Switzerland with Tom Switzer

The war in Iran has entered its fourth week. What are the political costs for Donald Trump and the Republican party in the leadup to November’s congressional elections? The GOP was already expected to lose the House of Representatives, but could the Republicans also lose the Senate? Is it likely the President could be the lamest of lame ducks in 2027-28? Doug Bandow, a former adviser to President Ronald Reagan, is a veteran scholar at the Washington-based Cato Institute. Henry Olsen is a leading expert on US public opinion.   

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Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

The war in Iran has entered its third week. Washington insists it is winning. Tehran insists it’s holding firm. But here are the key questions: has the US started a war it does not know how to win? Is the Iran war turning into a strategic debacle for the US? Can President Trump end the Iran war without damaging American credibility? 

In today's episode, Professor John Mearsheimer responds to the new consensus that the heavy US bombardment of the crucial island of Kharg will be a game-changer. Will it force the Iranians to open the Straits of Hormuz? 

Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer

Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer

Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins host Tom Switzer to discuss the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict under President Trump. Drawing on his book "America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder," Stephens argues why confronting Iran is a moral and strategic imperative, countering critics who liken it to another Iraq quagmire.

Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer

Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

In the wake of U.S. strikes against Iran and reports of senior regime figures killed, what happens if the Islamic Republic collapses? Harvard professor Stephen Walt joins Tom Switzer to assess the most plausible scenarios inside Iran and to explain why history suggests that air campaigns alone rarely produce stable political outcomes.

The conversation ranges widely: divisions within Trump’s MAGA base, the legality and strategic logic of the intervention, Iran’s capacity to retaliate, the regional consequences of regime change, and whether Washington’s approach reflects what Walt calls a strategy of “predatory hegemony.” They also discuss Israel’s role, shifting American public opinion, China and Russia’s stake in the conflict, and whether U.S. focus on Iran risks distracting from the larger strategic challenge posed by Beijing.

Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer

Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer

Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

What are the likely consequences of U.S. military action against Iran. In today's episode, John Mearsheimer argues that even a limited strike could trigger dangerous escalation.

Public opinion, especially among younger Americans, has shifted against Israel. There is very little public support for a war with Iran, and there are deep divisions within Trump’s MAGA base on the issue. Trump’s instincts are to avoid dangerous escalation and forever wars. And U.S. Sunni allies, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, oppose a U.S. war with Iran. And yet we are heading into another U.S. war on Iran. Why? 

Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer

Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer

Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.