Switzerland with Tom Switzer

Trump's Iran Deal | Trita Parsi Jun 15, 2026 647 The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a peace deal on Sunday June 14. Washington will lift the naval blockade while Tehran opens the Strait of Hormuz. Will it hold? Will Israel and Washington hardliners try to sabotage the agreement? Will the Iranian hardliners try to scuttle the deal? Trita Parsi is executive director of the Quincy Institute. Support Trita Parsi: https://tritaparsi.substack.com/ Joi

John Mearsheimer takes your questions Jun 12, 2026 2542 This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Professor John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago who takes questions from viewers during our live chat. Subjects include Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Ukraine as well as other topical current affairs. If Trump does not enter the war, will he be accused of abandoning Israel? But if Trump enters the war, will that mean Israel has an effective veto

Trump and the new Iran-Israel war | Professor Jeffrey Sachs Jun 8, 2026 1982 This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Professor Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University. Subjects include Iran’s military response to Israel’s consistent attacks in Lebanon and the tense relationship between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. If Trump does not enter the war, will he be accused of abandoning Israel? But if Trump enters the war, will that mean Israel has an effective v

The mirage of peace | Professor Robert Pape May 29, 2026 2865 This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Professor Robert Pape from the University of Chicago for a discussion on the US-Iran negotiations to reach peace. This week U.S. forces conducted new military strikes against Iran after Tehran launched drones at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz even as both sides are trying to reach a peace deal. What’s going on? Has the crisis exposed ver

A new Iran deal? | John Mearsheimer May 25, 2026 1852 This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by U.S. political scientist John Mearsheimer for a a discussion on the US-Iran negotiations to reach peace. According to leaks, a peace deal could comprise of a 60-day ceasefire, opening the Strait of Hormuz, easing sanctions and dealing with the nuclear issue later. But is it a done deal? John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the Uni

China, Iran, Russia, Cuba | John Mearsheimer May 18, 2026 2672 This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by U.S. political scientist John Mearsheimer for a wide-ranging discussion on the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China. From Trump’s dealings with Xi Jinping and the Iran crisis to Taiwan, Russia and the future of American power, the conversation explores whether the world is entering a new era of great-power competition, and whe

Britain in crisis | Simon Heffer May 15, 2026 2166 Westminster is once again consumed by speculation about whether the Prime Minister can survive. The turmoil surrounds Labour’s Keir Starmer, the man elected in a landslide less than two years ago on a promise to restore stability after years of chaos. Today, his leadership is on life support. Dozens of Labour MPs have turned against him, ministers have resigned, enemies are circling and question

The Thomas Massie Primary | Dan McCarthy & James Antle May 12, 2026 2254 The war in Iran has exposed visible strains within President Trump’s MAGA coalition. Prominent voices associated with the movement -- including Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Marjorie Taylor Greene -- have sharply criticised Trump’s decision to wage war on Tehran. So, too, has Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Now Massie faces a May 19 primary challenge backed by Presid

Will Trump’s new ploy work? | John Mearsheimer & Trita Parsi May 5, 2026 2989 The exchange of missiles and bombs may have paused, at least temporarily, but the struggle between the United States and Iran is not over. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, U.S. sanctions are still in place, the US naval blockade continues, which is aimed to squeeze Iran’s oil output and exacerbate Iran’s deep economic crisis. Bilateral negotiations have made no meaningful headway, and the gap

A watershed moment? Sir Max Hastings and John Mearsheimer Apr 24, 2026 3516 Historians reserve the term “watershed” for those rare moments when events do not merely shock the established order but upend it. Think of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which hastened the end of the Cold War and ushered in an era of American unipolarity. Or the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, which ignited the global war on terror and culminated in the long, costly entanglements of

Has Trump Misread Iran? | Patrick Cockburn & Sahar Razavi Apr 20, 2026 2159 President Trump insists the U.S. naval blockade is working -- that Washington’s pressure will force Tehran to return to the bargaining table, with concessions likely to follow. Will Trump get a peace deal with Iran on US terms? Or, with the Strait of Hormuz closed again, could Tehran emerge from this conflict with a blueprint to keep adversaries at bay -- regardless of any restrictions of its nuc

Will Trump’s Naval Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Work? | John Mearsheimer and Joshua Landis Apr 13, 2026 2559 In Islamabad, U.S. and Iranian negotiators have failed to reach even the outline of a peace deal. What now? President Trump has announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for ships using Iranian ports and could launch a new wave of strikes on Iran. How will Tehran respond? By going up the escalator ladder, is there now a real danger of an all-out regional war and global recession? At the s

Reopen Strait of Hormuz … or else! | Rosemary Kelanic & Trita Parsi Apr 7, 2026 1819 President Trump threatens to destroy all of Iran’s power plants if the country’s leaders don’t agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. What if Tehran does not accept a deal on American terms? Why would Tehran negotiate in good faith when Iran was bombed during the last round of negotiations on February 28? Is the Persian Gulf on the cusp of “living hell,” as both the Americans and Iranians make thre

Is Israel Driving the Iran War? | John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt Apr 2, 2026 1911 Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt examine Israel’s role in the Iran war and the wider regional crisis -- and revisit their most controversial argument in 2006 about the lobby shaping U.S. foreign policy. Did President Trump enter this war on his own terms, or under pressure from Israel and its allies in Washington? In a striking resignation letter, former U.S. counterterrorism official

Iran: The Illusion of a Peace Deal | John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt Mar 30, 2026 2076 Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt explain why U.S. and Iranian demands are fundamentally irreconcilable -- and why this crisis is far from over. Instead of bringing Tehran to terms, Washington now finds itself further from a diplomatic settlement than it was in May 2025. Iran has played a weak hand with discipline and patience. The United States, by contrast, risks stumbling into anothe

