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FDD Morning Brief

FDD
Iran
Hamas
Israel
Hezbollah
United States
Hadeel Oueis
Gaza
Syria
Qatar
International Court Of Justice
Abraham Accords
Iraq
Middle East
Yemen
Iran-Backed Militias
Houthis
China
Palestinian Authority
Jordan
Cryptocurrency

The FDD Morning Brief provides timely situational updates on contemporary events. Start your Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 8:30am (ET) with digestible analysis and the headlines our experts are watching. The FDD Morning Brief can be streamed on YouTube, X, and is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Latest Episodes

Today's headlines:

• The regime in Tehran somehow managed to shoot down an American F-15 fighter jet over the weekend.

• The aviators from that downed F-15 are both ok.

• Donald Trump’s Truth Social post yesterday seems to suggest that the April 6 d... more

Today's headlines:

• Turkey is working with Iranian authorities to secure permission for 11 Turkish-owned ships to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

• Israeli forces eliminated the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front.

• The International Energy... more

Today's headlines:

• Trouble continues in the Strait of Hormuz.

• Kosovo announced that it plans to deploy troops to the U.S.-backed international stabilization force for Gaza.

• The Iranian ambassador is still in Lebanon, and the Lebanese governmen... more

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Major General (Ret.) Amir Eshel.

Learn more at: www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

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Recent Guests

Josh Gottheimer
Congressman, New Jersey
U.S. House of Representatives (New Jersey)
Episode: Washington's war with itself | feat. Rep. Gottheimer (D-NJ)
Brian Hook
Former U.S. Department of State official, envoy for the maximum pressure campaign; vice chairman of Saraverse Global Investments; affiliated with Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy
Saraverse Global Investments; Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy
Episode: Is the U.S. maxing out the pressure on Iran? | feat. Brian Hook
Peter Doran
FDD adjunct senior fellow, former president of the Center for European Policy Analysis
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD); Center for European Policy Analysis
Episode: Winning the sanctions war | feat. Peter Doran
Scooter Libby
Former senior White House official, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney
U.S. Government / Policy Advisor
Episode: Washington's two-front war | feat. Lewis Libby
Ray Takeyh
Former U.S. State Department official; Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
Episode: The mullah's monarchy | feat. Ray Takeyh
Jonathan Hessen
Senior Advisor based out of Israel
Independent/Advisor
Episode: The Iran war's dire straits | feat. Jonathan Hessen and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery
Einat Wilf
Founder of Oz Party in the Knesset; political analyst
Oz Party
Episode: Will Epic Fury finish the regime? | feat. Einat Wilf
Ebtesam AlKedbi
Political scientist, Emirates Policy Center
Emirates Policy Center
Episode: FDD Morning Brief SITREP | The Iran war is testing the Gulf
Brad Bowman
Director/Senior Director, Center on Military and Political Power at FDD
FDD
Episode: FDD Morning Brief SITREP | The military partnership fueling Epic Fury

Host

Jonathan Schanzer
Host of FDD Morning Brief

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 154 ratings
  • Clarity

    FDD is by far the most important foreign policy think tank in DC. They are unapologetically honest and fair. Listening to one of their podcasts is like taking an hour long master class on the issues. None of the dog whistle antisemitism at the Heritage Foundation. None of the whitewashing of Qatari and Turkish meddling in American politics. Love this group.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Dr, L
    United States5 months ago
  • Audio

    Audio is terrible!

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    Not Murphy!
    United States5 months ago
  • Great content, but…

    You’ve gotta work on the sound quality. It sounds like you’re and your mother‘s basement. Sorry, but it’s really hard to listen to.

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    tipzipzee
    United States6 months ago
  • May

    Love Cliff May and thank him for creating the FDD.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Gnome chopper
    United States6 months ago
  • Awesome interview

    Great insight into UN disfunction across the world.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    wellgaveitatry
    United States9 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Fans appreciate grounded, data-backed analysis and direct, insightful interviews with policy experts.
Listeners praise the show for clear, crisp foreign policy insights and credible guest experts.
Sound quality is a recurring complaint from a subset of listeners.

Chart Rankings

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Is the U.S. maxing out the pressure on Iran? | feat. Brian Hook
Q: What's going on with China right now in relation to Iran? How does this fit into the broader framework of great power competition?
Hook describes a strengthened yet re-priced Chinese position in Iran due to U.S. pressure, highlighting the 25-year strategic partnership and China's dependence on Iranian oil, while noting that U.S. actions are compelling Beijing to reassess its Middle East strategy.
Is the U.S. maxing out the pressure on Iran? | feat. Brian Hook
Q: Would we call the period under Trump 'maximum pressure'—was it the same level of pressure against the regime as during your earlier tenure?
Hook explains that the Trump administration pursued a more aggressive, multi-faceted pressure strategy after exiting the JCPOA, including sanctions on oil, petrochemical, and banking sectors, which he argues contributed to significant economic pressure on Tehran.
Is the U.S. maxing out the pressure on Iran? | feat. Brian Hook
Q: Let's talk about Iran's war against the United States. We're hearing a lot of talk about how this was unprovoked by the United States, that this was a war of choice. Can you give us a brief history of what we've endured?
The host frames the history by pointing to decades of hostility since 1979, with repeated American attempts to manage or constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions, and emphasizes that a consistent, principled approach is needed to end Iran's nuclear problem and deter aggression.
Winning the sanctions war | feat. Peter Doran
Q: Let's talk about this new report of yours, which explores the Red Queen paradox in sanctions policy. Explain why the US often feels like it's running very fast, just to stay in the same place when it comes to sanctioning states like Moscow and Iran, and how your research proposes we finally break that cycle.
The Red Queen concept shows that to actually constrain adversaries, we must intensify and broaden sanctions beyond traditional measures. Russia and Iran have built a web of state-owned firms and private actors that cleverly evade the system, so the solution is to deploy secondary sanctions more aggressively, leverage banking and tanker networks, and interdict the shadow fleet to cut off revenue and logistics routes necessary for evasion.
Factual reporting in Gaza ends where Hamas begins | feat. Robert Satloff
Q: What are your main concerns right now about Israel's isolation and the international diplomatic balance?
He notes that Europe has largely abstained or opposed certain Israel-supportive positions, significantly shrinking Israel's diplomatic backing, which could affect long-term security and coalition-building.

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Frequently Asked Questions About FDD Morning Brief

What is FDD Morning Brief about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The program delivers timely foreign policy and security updates with crisp, data-driven analysis anchored in US–Israel and broader Middle East dynamics. Episodes consistently tackle multi-front conflicts, regional alignments, and the interplay between Iran, Israel, and their partners, often featuring policy experts and on-the-ground reporters. Notable strengths include live briefings with evidence-backed assessments, a clear emphasis on defense planning, and a willingness to tackle controversial topics with direct, informed perspectives. The format tends to blend strategic overview with concrete examples and real-world implications for policymakers, defense professionals, and industry listeners seeking credible viewpoints on geopolitics and... more

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FDD Morning Brief launched 3 years ago and published 345 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on FDD Morning Brief?

Recent guests on FDD Morning Brief include:

1. Josh Gottheimer
2. Brian Hook
3. Peter Doran
4. Scooter Libby
5. Ray Takeyh
6. Jonathan Hessen
7. Einat Wilf
8. Ebtesam AlKedbi

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