Hormuz whiplash / Russia, Ukraine shred ceasefires / Modern warfare
Sources & Methods
NPR
4.9 • 919 Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and Moscow correspondent Charles Maynes discuss the shifting messages and what's happening diplomatically behind the scenes. Plus -- why ceasefires between Moscow and Kiev fell apart, and how modern warfare and prior assumptions have made it possible for countries like Iran and Ukraine to take on larger, more powerful adversaries in the U.S. and Russia.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This all reminds me of the movie Jaws. |
| 0:04.9 | Remember the mayor said, hey, everything's great. |
| 0:07.2 | He can just go back in the water. |
| 0:09.0 | It's the same situation here. |
| 0:11.0 | These ships aren't going back through the Strait of Hormuz |
| 0:14.0 | because it's dangerous. |
| 0:15.6 | They don't want to get shot at by Iran. |
| 0:17.5 | They're not going to pay the tolls. |
| 0:19.3 | That has not changed. |
| 0:22.1 | The shape-shifting U.S. strategy on Iran. |
| 0:26.3 | What is actually happening in the war? Is a deal within reach? |
| 0:30.7 | Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine break-duling ceasefires. |
| 0:34.9 | This is sources ands from NPR. |
| 0:41.4 | I'm Mary Louise Kelly. If you are new here, welcome. Our name, Sources and Methods, is a term you may know from the intelligence world, |
| 0:49.9 | shorthand for what do we know, and crucially, how do we know it? Every Thursday, I dive deep into the |
| 0:56.3 | week's biggest national security stories with the NPR reporters covering them. Today, here in the |
| 1:02.5 | studio with me, NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Hello, Mr. Bowman. Hello, Mary Louise. |
| 1:07.8 | And out in the world, Russia correspondent Charles Mainz in our Moscow studio. |
| 1:12.4 | Hey there, and welcome back, Charles. |
| 1:14.1 | Good to see you. |
| 1:14.9 | It is Thursday. |
| 1:16.9 | It is just after 2 p.m. here in D.C., which means it's nine in the evening for you there |
... |
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