The State of It: USA – Trump v Iran: what MAGA and the military are saying
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, the Times is launching another new politics podcast – a sister show to our Westminster offering, but this time across the pond, taking you inside the White House… Subscribe to The State of It: USA, wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to the first ever episode of The State of It: USA. An attack on Iran looks imminent: we reveal what senior military and political figures are saying about it. Also, is Donald Trump taking a softer line on immigration after the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis? And get ready for Melania, the movie.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory
Hosts:
- Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times.
- Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal.
Producer: Euan Dawtrey.
Executive Producer: Molly Guiness.
We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com
Further listening: The State of It
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Manvine here. |
| 0:05.0 | You might have noticed that we've been covering the USA quite a bit over the last few months, |
| 0:10.2 | from Donald Trump's foreign escapades in Venezuela and Greenland, to the turmoil at home with |
| 0:17.3 | ice in Minnesota. |
| 0:19.0 | The state of the United States has rarely been more fraught. |
| 0:24.0 | And we can't quite look away. |
| 0:26.9 | So now is the perfect time to introduce you to a brand new podcast from the Times, |
| 0:31.7 | the state of it USA. |
| 0:34.1 | Joining its UK sister show covering Westminster, |
| 0:37.1 | the state of it USA will bring you the latest insights and best gossip about US politics. |
| 0:43.2 | Katie Balls, the Washington editor of The Times, joins us from the US Capitol, where she's been embedded with MAGA insiders for the past year, |
| 0:51.2 | while long-time US columnist Gerard Baker brings his 30 years of experience |
| 0:57.1 | reporting from New York to help us understand what an earth is going on. |
| 1:03.0 | New episodes are out every Wednesday, so do subscribe now to make sure you don't miss one. |
| 1:08.1 | Here's a taste of the very first episode. |
| 1:17.2 | Music or you don't miss one. Here's a taste of the very first episode. Hello and welcome to the State of It, USA, a new podcast from The Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 1:24.9 | I'm Jerry Baker. I'm editor-at-large of the Wall Street Journal and a columnist for The Times. I used to be editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal. Despite my accent, I've lived in the United States for 30 years, and am an American citizen I became one a few years ago. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm hoping it still is. And I am joined in this weekly podcast by my colleague, |
| 1:45.7 | the Washington editor of The Times and the Sunday Times, Katie Balls. |
| 1:48.1 | Katie. |
| 1:48.7 | Yeah, I am not a US citizen, and I moved here seven slash eight months ago |
| 1:53.6 | after 10 years in Westminster. |
| 1:55.9 | And now I have my Sunday column Washington Insider |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.