Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Is the Strait of Hormuz safe? Is the U.S. going to put boots on the ground? Did we obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities? And why are we at war with Iran… at all?
Guest: Tommy Vietor, host of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World, spokesman for Obama and the National Security Council in 2011 and 2012.
Listen more bonus episodes of What Next by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/what-next
Follow Slate on Social:
Host Mary Harris on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maryharris.bsky.social
Slate on Twitter - twitter.com/Slate
Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
Slate on Instagram: instagram.com/slate
If you love What Next, join Slate Plus at slate.com/youtubeplus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts.
Is the Strait of Hormuz safe? Is the U.S. going to put boots on the ground? Did we obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities? And why are we at war with Iran… at all?
Guest: Tommy Vietor, host of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World, spokesman for Obama and the National Security Council in 2011 and 2012.
Listen more bonus episodes of What Next by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/what-next
Follow Slate on Social:
Host Mary Harris on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maryharris.bsky.social
Slate on Twitter - twitter.com/Slate
Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
Slate on Instagram: instagram.com/slate
