Welcome back to the Rational Policy Podcast! In Episode 54, your stalwart hosts Mike Coté and Art Vandelay break down the week in news and politics. Much has happened since our last sojourn into the realm of foreign affairs, so we start there.
First, we revisit our Greenland discussion from last week in light of Mike’s piece on the subject for The Dispatch, discussing some of the criticism of the new security deal and why it is missing the forest for the trees. Next, we jump into an update on Iran, but no ordinary update; this one focuses on two foiled terrorist plots linked in varying degrees to the Islamic Republic. We, of course, detail the incredible story of the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight from the UAE to Israel and the courageous and quick-thinking actions of Israeli passengers and the Emirati pilot to counter and subdue the terrorist. This whole thing was straight out of a movie, but it was all too real; thankfully, the hijacker was stopped before he succeeded in his malign aims. We also discuss the aborted attack on an American military base in England by Iran-linked terrorists who sought to create a makeshift truck bomb and destroy critical American aircraft and other military assets. We talk about what Iran’s new approach says about the state of the war, how Islamic terrorism is still a live issue, and why trying to take down a plane full of Israelis is probably a bad idea.
Afterwards, we transition to domestic issues and take a look at the state of American politics a month out from this year’s midterm elections. We handicap the biggest races, discuss the predictive power (or lack thereof) of polling, and explain why the Republicans may face a major wipeout in November. We also touch on some of the key issues of the cycle, how elections today are over-nationalized, and what sorts of reforms would help boost trust in the system and counter common misperceptions about how it works. Lastly, we return to the topic of online right-wing racism against Indian-Americans, going after the clowns who push these noxious ideas, as well as the cowards who purport to be ‘just asking questions’ about them.
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