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PODCAST

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead

Tablet Magazine

Walter Russell Mead, a historian, pundit, and popular author, is encyclopedic about politics, culture, and history. On What Really Matters, Mead and Tablet deputy editor Jeremy Stern help you understand the news, decide what news matters and what doesn’t, and enjoy following the story of America and the world more than you do now. Check out Walter Russell Mead’s Tablet column at https://www.tabletmag.com/columns/via-meadia.

news politics

All Episodes

39:17

Saudi Arabia's Coalition Against Israel

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2026/02/14

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Russia's oil problem, Trump's war on the climate, China's arctic ambitions, and the new Saudi-led bloc against Israel.

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40:42

Xi, ICE, Iran, and the Tech Right

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2026/01/26

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Xi Jinping's purge of the People's Liberation Army, the ongoing showdown between ICE and Minneapolis, the death toll in Iran, and how the tech-MAGA alliance could outlast Trump.

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32:16

Live From Davos 2026

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2026/01/23

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss why the mood at Davos this year went from denial to fear, why the United States has never been both so unpopular and so dominant there, and what Trump and Zelensky's speeches revealed about the state of the Western alliance.

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26:28

Trump on Antisemitism, Aid to Israel, and Iran

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2026/01/15

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Netanyahu's proposal to end U.S. aid to Israel, Trump's disavowal of rightwing antisemites, his ever-changing assessment of what's happening in Iran, and what China and Russia think of his moves in Venezuela and Greenland.

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45:26

Venezuela, Greenland, Iran

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2026/01/10

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Trump administration's appetite for Greenland, the ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran, and how America's enemies will try to turn the Maduro operation into a quagmire for Washington.

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35:19

Heritage, MAGA, Venezuela, Trump, and the Great Ben...

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/12/23

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the downfall of the Heritage Foundation, the fissures that roiled MAGA at the Turning Point festival, the ongoing Venezuela crisis, how Trump's foreign policy might actually be making the world better off, and why we should all aspire to be more like Ben Sasse in 2026.To support Tablet and make a tax-deductible donation, click here.

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34:24

Bondi Beach and the Nihilism of Palestinian Strategy

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/12/19

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss new U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Trump's attempts to regain control of economic messaging, the EU's new aid package for Ukraine, and the consequences of allowing the intifada into Australia.

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28:52

Trump's New National Security Strategy

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/12/12

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the administration's seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, the hidden and rising costs of healthcare premiums, China's energy future, and the implications for China, Russia, Europe, and the GOP of Trump's new National Security Strategy.

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34:25

The Higher Ed Doom Spiral

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/12/05

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Pete Hegseth's drug boat imbroglio, the Minnesota fraud scandal, the difficulty of managing the MAGA coalition, and the factors contributing to the decline in college enrollment, outcomes, and relevance.

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36:58

Trump’s Ukraine Ultimatum That Wasn’t

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/11/26

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss how AI is splitting the MAGA coalition, Xi’s phone call with Trump, why young conservative women are having more children than their liberal peers, and what exactly is happening with the Trump administration’s Ukraine peace plan.

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29:08

Orthodox Christianity in America

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/11/22

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the China-Japan spat, Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, China's lead in scientific paper and patent production, and the apparent rise of Orthodox Christianity among young conservative American men.

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32:15

Trump in Africa

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/11/15

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Democrats' recent election victories, the end of the government shutdown, Venezuela preparing for a hypothetical US invasion, and why Trump has started to talk about humanitarian intervention in Africa.

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42:21

The Groyperization of the Right

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/11/04

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the impact of Trump's tariffs, his summit with Xi Jinping, Bill Gates' about-face on climate change, and whether the future of the American right belongs to Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes.

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30:52

Drug Wars, Sanctions, Nuclear Power, and Japan

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/10/24

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Trump's expanding military operations against Venezuelan drug traffickers, new US sanctions on Russia, China's nuclear power build-out, and Japan's new heavy metal-drumming, Thatcher-admiring, female prime minister.

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30:30

The Return of the Hostages, an AfPak War, and India

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/10/14

This week, Walter and Jeremy return to discuss the Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal, a possible war between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Walter's travels in India and Sri Lanka.

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38:07

The Week When Decades Happened

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/09/19

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss the Trump administration's apparent speech crackdown, the Saudi-Pakistani mutual defense pact, the rise of cocaine cartels in Mexico, the recent events that shook the Western order, and why rightwing influencers are obsessed by Israel and Jew hatred.

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34:02

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/09/11

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss Russian drones entering Polish airspace, Israel's failed strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar, Trump's decision to rename the Defense Department the War Department, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

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33:25

Mr. Modi Goes to China

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/09/02

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss US naval warships in Latin America, the latest poll of American opinion on Gaza, Trump's attempt to fire the governor of the Federal Reserve, and Xi Jinping's summit with Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin.

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29:54

The Trump-Putin Summit

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/08/19

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss why Americans are moving less, Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, declining alcohol consumption in the US, and the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.

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34:44

How Trump Is Like Napoleon

What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead ·

2025/08/12

This week, Walter and Jeremy discuss plummeting public school enrollment, Netanyahu's five-point war plan for Gaza, Nvidia's weird China deal with the White House, and the political, diplomatic, and strategic similarities between Napoleon Bonaparte and Donald Trump.

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116 results

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