At the core of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not only about land or security; it is about competing claims to justice. One philosophical truth stands out: a nation cannot secure its future by indefinitely denying other people their fundamental rights.
Today’s podcast guest is Jason Pack, Senior Analyst for Emerging Challenges at the NATO Defense College Foundation and Associate Fellow at RUSI. He is the Host of the Disorder Podcast, and author of Libya and the Global Enduring Disorder.
In this episode, we discuss the end of the post-WWII global order and the prevailing disorder since 2011, the loss of American leadership, the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States, particularly in comparison to the 2015 JCPOA, and the broader regional fallout from the war with Iran.
Listen now; link in bio.
Full bio
Jason Pack is the Founder of Libya-Analysis LLC, and the host of Disorder, a geopolitics podcast co-produced with Goalhanger Podcasts. He is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and the Senior Analyst for Emerging Challenges at the NATO Defence College Foundation in Rome.
His most recent book, Libya and the Global Enduring Disorder (Hurst 2021 / Oxford University Press 2022) is a ‘cross-over’ academic book that explores what Libya’s dysfunctional economic structures and its ongoing civil war reveal about our era of 21st-century geopolitics. Jason’s ‘Enduring Disorder’ concept – that we no longer inhabit the post-Cold War World, but have entered a new era – the ‘Enduring Disorder’ – was conceived to describe the collective action failures that have come to define international politics.
Jason has lived in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Oman, Qadhafi-era Libya, and Trump-era Washington, DC. Proficient in Arabic, French, and Hebrew, he has been kidnapped twice, and served as the Executive Director of a K St-based Trade Association. He is open for media appearances about US foreign policy, conspiracy theories, the state of the global system, neopopulism, and especially the Middle East.
When not podcasting or consulting on the Middle East, Jason plays backgammon semi-professionally. He was the 2018 World Champion of Doubles Backgammon, came 2nd place in the 2024 World Championship of Speedgammon, and has achieved the rank of Grandmaster – placing him in the top 100 players in the world. He also writes about gambling’s connections to geopolitics.
Today’s guest is Dr. Daniel Bar-Tal, Professor Emeritus at the School of Education, Tel Aviv University. In this episode, we discuss differing narratives between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs and how to bridge that gap, the decline of the Israeli peace movement, and changing public opinion toward Israel abroad.
Listen now; link in bio.
Full bio
Dr. Daniel Bar-Tal is Professor Emeritus at the School of Education, Tel Aviv University. Dr. Bar-Tal received his graduate training in social psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and completed his doctoral thesis in 1974. He previously served as a Director of the Walter Lebach Research Institute for Jewish-Arab Coexistence through Education, Tel Aviv University and as President of the International Society of Political Psychology, and was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Palestine Israel Journal. In 2013 he received honorary membership in the Polish Society of Social Psychology.
Since the early eighties his interest has shifted to political psychology and the study of the socio-psychological foundations of intractable conflicts and peace building, including reconciliation. In the latter area, he studied the evolvement of the socio-psychological infrastructure in times of intractable conflict that consists of shared societal beliefs of ethos of conflict, collective memory, and emotional collective orientations. He also studied socio-psychological barriers to peacemaking and ways to overcome them, and acquisition of the conflict repertoire by children and adolescents.
Within this scope of studies he developed with his collaborators theoretical frameworks for concepts like siege mentality, intractable conflict, delegitimization, collective victimhood, socio-psychological infrastructure, culture of conflict, effects of lasting occupation, barriers to peace making, construction and struggle over conflict supporting narratives, acquisition of intergroup psychological repertoire, early development of the ethos of conflict, transitional context, collective identity, and peace education, among many others.
Elizabeth Hoffman, Executive Director, North America at ONE, joined me on my podcast to discuss the urgent humanitarian situation in Sudan as a result of its ongoing civil war. She speaks about the background to the civil war and the players involved, and discusses the techniques of fear being used in the war, and the horrific crimes against humanity being committed by both the RSF and the SAF.
Listen to this and more in my latest episode, available now - link in bio.
As Venezuela recovers from the devastating earthquakes of June 24, humanitarian assistance must be guided by human rights, transparency, and accountability. The disaster has struck a country already facing years of economic collapse, a weakened healthcare system, and severe restrictions on civil society and independent media. Authorities should provide timely and accurate information, ensure access to life-saving assistance, protect the rights of those affected, and allow humanitarian organizations and journalists to operate without obstruction. The international community must also mobilize urgently to deliver humanitarian aid and support local relief efforts. In times of crisis, protecting human dignity is as essential as providing food, shelter, and medical care.
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Successive US administrations have long recited support for a two-state solution, yet in practice, Washington has done more to bury that prospect than to realize it. For decades, the United States has shielded Israel from real international accountability while refusing to use its vast leverage to compel any meaningful movement toward Palestinian statehood. By turning the “peace process” into an empty ritual, the US has provided cover for a status quo that is neither peaceful nor temporary. At the same time, unconditional US military, financial, and diplomatic backing has enabled Israel’s relentless settlement expansion and creeping annexation of Palestinian land. American officials issue ritual complaints about settlements, but the financial and military aid kept flowing, signaling that no red line would ever be enforced. The US’ lofty rhetoric and impunity have locked both peoples into an ever more entrenched, zero-sum conflict and foreclosed the only viable formula—two states—for ending it.
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The State of Israel is that little bratty kid on the playground who goes around acting out because his Big Brother is watching and supporting him.
Nearly 3 million Americans lost their health coverage because of Trump's cut of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in February compared with the same time last year, according to new federal data. While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services attributes part of the decline to efforts to eliminate fraudulent enrollments, many health policy experts point to another major factor: the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies, which caused insurance premiums to rise sharply. As costs increased, many families could no longer afford to keep their coverage. For millions of working Americans, including freelancers, gig workers, farmers, small business owners, and others without employer-sponsored insurance, the loss of affordable coverage means delaying medical care, skipping prescriptions, or facing financial hardship. Ensuring affordable, accessible healthcare remains essential to protecting public health, economic security, and human dignity.
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Four months after the U.S. airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, families are still waiting for transparency and accountability. According to Amnesty International, more than 150 people, including 120 children, were killed in the strike. The organization is calling on the U.S. government to complete its investigation, publicly release its findings, and ensure accountability if violations of international humanitarian law occurred. The investigation should also examine the intelligence used, the targeting process, precautions taken to protect civilians, and any role artificial intelligence may have played. Victims and their families deserve truth, justice, and meaningful reparations.
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