This week Seena and Travis brave LA traffic to see the Iranian World Cup team take on New Zealand. They talk through who they should cheer for and why that question is so fraught, explain the history of the Iranian’s team and its relationship with the IRGC, and check in on what is happening in the countries of some former WC champions. After the game, they reflect on their experience (it was a journey, folks) and cast forward to guess how exactly JD is going to f*ck up the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. Spoiler- Turns out he didn’t even have to travel anywhere!

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media/Links:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZdMRt9DAm8/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZV0K-xgRuI/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYPvZPSkW0p/

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260615-what-we-know-us-iran-memorandum-understanding

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2026/06/15/as-he-is-headed-to-france-for-g7-trump-once-again-threatens-100-tariff-on-french-wines-over-digital-tax_6754508_19.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anishasircar/2026/06/10/ai-owned-companies-argentina/

https://english.news.cn/20260613/85f52a7b99144c7db302fb130cb05ebd/c.html#:~:text=MEXICO%20CITY%2C%20June%2012%20(Xinhua,Secretary%20Josefina%20Rodriguez%20Zamora%20said.

https://www.nss-sports.com/en/lifestyle/45750/fifa-world-cup-2026-costs-security-geopolitics

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2066539716019659098?s=20

https://archive.is/tr2UR

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This week Seena and Travis check-in on the Trump administration’s most recent foray into regional hegemony– the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro. They dig into the reasoning behind it (faulty at best), the plan to rebuild Venezuela (pie in the sky forecasting), and where it might lead us in terms of our relationship with China (basically like planting mines under an already rocky road). They also discuss the on-again / off-again ceasefire between Israel, the US, and Iran, Congress rebuking Trump with more aid to Ukraine, and Germany losing its seat on the UN Security Council. JD also gave a speech to graduating cadets in Colorado Springs that was the definition of mealy mouthed, so basically no surprises there.

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media/Links:

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/05/the-striking-way-jd-vances-message-to-military-graduates-changed-in-just-one-year.html

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/06/05/joint-chiefs-head-makes-first-official-visit-to-post-maduro-venezuela/

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/06/05/joint-chiefs-head-makes-first-official-visit-to-post-maduro-venezuela/

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/06/us-plan-venezuela-wont-work-without-rule-law-heres-how-make-progress

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/06/us-plan-venezuela-wont-work-without-rule-law-heres-how-make-progress/summary

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This week we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to do it. This war is such a shitshow a collective “we told you so” just needed to be said. From the reaction of the proxies to the swiftness with which Iran took control of the Strait of Hormuz to the continued and ever deepening suffering of the Iranian people, all of this was foreseeable. We looked into Trump’s recent change of heart on troops in Poland and the danger of China procuring our AI tech. Who woulda thought that could be a bad idea? We also checked in on why Vietnam is beefing up its maritime footprint and why JD gave Dems fighting fraud the cold shoulder. Apparently simply being inept wasn’t cutting it anymore.

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media/Links:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/05/iran-mass-arbitrary-arrests-and-political-executions-mark-intensifying-repression/

https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/congressional_testimony/ts161206_Dalton_Testimony.pdf

https://www.bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/20260316-Maritime%20Chokepoints.pdf

https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/31445/1/Stuck%20on%20a%20hostile%20path%20%20US%20policy%20towards%20Iran%20since%20the%20revolution.pdf

https://www.newsx.com/world/why-us-suddenly-blocked-nvidia-ai-chips-from-reaching-chinese-firms-worldwide-228667/

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/22/g-s1-123596/trump-sending-5-000-troops-to-poland

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-south-china-sea-tensions-vietnam/?embedded-checkout=true

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/27/repub/democratic-state-ags-say-their-staff-excluded-from-vance-anti-fraud-meeting/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-vance/vance-book-faith-journey-usha-central-role-rcna346453

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY3QecajUtr/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-q8MGoGG0/

Follow The Show:

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Website: https://www.foreignreportshow.com/

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