Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the royal drama that has roiled the normally quiet kingdom of Jordan this week: The king has accused his half-brother, the former crown prince, of a vague conspiracy against the crown and has put him under house arrest. The Worldly crew lays out what we actually know about what happened, what led to this family tension spilling out into the open, what political instability in Jordan could mean for the broader Middle East, and whether the Biden administration is betraying its stated commitment to defend democracy and human rights by unequivocally backing the king in this dispute. Also, Zack sings.

References:

Alex wrote Vox’s explainer on the royal family feud.

This is the audio of Prince Hamzah and the Jordanian general talking that Jenn mentioned.

The New York Times has a good piece on the roots of the King Abdullah and Prince Hamzah split.

You can watch Hamzah’s self-filmed video sent to the BBC, well, on the BBC.

The White House had a readout of President Biden’s call with Abdullah.

Biden told Abdullah to “stay strong.”

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

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