What's up, guys? I have a powerhouse episode for you today with Eli Lake—one of the sharpest minds in foreign policy journalism. Eli's a columnist for the Free Press, the host of the Breaking History podcast, and a straight-up expert on everything from intelligence to Middle East geopolitics. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what's really behind America’s relationship with Israel, Iran's nuclear ambitions, or the complex dance of power in the Middle East—this is the conversation you cannot miss.

Today, we're diving deep into the realities nobody talks about: conspiracy theories that just won’t die, why alliances in that region are shifting so fast, the truth about proxy wars, and what the future could look like if Iran’s regime falls or continues to escalate. Eli breaks down why the intelligence war matters, how successful military operations reshape global power, and what it will actually take for democratic change to happen in places like Iran.

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The "Israel Puppeteering" Myth & Its Origins
01:46 How US and Israeli Intelligence Stack Up
03:36 Technical vs. Human Intelligence—Who Excels and Why
04:01 Israel, Iran, and the Nuclear Umbrella Strategy
05:16 The Proxy War Web: Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian Influence
06:31 October 7th, Retaliation & Demolishing Proxy Networks
07:56 Did Iran Really Take the “Next Step” to a Bomb?
09:16 What Actually Counts as “Success” Against Iran?
10:39 Democratic Uprising: Is Regime Change Possible from Within?
12:32 Tech, Starlink, and Empowering the Iranian People
14:20 Regime Humiliation & Authoritarian Vulnerability
16:06 The Tipping Point for Revolution
17:00 Internal Rot in the Iranian Regime

FOLLOW ELI LAKE
Twitter: @EliLake
Podcast: Breaking History
The Free Press Columns: thefp.com/author/eli-lake

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