Bearly Political

Isabelle Jacobson sits down with Zaki Laïdi — professor at Sciences Po, former special adviser to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and co-author of the new Cambridge book The Hedgers. They discuss his recent article on Trump's April trip to Beijing and his meeting with Xi Jinping: what came out of it, and who it served. Laïdi also covers the war in Iran, the Taiwan question, and the trade and tech fights running underneath.

Deepfakes aren’t the future — they’re already here. In this conversation with Hany Farid, the Berkeley Political Review’s Pedro Ezquer unpacks how synthetic media has evolved over the past decade, the growing threat it poses to institutions, and why social media is accelerating the problem. Most importantly, Farid argues that to confront the chaos of the digital age, we may need to “re-materialize” the internet itself — and rethink how we trust what we see.

Steven Lee Myers, a journalist for the New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize winner, explores the intersection of AI, the Epstein files, and disinformation with Bella Kim and Makaela Fujimoto.

In this episode, Isabelle Jacobson interviews Vivian Salama, a national security journalist who has reported for The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and NBC News, and is currently with The Atlantic. They discuss the latest on the Iran conflict, the challenges of covering war zones, and the role of journalism in combating misinformation and rebuilding public trust.

In this episode of Bearly Political, Keira Bixler sits down with Josh Fryday, Berkeley alumnus and candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California. Fryday discusses his path from Berkeley to public service, the experiences that shaped his leadership, and why he has entered the statewide race. The conversation explores the future of civic engagement in California, the role of young leaders in politics, and what the next generation can do to strengthen public service.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran. These strikes killed dozens of top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has now been replaced by his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The future of Iran and the Middle East seems to be in the hands of President Donald Trump. Pedro Ezquer interviews Professor Andrew Reddie, of the Goldman School of Public Policy, building a dialogue about the joint Israeli-American airstrikes, the future of U.S. Defense policy, and more. 

Sources for on-screen quotations:

Anthropic. “Company.” Anthropic, 2025. https://www.anthropic.com/company.

Britannica Editors. “Quds Force | Meaning, History, Engagements, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica, March 8, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quds-Force.

———. “Strait of Hormuz | Map, Importance, Oil, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica, March 10, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/place/Strait-of-Hormuz.

Farnaz Fassihi, Aaron Boxerman, Ephrat Livni, and Euan Ward. “What to Know about Israel’s Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program.” The New York Times, June 13, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/world/middleeast/israel-iran-strikes.html.

Frenkel, Sheera. “Anthropic Sues Department of Defense over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Label.” The New York Times, March 9, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/technology/anthropic-defense-artificial-intelligence-lawsuit.html.

Frommer, Fred. “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) | Iran Nuclear Deal, Snapback Sanctions, Summary, Sunset Clauses, Barack Obama, & Donald Trump.” Edited by Britannica Editors. Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica, July 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Joint-Comprehensive-Plan-of-Action.

Office of the Prime Minister of Canada. “Prime Minister Carney Forges New Strategic Partnership with the People’s Republic of China Focused on Energy, Agri-Food, and Trade.” Prime Minister of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, 2026. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/01/16/prime-minister-carney-forges-new-strategic-partnership-peoples.

RAND. “Wargaming.” www.rand.org, n.d. https://www.rand.org/topics/wargaming.html.

Tabor, Nick. “Reza Pahlavi | Exiled Crown Prince, Life in the U.S., Ties to Iran, Relationship with Trump and Netanyahu, & Biography.” Edited by Britannica Editors. Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica, June 23, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Reza-Pahlavi.

Zeidan, Adam. “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) | History, Facts, Subsidiaries, & Commanders | Britannica.” Edited by Britannica Editors. Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica, March 10, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-Revolutionary-Guard-Corps.

Helios Lung and Sarthak Chaudhuri sit down with Saikat Chakrabarti, the Democratic candidate for California's 11th congressional district. Chakrabarti speaks on his background as a founding engineer of Stripe, his work on the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and what his own vision for the future of the Democratic Party looks like.

Berkeley Political Review’s Keira Bixler sits down with California District 12 Congresswoman Lateefah Simon to discuss inclusion and political representation in modern government.

Berkeley Political Review's Keira Bixler sits down with Congresswoman Lateefah Simon of California District 12 to discuss her role as a representative and advocate for numerous diverse communities across the U.S.

BPR's Bella Kim sits down with UC Berkeley Law's director on climate change to discuss the monumental laws and policies shaping our world.