What Caught My Eye (no. 33)
Some interesting articles and podcasts that caught my eye this week
Along with millions of other Americans, I joined the “No Kings” protest in Chicago. An amazing turnout of young people and old, all showing America what peaceful protest looks like.
Aside from attending the protest in Chicago, I have been traveling in recent weeks and missed posting my weekly roundup of articles that caught my eye. But here’s this week’s edition of articles I thought worth reading and sharing. Don’t hesitate to recommend your own reads; I may include some as well.
David Brooks, America Needs a Mass Movement—Now, The Atlantic, October 14, 2025. The Times columnist writes incisively about the peril of this moment in America, and the reality that few are standing in the way. “If you think Trumpism will simply end in three years, you are naive. Left unopposed, global populism of the sort Trumpism represents could dominate for a generation. This could be the rest of our lives, and our children’s, too. So why are we doing so little? Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?”
Phillip Stevens, Peace, for now: the long history of conflict between Israel and Palestine, The Financial Times, October 15, 2025. The long-time foreign affairs commentator and now contributing editor to the FT reviews four recent books about the deep roots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. A much-needed reminder that proclaiming that peace is at hand in the Middle East is a far distance of actually having a real and lasting peace.
Dara Massicot, How Russia Recovered, Foreign Affairs, October 8, 2025. The Carnegie scholar and Russian military analyst delves deep into how Russia has recovered from the disastrous start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia is likely to emerge from the war with a reconstructed army, vital combat experience, a mobilized military industrial base, and a close network of allies.
Julian E. Barnes and Tyler Pager, Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela, The New York Times, October 15, 2025. The Trump Administration confirmed this week that it had authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions within Venezuela, giving the CIA the ability to conduct operations against the Venezuelan government either unilaterally or in coordination with a larger military operation.
George Packer, I Don’t Want to Stop Believing in America’s Decency, The Atlantic, October 14, 2024. The Atlantic’s staff writer delves deep into the how the left and right in America get America wrong. “The intersectional multiculturalists of the left think that there is no common American culture, that the notion itself is a form of oppression—there’s only a collection of groups, dominant or subordinate. Vance and the nationalists of the right think that American culture comes from the dirt and the past, ‘a distinctive place and a distinctive people’—by which they mean a race and a faith that came here long ago, bringing a way of life to which all others must adapt. Both of these views are wrong—unpatriotically wrong.”
Riley Mellen, Eric Schmitt, Christoph Koettl, Samuel Granados, and Junho Lee, Where the U.S. Is Building Up Military Force in the Caribbean, October 17, 2025. A detailed look at the US military build up in the Caribbean that appears to be targeted at the Venezuelan regime. Deployed under the guise of a counter-narcotics operation, the 10,000 troops at sea and at shore are vastly larger than would be needed for that purpose. In fact, the deployment is the largest in the region for decades, suggesting a notable shift in US priorities.
Finally, in case you missed it here are links to some of the things I did and wrote in the previous three weeks.
I wrote about how Donald Trump had transformed the White House into the Shakedown Presidency in my bimonthly Politico Europe column.
On America Abroad, I posted a piece on how Defense Secretary Hegseth’s and President Trump’s speeches to 800 top military leaders revealed the new US priority to focus on defending the homelands against drugs, immigrants, and the “threats from within.” I also wrote about how the decision to provide Qatar with a security guarantee demonstrates the administration’s lack of seriousness about alliance commitments.
Finally, I restarted my weekly podcast, World Review with Ivo Daalder, for now on Substack Live but also available as a podcast. Recent episodes discussed the ceasefire in Gaza, the latest on Ukraine, and what Trump is up to in Venezuela. Please tune in every Friday, at 11:00 ET. Or download each episode on your favorite podcast program
Happy reading, watching, and listening!