We’re back with a new episode of ‘Alternate Shots’ on this, the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on Israel. Richard (perhaps surprisingly) is “cautiously optimistic” on the “peace” negotiations underway in Cairo. He says “pause” is more likely than “peace”, but you take what you can get.
The populist moment continues its apparently unstoppable march. Is France the new Italy? Or is Italy the new France? Will Macron be forced to call new elections this year, two years ahead of schedule? Three prime ministers in one year points to the continued upheaval of French politics.
Elsewhere in “western Europe”, support for the Tory Party has collapsed in the UK and the inclusion of AfD in Germany’s governance seems inevitable. Add Trump to the mix and populism in “the West” isn’t a trend. It’s the new order, so to speak.
We move from there to OpenAI’s text-to-video invention (“Sora”) which raises an old question from decades ago: “Is it real or is it Memorex?” Discerning what is true and what is not comes at a time when trust in the news media has collapsed.
What should the Democrats do to shake up the government “shutdown” stand-off? Answer: play the Epstein card. I thought this brilliant idea was mine until a friend pointed out to me that Michael Wolff proposed it a week or more before.
Finally, Richard bemoans the outcast fate of “the New Jersey Giants” and the New York Yankees, both of whom are “underperforming,” as the Wall Street analysts say. I’m more interested in the latest addition to sports jargon: “a signature win.”
Have a listen:
(‘Alternate Shots’ podcast. John Ellis and Richard Haass. Recorded 6 October 2025)
John,
Would interested on your view; one, the discovery of Jack Smith's "monitoring" of 8 R's phone calls. Two, Biden putting pressure on CIA, and their relenting, not to make his Ukraine for public consumption. Thank you