

56:49

The Bank of England has been accused of being the 'Bank of Wokeness' after proposing to cut historical figures from banknotes. Images of Winston Churchill, Jane Austen and Alan Turing could be replaced by images of themes such as nature, innovation, or key events in history. It raises the possibility of British birds, bridges, or bangers and mash f…

1
Is social cohesion a moral good? And can governments influence it? 56:53

2M ago56:53

56:53

Are we at risk of becoming “an island of strangers”? The Prime Minister, backtracking on many fronts, has apologised for the phrase - he says he hadn’t read it properly before he said it – but he’s backed a grand-sounding Independent Commission that’s now at work to fix a society it says is a “tinderbox of division”.Is it? Social attitude surveys s…

1
From Russia with Risk 31:24

2M ago31:24

31:24

Here on the Bear Market Brief, a lot of what we focus on is, simply put, risk: what might happen, and what might it mean? On this episode, geoeconomic and country risk expert Rachel Ziemba joins Aaron Schwartzbaum to delve in the discipline of Political Risk: how does one "do" the field? Bear Market Brief features a weekly newsletter and a monthly …

1
Why Trump’s Blood-and-Guts Strategy Worked 55:30

2M ago55:30

55:30

Happy Independence Day! We’ll be back next week with a new episode, but today we’re sharing the episode that started us on the path to “Interesting Times.” Ross Douthat talks to Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Together they wrote the book “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Sav…

1
From Russia with Risk 31:24

2M ago31:24

31:24

Here on the Bear Market Brief, a lot of what we focus on is, simply put, risk: what might happen, and what might it mean? On this episode, geoeconomic and country risk expert Rachel Ziemba joins Aaron Schwartzbaum to delve in the discipline of Political Risk: how does one "do" the field? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this w…

1
Is Privacy an outdated concept or a moral right? 56:57

2M ago56:57

56:57

ID cards are back on the political agenda, digital this time, being pushed by an influential group of Labour MPs, and – surveys suggest – public opinion, which is increasingly worried about illegal immigration and benefit fraud. Time was, when privacy was a free-born Briton’s birthright and a policeman asking for your papers anathema, the mark of f…

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A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel 1:00:23

2M ago1:00:23

1:00:23

The billionaire Peter Thiel is unimpressed with our pace of innovation. In this episode, he critiques artificial intelligence, longevity science and space travel — and warns that our lack of progress could lead to catastrophic outcomes, including the emergence of the Antichrist. 01:19 - What does stagnation mean in 2025? 06:30 - Peter Thiel's case …

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What is the ethical purpose of the NHS? 56:58

2M ago56:58

56:58

The National Health Service is at a crossroads. Systemic pressures are lengthening hospital waiting times. Resources are finite. That’s why the government is coming up with a 10 year plan to make the NHS ‘fit for purpose’. But what is the ethical purpose of the NHS? The ethical ambition has always been that everyone, regardless of their background,…

1
Uncharted Waters, Unprecedented Times: Will Your Hard-won Civil Liberties be Lost? The Trump DOJ Green-lights Police Brutality. The Push to Pardon George Floyd's Killer. Will America's Experiment in ... 1:11:05

2M ago1:11:05

1:11:05

Welcome to this educational and explosive, brand-new edition of Light ‘Em Up! Share us with a friend! We are now being actively downloaded in 131 countries! We continue our intense focus on how the Rule of law and democracy are being endangered. Democracy hangs in the balance and is under constant daily attack — threatened on every front. What bett…

1
Was Israel right to launch strikes on Iran? 56:50

2M ago56:50

56:50

Self-defence, as a justification for war, is much more difficult to argue if you strike the first blow. The Israelis say their devastating pre-emptive strike on Iran is a special, truly existential, case. A regime, long committed to their destruction was, according to Israel, within weeks of developing nuclear weapons, just one of which could effec…

1
The Progressive Regulator Winning Over the Populist Right 1:00:23

2M ago1:00:23

1:00:23

Is the key to freedom a life without Amazon? This week, Ross talks to Lina Khan, former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission about how unchecked corporate power has limited choice in our day-to-day lives, and how her fight against Big Tech unites left and right. 02:41 - What’s wrong with big business? 09:27 - The political costs of corporate conso…

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Is having children a moral duty? 56:49

3M ago56:49

56:49

There’s been a fair amount of focus on the concept of pronatalism recently and debate over whether it is left or right wing for governments to introduce policies that encourage women to have more babies. Others argue that the matter is too big to be consumed by the culture wars. This week, the United Nations Population Fund issued its strongest sta…

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Trump’s Future Depends on His Immigration Crackdown 43:16

3M ago43:16

43:16

Has immigration become the new litmus test for the Republican Party? In this episode, Ross talks to Matthew Continetti, the author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism,” about the party’s shifting coalition, the defining role of immigration and how today’s right echoes its past. 01:50 - What the Elon experiment (and fallout…

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Part 2 | Surviving Two Years in Russian Captivity 51:11

3M ago51:11

51:11

Listen to Part 1 here. In this special two part episode of Chain Reaction, Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war f…

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AI: Promise or Peril ? Recorded at the Hay Festival 57:12

3M ago57:12

57:12

Almost the first thing the newly chosen Pope Leo XIV did was to warn of the dangers of Artificial intelligence, of technological advance outstripping human wisdom. AI promises unapparelled efficiency, streamlined lives, complex problems solved in milliseconds. But will it make humans redundant literally and metaphorically? Will it hijack creativity…

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What Makes Art ‘Left Wing’? 42:33

3M ago42:33

42:33

Does Hollywood have anything interesting left to say? In a world where franchises dominate and grown-up movies have fallen by the wayside, Ross talks to the showrunner Tony Gilroy, whose “Star Wars” spinoff “Andor” has, according to Ross, succeeded in being both original and smartly political in a Hollywood that is often neither. 03:04 - The politi…

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Part 1 | Surviving Two Years in Russian Captivity 1:07:26

3M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

In this special two-part episode of Chain Reaction, Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to Septe…

1
"An Ignorant People Can Never Remain a Free People" The Attack on the "Great Writ" Habeas Corpus, Due Process, the Rule of Law & Democracy by the Trump Administration. Are we on a Collision Course with ... 1:04:16

3M ago1:04:16

1:04:16

Welcome to this explosive edition of Light ‘Em Up! In these critical and delicate times that we find ourselves in — democracy is in clear and present danger. As nothing feels certain or safe and everything appears to be in “transition” we interrogate and examine the Trump Administration and its efforts to suspend the “great writ” of Habeas corpus. …

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How the iPhone Drove Men and Women Apart 54:17

3M ago54:17

54:17

What would make you want to have more children? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat speaks with Dr. Alice Evans, a social scientist who is as concerned about the global decline in fertility as he is. The two discuss why this isn’t just a gender issue — it’s “a solitude issue” – and whether there’s a way to bring relationships back. 02:03…