Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about a scary rise in tensions between the US and Iran in the past week — a (possibly inflated) Iranian plot against American troops in the Middle East, and an Iranian announcement of plans to stop abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has long supported going to war with Iran, appears to be intentionally escalating the situation — and it’s not clear how much of an off-ramp there is. On Elsewhere, they discuss dictatorial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s move to overturn the results of an election he doesn’t like, and what it says about the new model of authoritarianism in places like Turkey and Hungary. References! You can read Bolton’s entire Iran statement here. Alex has an explainer on the standoff. The Daily Beast reports that the Trump administration inflated Iran intelligence. Iran declared that it wouldn’t abide by certain parts of the nuclear deal. Zack has you covered on Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and what it means. Alex has a long feature on worsening US-Turkey ties that details many of Erdogan’s authoritarian actions. Here’s the Amnesty International statement on how Turkey jails tons of journalists. CNN has a good piece on the Istanbul mayoral elections and why the results were such a big deal. It’s worth watching two videos of protesters in Istanbul banging pots and pans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices