Is It Time to Let Our Illusions Die? (with Obama National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes)

For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy establishment he once worked within.We begin with his recent essay Let the Illusions Die (2:48), Trump’s war in Iran (6:35), and what Rhodes took away from the Obama administration’s wars and interventions in Afghanistan and Libya (8:47). Then, we revisit his early years writing speeches for President Obama (30:35), his work during the 2008 campaign around race and identity (31:35), and the contradictions he came to see after years of working in American foreign policy (39:00).On the back-half, Rhodes reflects on the Biden administration’s handling of Gaza (42:30), why he stayed quiet despite believing in early 2023 that Biden should not seek reelection (49:25), and his views on the midterms and the future of the Democratic Party (55:00). To close, he reflects on witnessing the September 11th attacks as a college student in New York City—and the life as a fiction writer he left behind in their aftermath (1:11:50) writing his new book, All We Say (1:17:52), and what history teaches us about reforming systems that no longer work (1:22:07).Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠.As always, our email: talkeasypod@gmail.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.