Raging Moderates: How Trump’s Iran War Could Break the GOP (ft. Ben Shapiro)
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Just hours before a fragile ceasefire deadline, tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating — and the political fallout at home is already taking shape.
Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov sit down with Ben Shapiro, one of the most influential voices on the right, who has called this the “single bravest foreign policy move” of his lifetime. But as the risk of a prolonged conflict grows, so do the stakes: for American power, for President Trump, and for the future of the Republican Party.
They press Shapiro on whether this risks becoming the kind of “forever war” Republicans once opposed, what a realistic definition of “winning” actually looks like, and how this moment could reshape the GOP heading into 2028. They also dive into the fractures emerging inside the conservative movement — from Tucker Carlson and the right-wing media ecosystem to the growing divide among younger Republicans.
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OpenAI's GPT-5 Flop, AI's Unlimited Market, China's Big Advantage, Rise in Socialism, Housing Crisis
(0:00) Bestie intros! Gavin Baker, Ben Shapiro, and Phil Deutch join the show
(7:32) GPT-5 underwhelms, benchmark saturation, OpenAI's product excellence
(18:14) AI's TAM, ROIC, and energy implications
(27:27) China's major advantage and how the US can counter it
(43:46) Political parties picking winners, energy subsidy reversal, how the bureaucratic branch was created and how to fix it
(52:38) Socialism, OBBB impact on energy, does socialism in the US rely on Mamdani in NYC?
(1:10:00) Tariffs update: $125B+ revenue so far, India and Switzerland hit hard, Trump's ad hoc approach
(1:27:51) Nvidia chips being smuggled to China
(1:31:13) Apple's $700B in buybacks since 2015 and failing AI strategy
(1:40:09) Summer reading recommendations
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Intro Music Credit:
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Referenced in the show:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-08/openai-s-gpt-5-met-with-mixed-reviews-confusion-in-first-day
https://www.anthropic.com/news/build-ai-in-america
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whE75zEFBpU
https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/time-series/demo/historic.html
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-chinese-nationals-arrested-complaint-alleging-they-illegally-shipped-china-sensitive
https://www.ft.com/content/6f806f6e-61c1-4b8d-9694-90d7328a7b54
Trump's Big Week: Middle East Trip, China Deal, Pharma EO, "Big, Beautiful Bill" with Ben Shapiro
(0:00) The Besties welcome Ben Shapiro!
(1:53) A Bestie apology to Phil Hellmuth, All-In Poker Tournament
(7:58) Trump's majorly consequential Middle East trip: Saudi, Qatar, Iran, and his vision for a "New Middle East"
(35:18) US-China deal: is the tide turning on tariffs?
(46:33) GOP divided over "Big, Beautiful Bill" due to its impact on our debt spiral
(1:18:48) Science Corner: Montana bans cell-based meat, joining Florida and others
(1:24:31) Trump's EO on pharma prices: role of PBMs, is this too much government intervention?
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Intro Music Credit:
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Referenced in the show:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-secures-historic-1-2-trillion-economic-commitment-in-qatar
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-secures-historic-600-billion-investment-commitment-in-saudi-arabia
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/05/in-riyadh-president-trump-charts-the-course-for-a-prosperous-future-in-the-middle-east
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/16/2025/qatar-commits-more-than-200-billion-in-us-investment
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/trump-saudi-investment-speech.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/trump-says-us-will-remove-all-sanctions-on-syria.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/what-have-china-united-states-agreed-geneva-2025-05-12
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/02/politics/donald-trump-dictators-kim-jong-un-vladimir-putin
https://newrepublic.com/post/185836/trump-brags-dictators-orban-debate-harris
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US30Y
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/14/congress/the-titanic-johnson-predicts-houses-big-beautiful-reconciliation-bill-will-sink-in-the-senate-00348310
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/opinion/josh-hawley-dont-cut-medicaid.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-actions-to-put-american-patients-first-by-lowering-drug-prices-and-stopping-foreign-free-riding-on-american-pharmaceutical-innovation/
DOGE updates + Liberation Day Tariff Reactions with Ben Shapiro and Antonio Gracias
(0:00) The Besties welcome Ben Shapiro and Antonio Gracias
(1:54) Why Antonio is helping out and what it's like working with DOGE
(4:56) DOGE's latest findings: illegal immigration, social security, and more
(27:59) Was Biden's open border policy a Dem strategy to expand their voter base?
(39:55) Tariffs: Liberation Day chaos, reactions, strategy
(55:26) Impact, consequences, and risks for the Trump Administration
(1:13:50) How the US can thrive in a high-tariff world
(1:31:33) Future US political landscape if the tariff strategy fails
(1:42:27) Chamath recaps his best-performing asset of 2025 + wrap
Follow Antonio:
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Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://x.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://x.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://x.com/AntonioGracias/status/1906877800511893670
https://polymarket.com/event/magnificent-7-shrinks-below-30-of-sp-500-in-2025?tid=1743434648860
https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1907553323387072774
https://x.com/enriqueabeyta/status/1907796286763409439
https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1907622848149037509
https://x.com/litcapital/status/1907813630227173534
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/asml-euv-machine-lithography-chips-967954d0
https://www.hoover.org/publications/goodfellows
https://www.ft.com/content/bcb1d331-5d8e-4cac-811e-eac7d9448486
#336 – Ben Shapiro: Politics, Kanye, Trump, Biden, Hitler, Extremism, and War
Ben Shapiro is a conservative political commentator, host of The Ben Shapiro Show, co-founder of The Daily Wire, and author of The Authoritarian Moment and other books. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:07) – Kanye ‘Ye’ West
(14:47) – Hitler and the nature of evil
(22:53) – Political attacks on the left and the right
(28:37) – Quebec mosque shooting
(38:33) – Elon Musk buying Twitter
(51:36) – Trump and Biden
(56:09) – Hunter Biden’s laptop
(1:07:42) – Candace Owens
(1:11:22) – War in Ukraine
(1:21:31) – Rhetoric vs truth
(1:26:26) – Infamous BBC interview
(1:29:42) – Day in the life
(1:44:37) – Abortion
(1:57:32) – Climate change
(2:04:55) – God and faith
(2:16:05) – Tribalism
(2:20:41) – Advice for young people
(2:24:26) – Andrew Breitbart
(2:26:56) – Self-doubt
(2:28:58) – Love