Jared & Ivanka Conquer Albanian Island

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<p>Tommy and Ben are back to discuss a week that includes collapsed ceasefire(s), the World Cup, and Jared and Ivanka pretending to be conquistadors.</p><p>The so-called ceasefires between Israel and Lebanon and the US and Iran continue to unravel, while Trump insists he has Iran and Israel under his control and twists reality (and the English language) to fit his narrative. Then, Ivanka Trump claims to have "discovered" a pristine, protected ecological island off the coast of Albania, sparking major protests and a government corruption investigation. The FIFA World Cup kicks off this week across three countries and 16 cities, and the guys dig into the Trump administration's decision to use the biggest sporting event on earth as an opportunity to deny visas to fans, journalists, and even Africa's top referee. Xi Jinping pays his first visit to North Korea in seven years amidst reports about Kim Jong Un's surprising economic turnaround. Former Trump National Security advisor John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified information, while a CIA official is caught with 303 gold bars and a 15-year-old Nigerian congressional candidate is exposed for faking his age on the campaign trail. Then Tommy speaks with the BBC's Mexico, Central America, and Cuba Correspondent, Will Grant, about life on the ground in Cuba, what US intervention on the island could look like, and the vibes in Mexico City ahead of the World Cup. Will’s book is<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/populista-the-rise-of-latin-america-s-21st-century-strongman-will-grant/bc22cc0f50088ffe?ean=9781789543971&amp;next=t"> Populista: The Rise of Latin America's 21st Century Strongman</a>.</p><p>Buy Ben’s book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/all-we-say-the-battle-for-american-identity-a-history-in-15-speeches-ben-rhodes/c9d9b22b61e6fd44?ean=9780593595121&amp;next=t"><em>All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches</em></a>  and subscribe to his Substack <a href="https://benrhodes1.substack.com/p/notes-on-the-stories-we-tell?r=7jalf&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;shareImageVariant=overlay&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnk2XQpGCmzcvVGkeFlK9dqpiOZOtrjYa6vZNZOGIUYKNGWNuwRdTS-TcWTxc_aem_CO-34uPQ7U7nZXxTI-IbdQ&amp;triedRedirect=true">here</a>.</p><p>For a closed-captioned version of this episode, <a href="https://youtu.be/r4zbEZ5-bZQ">click here</a>. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date</p></div>