Why U.S. allies are saying 'no' to Trump

Here & Now Anytime

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

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Summary

As the war in Iran enters its third week, the Straight of Hormuz remains effectively closed, with Iran blocking oil tankers from moving through. This has caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket. Now, President Trump is demanding U.S. allies help reopen it. Journalist Negar Mortazavi details the latest in the war.

Then, new artificial intelligence-powered headsets will give Burger King workers a "friendliness score" based on their customer interactions. Law professor Ifeoma Ajunwa unpacks the ethical questions surrounding this type of workplace surveillance.

And, the Irish music scene in Japan is growing, and O'Jizo is one of the bands driving it. WBUR's Amelia Mason reports on the band’s contemporary grooves and inventive arrangements.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:05.7	It'd be interesting to see what country wouldn't help us with a very small endeavor, which is just keeping the straight open.
0:14.8	President Trump threatens NATO allies to help the U.S. reopen the strait of hormones.
0:28.7	Thank you. NATO allies to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It's Monday, March 16th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBOR, Boston.
0:34.9	I'm Shiko Théuri.
0:39.0	Today on the show, AI is coming to a fast food joint near you.
0:43.4	Hundreds of restaurants are outfitting drive-through workers with listening headsets.
0:48.2	So this is certainly not new, and it certainly seems like yet another salvo in the use of AI technologies to surveil and manage workers.
0:59.1	And Celtic music just keeps growing in popularity, so much so that Japan is producing its offensive against the Iranian-supported militia Hezbollah by sending ground troops into Lebanon.
1:23.7	The U.S. military says Iran has carried out more than 300 retaliatory missile and drone attacks throughout the region since the war began, hitting targets in Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE and Israel, among others.
1:36.9	Iran has also cut off ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global energy prices.
1:42.4	The national average for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now $3.72.A.
1:48.2	That's 70 cents higher than before the war began.
1:51.6	President Trump is now pressuring several countries to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz by sending warships there.
1:58.3	The U.S. is also focusing its air campaign on Karg Island, a key port in the Persian Gulf and hub of Iran's oil industry.
2:06.4	Nagar Mortizavi is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C., and host of the Iran podcast.
2:14.1	Here's her conversation with Peter O'Dowd.
2:16.6	So President Trump says China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the U.K.
2:21.5	Should help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
2:24.4	First of all, how would that work?
2:25.7	And maybe more importantly, will anyone agree to actually do it?
2:28.5	Well, yeah, the important part is it seems like no one wants to be part of this because
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