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FDD Morning Brief

FDD
Iran
Israel
Hamas
Gaza
United States
Middle East
Hezbollah
Turkey
Qatar
Syria
Lebanon
Saudi Arabia
Donald Trump
China
Middle East Conflict
United Nations
Trump Administration
Abraham Accords
Muslim Brotherhood
Russia

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

Headlines

• We’ve got another flotilla on the way to Israel. Just what we all needed, right?

• A Hezbollah drone attack wounded four Israeli civilians in northern Israel.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that Ne... more

Headlines:

• The UAE and Saudi Arabia both struck Iran during the latest round of conflict.

• Operation Economic Fury continues apace.

• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs in Doha.

• Israel’s ... more

Headlines:

• Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with a group of Hamas officials in Ankara over the weekend.

• The New York Times reported over the weekend that Russia is shipping drone components to Iran through the Caspian Sea, bypassing the ... more

Headlines:

• The Iranian regime and the United States traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz last night.

• The Trump administration issued another batch of sanctions as part of Operation Economic Fury.

• Reports yesterday suggested that Saudi Arabia an... more

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Recent Guests

Norman Roule
Former CIA official; senior Iran analyst, Office of Director of National Intelligence; consultant on Gulf security and energy
Former CIA; ODNI; consultant; associated with FDD
Episode: A broke and belligerent Iran | feat. Norman Roule
Eugene Kontorovich
Professor of International Law, Executive Director of Scalia Law School Center for the Middle East and International Law at George Mason University
George Mason University / Scalia Law School
Episode: Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
Richard A. Goldberg
FDD Senior Advisor, expert on Iran, the Gulf, and energy policy
FDD
Episode: From Epic Fury to Economic Fury | feat. Rich Goldberg
Roy Altman
Federal judge and author of Israel on Trial
Episode: Israel on trial | feat. Roy K. Altman
Bernard Haykel
Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University; senior fellow with FDD
Princeton University; FDD
Episode: The Gulf's crude awakening | feat. Bernard Haykel
Ambassador Alberto Fernandez
Ambassador MEMRI; former US Chargé d'Affaires in Khartoum; former US Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea
MEMRI
Episode: Iran's dirty hand in Sudan | feat. Ambassador Fernandez, guest hosted by Mariam Wahba
H. R. McMaster
Former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States; retired three-star general; chairman of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power
FDD Center on Military and Political Power
Episode: China's MidEast reckoning | feat. Gen. H.R. McMaster
David Adesnik
Research Director at Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Episode: The unsettled score in Iran | feat. David Adesnik
Miad Maleki
Iranian-American senior advisor at FDD; former associate director for OFAC and Treasury sanctions programs
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)
Episode: Can Iran bypass the blockade? | feat. Miad Maleki

Host

Jonathan Schanzer
Host of FDD Morning Brief

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 160 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 States6 months ago
  • Audio

    Audio is terrible!

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    Not Murphy!
    United States7 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 States7 months ago
  • May

    Love Cliff May and thank him for creating the FDD.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Gnome chopper
    United States7 months ago
  • Awesome interview

    Great insight into UN disfunction across the world.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    wellgaveitatry
    United States10 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

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Groundhog Day in Gaza | feat. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
Q: It seems like if I'm looking at this the right way, and I think I am from the perspective of just hard power, we don't have one Palestinian entity. We don't have two Palestinian entities. We've got three, right?
Ahmed described a fragmented reality with the West Bank, the red zone, and the yellow zone, each governed by different authorities and possessing separate military and political realities, making a unified Palestinian governance framework unlikely in the near term.
Groundhog Day in Gaza | feat. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
Q: All right, let's do this. Let's start with something that nobody seems to be able to explain, maybe you can. What is happening inside the 47% of Gaza that is controlled by Hamas?
Ahmed explained that a large majority of Gazans live in displacement accommodations, face severe infrastructural challenges, and that Hamas imposes heavy taxation on goods, while the financial sector is in free fall, compounding hardship on ordinary residents.
Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
Q: How does international law function when enforcement mechanisms are weak or absent?
International law works best in low-stakes, iterative interactions and provides understanding of violations; in high-stakes scenarios like wars or head-of-state decisions, enforcement often relies on self-help and political power rather than legal coercion.
Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
Q: Is the ICC truly independent, or is it weaponized by geopolitical interests?
Kontorovich argues the ICC is highly politicized and biased against Israel, with donor and state interests potentially shaping which cases are pursued, thereby compromising its purported neutrality.
Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
Q: What does the Wall Street Journal editorial reveal about Kareem Khan and the ICC?
The piece portrays Kareem Khan as a prosecutor facing misconduct allegations and suggests Qatar promised to support him if he pursued warrants against Israeli leaders, raising concerns about political influence within ICC proceedings.

Audience Metrics

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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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Which podcasts are similar to FDD Morning Brief?

These podcasts share a similar audience with FDD Morning Brief:

1. Ask Haviv Anything
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How many episodes of FDD Morning Brief are there?

FDD Morning Brief launched 3 years ago and published 362 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. Norman Roule
2. Eugene Kontorovich
3. Richard A. Goldberg
4. Roy Altman
5. Bernard Haykel
6. Ambassador Alberto Fernandez
7. H. R. McMaster
8. David Adesnik

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