This contemporary application episode examines reporting on foreign influence in the decisions that led to war with Iran. Drawing on the New York Times investigation by Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, the resignation testimony of former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, and the President’s own public statements, the episode applies the founders’ framework — particularly Washington’s Farewell Address warnings about “passionate attachment” to foreign nations — to analyze what has been reported. The episode maintains epistemic humility about classified information while examining the documented record, presenting sources directly and allowing listeners to draw their own conclusions.

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