Current Affairs

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Jasper Nathaniel is an independent journalist who recently returned from documenting Israeli settler and state violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where he has spent years reporting on land seizures, settler attacks, military raids, and the daily realities of life under Israeli military rule. 

He spoke to Current Affairs Digital Editor John Ross about what Americans misunderstand about the West Bank, how settler violence actually works on the ground, why settlers have become increasingly emboldened, and how land seizures are often carried out by settlers and then legalized by the state after the fact. Nathaniel also discussed Israel’s military court and prison system, the new death penalty law, the limits of debate inside the Democratic Party, the silence of American politicians when violence occurs, and what Israeli public opinion reveals about where the country may be heading. 

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0:00–6:55 What Americans Don’t Understand About the West Bank 

6:55–14:50 Pogroms in the West Bank 

14:50–19:25 Why Settler Are More Emboldened 

19:25–29:41 Israel's New Death Penalty Law 

29:41–35:52 Who Ends Up in Israeli Prisons 

35:52–42:55 A Litmus Test for Democrats? 

42:55–46:26 The Myth of the Two-State Solution 

46:26–51:53 Why American Politicians Stay Silent 

51:53–57:49 What’s Happening Inside Israeli Society 

57:49–1:01:57 How Bad It Really Is 

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Afshin Matin-Asgari is an Iranian historian and professor of Middle East history at California State University, Los Angeles, and the author of Axis of Empire: A History of Iran–U.S. Relations. He spoke to Current Affairs about the long history of U.S. involvement in Iran—from the 1953 CIA-backed coup to the present conflict—and why foreign intervention has repeatedly strengthened authoritarian forces rather than weakened them. A participant in the 1978 revolution who opposed both the Shah and the Islamic Republic, Matin-Asgari offers a rare perspective on Iranian politics, the nuclear issue, and the current war, arguing that while the Islamic Republic is repressive, Iran’s future must be determined by Iranians themselves, not by the United States or Israel.

🇮🇷 Buy Afshin's Book: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2694-a-history-of-iran-us-relations

0:00-3:05 Afshin's background and how he feels about the war

3:05-5:46 What attacks mean for Iranian dissidents

5:46-9:25 The 1978 revolution

9:25-19:26 The U.S., the 1953 coup, and the Shah

19:26-27:26 Origins of U.S.–Iran conflict

27:26-30:48 Are Iranian leaders irrational?

30:48-35:13 Iran’s nuclear program

35:13-43:02 Iran’s strategy and risk of wider war

43:02-46:48 What stance the left should take

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🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

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Donald Trump is trying to starve the island nation into submission, but an international coalition of volunteers is coming to Cuba’s aid. We’re joining them.

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Rania Khalek is a journalist based in Beirut and the host of Dispatches on BreakThrough News.

In this conversation with Current Affairs editor in chief Nathan J. Robinson, she describes life under bombardment in Lebanon as Israel’s assault displaces over a million people and spreads fear across Beirut. Khalek discusses the silence of U.S. Democrats, what Americans are responsible for as their government backs the war, and the broader escalation across the region. She also examines the failures of U.S. media coverage, the dehumanization that enables mass killing, and why Iran’s response must be understood in the context of self-defense and the breakdown of international law.

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0:00-14:05 Life under bombardment in Lebanon

14:05-18:45 Democratic silence on Lebanon

18:45-24:10 What Americans should understand about Lebanon

24:10-29:56 Escalation and nuclear fears

29:56-36:19 Media failure and dehumanization

36:19-45:20 Iran, self-defense, and international law

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Becca Rothfeld is a staff writer at The New Yorker, an editor at The Point, and the former nonfiction book critic at The Washington Post, where she wrote until the paper eliminated its books section amid sweeping layoffs.

She explains why book reviews matter and how criticism can introduce readers to ideas they didn’t know interested them. Rothfeld also discusses the role of negative reviews, what it means for a book to be “instructively bad,” and why criticism should challenge rather than flatter its audience. She also argues that the growing use of AI risks degrading human thought, and reflects on beauty, “looksmaxing,” and the kind of intellectual and cultural life worth preserving.

📚 Becca's New Yorker Articles: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/becca-rothfeld

📚 Becca's Website: https://www.beccarothfeld.com/

📚 Becca's Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250849915/allthingsaretoosmall/

0:00–5:41 What Happened to the Washington Post

5:41–13:08 Why Review Books

13:08–22:02 Reviewing “Bad” Books

22:02–39:20 AI and the Death of Thinking

39:20–45:46 Looksmaxing and Beauty

45:46–50:58 Favorite Book Reviews

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