What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead The Week When Decades Happened
27 snips
Sep 19, 2025 This week, the hosts tackle a range of hot-button issues, from the Trump administration's speech restrictions to the strategic Saudi-Pakistani defense agreement. They delve into the alarming rise of cocaine cartels in Mexico and the global turmoil challenging the Western order. Additionally, the discussion highlights how tech disruptions and elite indifference are reshaping power dynamics, as well as the unsettling connections between right-wing influencers, anti-Israel sentiments, and rising Jew hatred.
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Government Pressure Risks Weaponizing Law
- Walter Mead warns federal pressure on media and political groups risks weaponizing regulation and criminal law.
- He argues over-criminalization and government telling broadcasters what to show push society down a dangerous path.
Foundations Could Face Liability For Enabling Violence
- Mead accepts legal accountability for foundations funding groups that foreseeably enable repeated violent protests.
- He suggests civil or RICO-style actions might be legitimate if donors knew of repeated violent outcomes and did nothing.
Pact Is Signal, Not A Real Nuclear Umbrella
- Mead calls the Saudi-Pakistan mutual defense pact more theatrical than substantive and unlikely to produce real nuclear commitments.
- He warns the pact signals growing erosion of taboos against proliferation amid U.S. unpredictability.
