2025-06-25 12:00:22
The Atlantic’s David Frum opens this episode of The David Frum Show with a statement about Trump’s Iran strikes. The strikes fulfilled commitments of past presidents, who have long maintained that the U.S. would not allow an Iranian nuclear bomb. David also makes the point that Trump, who has already abused peacetime powers, is now a wartime president, a role that will allow him to wield even larger authority—and do even greater damage.
Then David is joined by the author and editor Tina Brown for a conversation about the disorienting effects of extreme wealth. They discuss how billionaires often become detached from reality, how philanthropy is used to consolidate image and influence, and how Brown’s personal experience with Donald Trump shaped her understanding of his ego and evolution.
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-david-frum-show/id1305908387
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79CBHEDdEbdykveVgbpWs7
Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/listener.
#davidfrum #thedavidfrumshow #theatlantic #tinabrown #iran #donaldtrump #trump
2025-06-19 18:00:00
A few years ago, Olga Khazan, author of Me, But Better, (https://bookshop.org/a/12476/9781668012543) set out to change her personality, which even she found unpleasant. After consulting with experts on personality plasticity and then setting a deadline, Khazan put herself through an intense experiment intended to make herself more likeable, to herself and others.
Khazan tested and scored herself on a range of key personality traits at the beginning and end of the experiment. In this episode, Khazan and I talk about two of those traits: extroversion and neuroticism. Khazan shares how she dragged herself to improv classes and meditation lessons, and how having a baby threw a kink in her experiment.
--
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/listener (http://theatlantic.com/listener) .
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices)
2025-06-18 12:00:50
On this episode of The David Frum Show, The Atlantic’s David Frum urges an end to wishful thinking about Iran, and a focus instead on the regime’s threatening words and murderous actions.
Then David is joined by the Carnegie Endowment scholar Karim Sadjadpour for an urgent conversation about the internal decay of Iran’s theocracy. They discuss the survival instincts of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime’s obsession with martyrdom and repression, the true cost of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, and the disconnect between the revolutionary slogans of the state and the aspirations of Iranian society.
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-david-frum-show/id1305908387
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79CBHEDdEbdykveVgbpWs7
Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/listener.
#theatlantic #davidfrum #thedavidfrumshow #iran #israel
2025-06-13 18:00:00
In this bonus episode of Radio Atlantic, we talk with staff writer Tom Nichols about how all the pieces fit together: the military parade, the president’s speech at Fort Bragg, and the dispatching of Marines to the protests in Los Angeles.
It’s not just that President Trump wants to acclimate Americans to the sight of tanks in the streets. It’s not just that Trump is signaling to governors that he will use the forces at his disposal to override their wishes—the real problem is how the military begins to see itself.
Read more from The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols on “The Silence of the Generals” (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/silence-generals/683106/) and “Trump Is Using the National Guard as Bait.” (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/trump-provoke-not-pacify-los-angeles/683080/)
–
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at theAtlantic.com/listener (https://theatlantic.com/listener) .
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices)
2025-06-12 18:00:00
Explaining how Musk tanked his reputation has many ways: First, he alienated environmentalists by teaming up with Trump, and then he alienated Trump fans by insulting their hero. Another way is clear by looking at American culture’s historical relationship with “genius,” and how it tends to go wrong.
In this episode, we talk with Helen Lewis, author of The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803542/the-genius-myth-by-helen-lewis/) , about what Musk has in common with Thomas Edison, how psychedelics fit into the archetype, and what the possible paths are for Musk moving forward.
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at theAtlantic.com/listener (https://theatlantic.com/listener) .
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices)
2025-06-11 12:00:07
On this episode of The David Frum Show, The Atlantic’s David Frum opens with a warning about President Donald Trump’s behind-the-scenes strategy to subvert the 2026 midterm elections by creating chaos to justify his use of extreme executive power. David also discusses how Trump’s feud with Elon Musk reveals a deeper truth about power in the postdemocracy Republican Party.
Then David is joined by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego to discuss how Democrats can win the votes of young men, the importance of free trade and patriotism in today’s Democratic Party, and how Gallego has been so successful with Latino voters at a time when Latino men are trending so strongly Republican.
David closes the episode with thoughts on Trump’s $100 million birthday military parade in Washington, D.C.
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-david-frum-show/id1305908387
Subscribe to The David Frum Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79CBHEDdEbdykveVgbpWs7
Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en
Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/listener.
#davidfrum #thedavidfrumshow #theatlantic #rubengallego #democracy #democrats #donaldtrump