The Political Cost of the Iran War | Doug Bandow & Henry Olsen Mar 24, 2026 1922 The war in Iran has entered its fourth week. What are the political costs for Donald Trump and the Republican party in the leadup to November’s congressional elections? The GOP was already expected to lose the House of Representatives, but could the Republicans also lose the Senate? Is it likely the President could be the lamest of lame ducks in 2027-28? Doug Bandow, a former adviser to President

IRAN: A war without end? | Professor John Mearsheimer Mar 16, 2026 2920 The war in Iran has entered its third week. Washington insists it is winning. Tehran insists it’s holding firm. But here are the key questions: has the US started a war it does not know how to win? Is the Iran war turning into a strategic debacle for the US? Can President Trump end the Iran war without damaging American credibility? In today's episode, Professor John Mearsheimer responds to the n

Will the war with Iran defeat the Mullahs and the Islamic Republic? | Bret Stephens Mar 10, 2026 2530 Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins host Tom Switzer to discuss the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict under President Trump. Drawing on his book "America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder," Stephens argues why confronting Iran is a moral and strategic imperative, countering critics who liken it to another Iraq quagmire. Read Tom's Substack:

Iran After the Ayatollah: Stephen Walt on the Risks of Regime Collapse Mar 2, 2026 2245 In the wake of U.S. strikes against Iran and reports of senior regime figures killed, what happens if the Islamic Republic collapses? Harvard professor Stephen Walt joins Tom Switzer to assess the most plausible scenarios inside Iran and to explain why history suggests that air campaigns alone rarely produce stable political outcomes. The conversation ranges widely: divisions within Trump’s MAGA b

John Mearsheimer: Why a U.S. Strike on Iran Could Spiral Out of Control Feb 24, 2026 2690 What are the likely consequences of U.S. military action against Iran. In today's episode, John Mearsheimer argues that even a limited strike could trigger dangerous escalation. Public opinion, especially among younger Americans, has shifted against Israel. There is very little public support for a war with Iran, and there are deep divisions within Trump’s MAGA base on the issue. Trump’s instincts

Is the Woke Era Over? Brendan O’Neill on the vibe shift Feb 18, 2026 3413 Is the Woke Era Over? Brendan O’Neill on the vibe shift Is Western culture undergoing a major shift? In recent years, cancel culture, identity politics, and ideological conformity reshaped public debate across universities, media, corporations, and politics. Supporters saw long-overdue social progress. Critics warned of growing intolerance toward dissent. Now, some observers argue the tide is turn

Is War With Iran Looming? Vali Nasr & Joshua Landis Feb 11, 2026 2280 As Washington and Tehran negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles and regional militias, the risk of confrontation in the Persian Gulf is once again rising. On Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by two of the world’s leading experts on Iran and Syria -- Vali Nasr and Joshua Landis -- to examine whether diplomacy can avert war, what Iran’s leaders really want, and how weakened prox

The World is Running Out of People | Nicholas Eberstadt Feb 4, 2026 2763 In this episode of Switzerland, Nick Eberstadt, one of the world’s leading demographers, addresses global depopulation and the coming demographic shock. He explains why falling birth rates and ageing populations are becoming one of the defining forces of the 21st century. From East Asia and Europe to the United States, Eberstadt argues that global depopulation will reshape economic growth, labour

Will Trump Trigger a New World War? | Max Hastings Jan 30, 2026 2737 The legendary historian Max Hastings on NATO, China, democracy — and whether today’s world resembles 1914. In this episode of Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Sir Max Hastings — one of Britain’s most distinguished military historians, journalists, and former newspaper editors — for a wide-ranging conversation about war, power, and the fate of the Western order. They explore whether today’s fr

Does sharp criticism of Israel shade into antisemitism? Mearsheimer & Mahbubani Discuss Bondi terror Jan 28, 2026 1197 Does sharp criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza inevitably shade into antisemitism? In the days after the December 14 Bondi terror attacks, Australian leader Anthony Albanese faced fierce criticism -- from the conservative opposition at home and from Benjamin Netanyahu abroad -- over how his government had responded to rising tensions and Jewish community fears. Those scenes, including the angry

Trump, Greenland and NATO: Heilbrunn, Mahbubani & Mearsheimer Jan 23, 2026 3240 Donald Trump says Greenland must become American -- by consent if possible, by force if necessary. Europe has responded with a flat refusal, warning that any American land grab could trigger the unravelling of NATO itself. In the third of his new YouTube program, Switzerland, Tom Switzer puts questions to Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest in Washington, and professors Kishore Mahb

Trump’s National Security Statement: has China won? John Mearsheimer & Kishore Mahbubani Jan 15, 2026 2357 In the first of a two-part series of his new YouTube program, Switzerland, Tom Switzer puts questions to two leading intellectual critics of the western foreign-policy consensus: professors Kishore Mahbubani from Singapore and John Mearsheimer from Chicago. Subjects include the Sino-American strategic competition, trade wars, the Trump administration’s National Security Statement, great powers’ sp

Venezuela after Trump’s strike: John Bolton vs John Mearsheimer Jan 7, 2026 3120 Has President Trump made a historic mistake in Venezuela? On his new program, Switzerland, Tom Switzer challenges John Bolton and John Mearsheimer on the Trump administration’s move to remove Nicolás Maduro from power. Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, argues the operation is justified if it delivers real regime change. Mearsheimer, the University of Chicago political scientist,

Episodes

Recommended