Pod Save the World Xi’s Just Not That Into You
88 snips
Sep 23, 2026 
Maher Bitar, a national security professional and former Obama and Biden administration official, joins the conversation on why foreign policy is shaping the midterms. They discuss polling on tariffs, war, AI’s impact on families, conditional military aid, NATO, and voters’ demand for accountability. The broader conversation covers Xi Jinping’s visit, AI-driven security risks, Yemen, Russia, and Europe’s far right.
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The UN Still Matters But Has Lost Its Center
- The United Nations still provides an important forum for dialogue, but veto powers, funding cuts, and competing institutions limit its effectiveness.
- Rhodes contrasts today’s diminished UN role with the Obama-era sense that it coordinated action on global crises.
The Houthis Put Trump In A Strategic Bind
- Houthi attacks have displaced 130,000 people, threatened Saudi infrastructure, and worsened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
- Trump’s indecision reflects a strategic bind: intervention risks escalation and higher oil prices, while restraint frustrates Saudi Arabia.
Negotiate Yemen Instead Of Repeating Failed Bombing
- Stop treating bombing as a solution when repeated campaigns against the Houthis have failed.
- Negotiate Yemen’s political future with the Houthis and Saudi Arabia instead of accepting endless war and humanitarian collapse.