Not Losing the Iran War | Interview: Hal Brands

Podcast Examines U.S. Policy Options on Iran

Jonah Goldberg hosted an episode of The Remnant podcast featuring Hal Brands, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The discussion addressed U.S. strategy toward Iran, including questions of military commitments, potential escalation risks, and relations with regional allies.

The two participants recorded the conversation while both were based at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Goldberg noted their physical proximity during the introduction. Brands has also written a column for Bloomberg Opinion and is the author of several books on foreign policy and international relations; his forthcoming work is titled The Landscape of Power.

The episode opened with standard production elements from The Dispatch, the digital media company that produces the podcast. Show notes described The Remnant as covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective and directed listeners to subscription options for full access to articles, audio content, and member benefits.

Goldberg stated that the conversation would focus on level-setting facts about the situation involving Iran rather than a broad survey of global regions. The stated topics included whether the United States possesses an exit strategy in any direct involvement, the risk of wider conflict, and the extent of obligations to partner governments. No specific policy recommendations or classified details were referenced in the publicly released description.

Brands’ institutional affiliation at AEI, a think tank that has consistently advocated for robust U.S. defense spending and forward-deployed forces, was listed in the guest biography. The podcast did not include counterbalancing perspectives from analysts who favor reduced U.S. military engagement in the Middle East during the segment summary.

The Remnant is distributed through The Dispatch platform. Goldberg’s professional background includes prior roles as a senior editor at National Review, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and a CNN contributor. The episode transcript, generated by automated speech-to-text software, carries a standard disclaimer noting possible transcription inaccuracies.

Listeners were directed to premium membership options to remove advertisements and access additional Dispatch material, including the Saturday Ruminant newsletter and twice-weekly written commentary by Goldberg. The production credits list instrumental music segments at the opening of the program.

The episode did not present new primary-source documents or official government statements on Iranian nuclear activities, regional proxy operations, or U.S. force posture. Instead, the format consisted of an extended interview between the host and the guest.