Russ goes over how Zohran won and what happens now in the New York City mayors race

The hosts of the political scene explore the motivations behind Israel's decision to launch strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and how Iran and the U.S. might respond. We also travel back in time to 2023 to hear the crew's reflections on the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2023 to see any possible indication that the lessons they have learned from covering that atrocity are making their way into their contemporary analysis of U.S. foreign policy (don't get your hopes up).

It's been a minute, and I've been busy, but this week's episode of the New Yorker Political Scene was just too crazy to not get in on.

Russ breaks down the NYPS's analysis of Trump's victory, AKA Kamala Harris' stunning loss.

My friend Tomos Lewis joins me to discuss the election and it's relationship with journalism. A stranger in a strange land, this intrepid Welshman is in Wisconsin, trying to explain our presidential election to listeners of the BBC's Welsh service and of Monocle radio.

You can keep up with Tom's goings on on Elon Musk's app X:

https://x.com/tomosdlewis

As well as on Monocle Radio: https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-monocle-daily/

Welsh speakers can also see and hear his reporting on the BBC's Welsh Language Service.

The hosts of the political scene delve in to Susan Glasser's latest article about the small group of billionaires pouring large sums of money into Donald Trump's campaign.

Russ covers the past two weeks of NYPS episodes + David Remnick's interview with Evan Osnos about Harris on the New Yorker Radio Hour. It had seemed that the NYPS hosts were sort of phoning it in these past couple of months, but they are finally back with some real humdingers. Did you know Kamala Harris was a Brahmin? As in, India's caste system. Find out that and more about Osnos' hagiography of Harris.

Russ has an in-depth conversation with his good friend, the Lebanese journalist Dalal Mawad. He also follows up on Ta Nehisi Coates' goings on, including an unhinged "interview" by CBS anchor Tony Dekoupil which you can watch in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgWt-QcPYMo&ab_channel=CBSMornings

But most importantly, Dalal and Russ get into Lebanon's political system, it's modern history and previous and present wars between Hezbollah and Israel.

This is Dalal's recent article about martyred Hezbollah fighters and the mothers they leave behind: https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/hezbollah-fighters-stories-as-told-by-their-mothers/

Dalal's book on the 2020 Beirut blast and the toll it's taken on women. Dalal reads the audio book herself: https://www.amazon.com/All-She-Lost-Explosion-Collapse/dp/1399406256?asc_campaign=ded1ba29e9767f0f6b1bed48903c12c8&asc_source=01H1P39M5ZSG9J6WR6B1HBK9M0&tag=namespacebran492-20

Follow Dalal on X: https://x.com/dalalmawad

And on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalalmawad/