International Law
185 episodes
#6325: Can Diplomacy Repair Economic Isolation?
The Jewish People Policy Institute has documented 139 separate restrictive measures against Israel since 2023.
#6210: Who Decides If an Election Is Real?
57 countries hold multiparty elections that aren't real contests. So who certifies a vote — and why do clean democracies skip full scrutiny?
#5838: What Customs Officers Actually Read at the Booth
Two spouses, one passport line, two completely different rooms — and a 1980 study that upends what officers think they see.
#5821: Free Speech's Outer Edge: Hate Speech Law
Brandenburg v. Ohio rewrote when speech becomes a crime. Which countries go furthest toward zero restrictions — and why none fully do.
#5791: How to Become an Honorary Consul for a Tiny Nation
A retired consultant in Wales represents Kiribati from his house. Can you engineer that on purpose? The playbook, the vetoes, and the plaque.
#5788: What Is a Consulate That Isn't a Consulate?
Israel says the consulate closed. Britain says the mission lives. Same building, same seven staff, one screwdriver.
#5736: The UK's 14 Overseas Territories, From Pitcairn to Chagos
Fourteen territories, three Crown Dependencies, and one fight that won't end: why the Chagos Archipelago dispute keeps going.
#5731: Inside the FlyDubai Cockpit Axe Interrogation
A co-pilot, an axe, and a 14,000-foot dive. What actually happens in the interrogation room — and why the calm matters.
#5713: Who Rescues You at the Ends of the Earth?
The Arctic has a binding rescue treaty. Antarctica has nothing. Here's who actually comes when you're stranded at the poles.
#5706: Two Poles, Two Fates: Arctic vs Antarctic
One pole is a militarized chessboard, the other a treaty-bound science preserve. Same frozen water — completely opposite outcomes.
#5685: East Jerusalem's Residency Trap: What 300,000 People Actually Want
A third of East Jerusalem's residents hold residency, not citizenship. What the polling says about identity surprises almost everyone.
#5662: Right of Reply: What the Rulebook Actually Says
The IDF's 10-page rebuttal to NAZA bundles a valid procedural complaint with an invalid one. Here's what journalism codes actually require.
#5659: The Ethics of Anonymous Testimony in Documentary
A new IDF response to a Venice-winning film raises a sharp question: what do documentarians owe when sources stay truly anonymous?
#5652: Ireland, Israel, and the Price of a Gesture
Black armbands, a bowed anthem, a handshake withheld — what the Ireland-Israel fixture reveals about protest without a price.
#5649: Who Actually Controls Europe's B61 Bombs?
The US parks B61 bombs in six allied countries — but never hands over the keys. How nuclear sharing is engineered to not require trust.
#5644: Scrambled Jets and the Hijack Code: What Really Happens
A 737 squawks 7500 over Saudi airspace and Israel scrambles fighters. What those jets can actually do — and why "escort" isn't the right word.
#5586: The Ancient World Was More Connected Than You Think
Could an ordinary person travel the Roman world? The evidence says yes — and the reasons we think otherwise are revealing.
#5567: The Sinai Crossing Where a Stamp Draws the Border
A 24-hour pedestrian crossing between Eilat and Taba, where a free stamp, a one-kilometer fee waiver, and four treaty zones shape every trip into S...
#5564: Why Egypt Tops the "Never Going Back" List
Egypt dominates a viral thread of countries travelers swear they'll never revisit. Here's why — and what the defenders say.
#5556: Ranking the World's 5 Worst Bus Rides
Five real long-haul bus routes ranked by misery — breakdowns, borders, and no toilets — with extra weight for arriving somewhere ordinary.
#5531: Crayon Lines and Custom Posts: How Border Precision Creates Absurdity
A wax pencil drawn across a 1948 map became Jerusalem's binding border. Ghajar's line is precise but unmarked. What makes a border real?
#5527: Seven Ways to Measure a Country's Isolation
Netanyahu's quick UN trip sparks a bigger question: how do you actually measure a country's isolation? We build seven heuristics.
#5357: Pan-Arabism, the Umma, and Why the Arab League Can't Enforce Anything
What pan-Arabism actually claims, why it isn't the umma, and why 22 members can't stop sanctioning each other.
#5348: Greenland's 56,000 People, Two Big Powers, and One Vague Deal
85% of Greenlanders oppose joining the U.S. — yet Washington and Copenhagen are about to sign a security deal about their island.