What Caught My Eye (no. 19)
Some interesting articles and podcasts that caught my eye this week
Here’s this week’s edition of articles I thought worth reading and sharing. Don’t hesitate to recommend your own reads; I may include some as well.
Roger Cohen, A Cutting French Senator Becomes Trump’s European Nemesis, New York Times, June 11, 2025. The Times’s Paris bureau chief profiles a French politician who delivered a biting critique of Trump. Money quote: “The Republicans are scared, the Democrats are stunned and leaderless, but I cannot imagine there will not be a reaction. The American people are facing one of the great challenges of the 21st century, as great as that confronting the French in 1940, when they had to decide whether to join the Resistance or not.”
Michael Gordon, In Twist, U.S. Diplomacy Served as Cover for Israeli Surprise Attack, Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2025. The veteran national security correspondent shows how Israel prepared to strike Iran using US diplomacy as a cover to launch the surprise attack and catching Iran off guard.
Kenneth Pollack, The Real Threat From Iran, Foreign Affairs, June 13, 2025. Pollack goes through Iran’s options for responding to Israel’s strike and concludes that Tehran will now be more determined than ever to race towards a bomb.
Jacob Judah, Paul Sonne and Anton Troianovski, Secret Russian Intelligence Document Shows Deep Suspicion of China, New York Times, June 7, 2025. A fascinating scoop detailing how at least part of the FSB (previous KGB) sees China as the gravest threat to Russia. The piece does raise questions about how the documents describing these anxieties were acquired.
Lawrence Freedman, Israel Attacks Iran, Comment Is Freed, June 13, 2025. The British war historian masterfully dissects the Israeli strikes against Iran and describes what he thinks will happen next. Israel needs the US to join the war if Iran’s nuclear program is to be eliminated; failing that, Israel appears to hope for regime change. But, he argues, “as is always the case with Israel, they can be extremely impressive in mounting complex military operations against multiple targets, but you never get a sense that they have thought through the end game. There is never a political strategy to go with a military strategy.”
Peggy Noonan, America Is Losing Sight of Its Political Culture, Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2025. The veteran Journal columnist reminds us that there was a time where we knew the political limits. “We don’t do that,” was part of our political culture. No more.
Sam Altman, The Gentle Singularity, Blog.SamAltman.Com, June 10, 2025. The OpenAI CEO argues we’re closer to achieving “digital superintelligence” than many had thought, adding “and at least so far it’s much less weird than it seems like it should be.” He gives a nod to the “need to solve the safety issues, technically and societally,” but goes on to say that after that “it’s critically important to widely distribute access to superintelligence given the economic implications.” Unfortunately, the speed of AI development may be outpacing the ability to solve the safety issues.
Finally, in case you missed it here are links to articles I wrote, interviews I did, panels I joined, and a synopsis of my weekly podcast on world news.
Israel’s Strikes Show US Weakness, America Abroad, June 14, 2025.
Trump’s political offensive on European allies will have long-lasting consequences, Politico Europe, June 15, 2025.
Happy reading, watching, and listening!