Trump’s Iran Strategy Explained, the Mystery Behind Biden’s Health, and John Quincy Adams’ Remarkable Second Act

Next Up with Mark Halperin

MK Media

News, Daily News, Politics

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of “Next Up with Mark Halperin,” Mark uses his reported monologue to put to rest the debates over the “why?” and “why now?” questions about President Trump’s decision to use military force in Iran. By looking at nearly half a century of statements from Trump himself and from his immediate predecessors, Mark illustrates how clear Trump’s rationale and reasons are for the historic decision, leaving space to ask the other important and germane war-time questions for the United States and the world. Later, Mark is joined by Bob Crawford, bassist for The Avett Brothers and co-host of “The Road to Now” podcast, to discuss his new biography “America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick.” Crawford explains what drew him to Adams’ extraordinary life and why the sixth president keeps reappearing at key turning points in American history. He also recounts Adams’ remarkable second act after the presidency, when he served nearly two decades in Congress and became a leading voice in the fight against slavery. Finally, Dr. Raymond Scalettar joins the program to discuss the history of presidential health and the long-standing tension between transparency and privacy when it comes to America’s commanders-in-chief. He also weighs in on why concerns about President Biden’s health were not fully shared with the public. Bank On Yourself: Discover the retirement plan banks Don't want you to know about—get your free report at https://BankOnYourself.com/Mark Acre Gold: Start building physical gold with simple monthly payments and enter to win two Ancient Collection gold bars at https://GetAcreGold.com/MARK 120Life: Go to https://120Life.com and use code NEXTUP to save 20%

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody, it's Mark Alpert here. Welcome to a wartime edition of Next Up Thursday,
0:06.5	and we've got a lot to cover in the midst of this war. I'm the editor-in-chief of live interactive
0:11.5	video platform, Two-Way, and your host here, guide to everything that's next up.
0:16.6	I'm grateful to all of you for being nexters and being part of the program. Interesting stuff today.
0:21.6	We're going to talk American history with two authors, two authors of new books. First, Bob Crawford,
0:28.1	you might know him as the basis for the Grammy-nominated group, the AVet Brothers. He also hosts a podcast,
0:35.2	weekly historical podcast called The Road to Now, an incredibly interesting guy.
0:39.3	And now he's written his first book, a fascinating tome called America's Founding Son,
0:43.3	John Quincy Adams, from president to political Maverick. It's coming out this week. And you may
0:48.9	say, who cares about John Quincy Adams? After you listen to my conversation with Bob, I think
0:53.4	you will care about John Quincy Adams. It's a great my conversation with Bob, I think you will care about
0:54.4	John Quincy Adams. It's a great book. It brings to life a really important person in American
0:58.3	history and a really important moment in American history. After that, someone who I've hosted
1:03.6	on Two Way many times, also a great historian and participant in American history, Dr. Raymond Scholar is a renowned expert. He's been a
1:14.3	doctor for a long time. He's extraordinarily articulate about the role doctors need to play in
1:19.8	treating our presidents and other public officials, super knowledgeable and had an incredible
1:24.1	extraordinary career in his own right. Ray will be here as well.
1:28.1	I'm excited to talk to them both and to share their stories with you.
1:31.3	But first up, my reported monologue on the question about why Donald Trump has gone to war.
1:36.6	Why and why now?
1:38.3	It's been painted as a big mystery.
1:40.2	I'm going to tell you based on my reporting, why it's not a mystery,
	...

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