Economic D Day Hits Iran With the Toughest Sanctions Ever, FBI Foils ISIS Plot to Bomb the NY Capitol, Newsom Signs Law Targeting a Reporter | Your News Talk America | August 24, 2026
Your News Talk America with Jake Smith
Show Notes for Monday, August 24, 2026
Today's Featured Guest
Paul Davis is Vice President at the Institute of World Politics, with strategic and tactical analysis experience spanning the Cold War to today's upheaval in the Middle East, and expertise in cyberterrorism and intelligence. He joins Jake for the first two segments to open the show on Economic D Day and the widening pressure on Iran. Bio: iwp.edu/faculty/paul-m-davis
9:00 Show Open: Economic D Day Has Arrived
Jake opens with Paul Davis of the Institute of World Politics as the United States prepares to unleash its toughest ever economic offensive on Iran. The question of the morning: what will Washington do today, and how can Tehran even respond?
- Iranian inflation was already running over 90 percent amid mass unemployment. Is the regime even able to pay the IRGC and its regular army?
- Oil is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran's gambit to close it has failed, with US escorts moving 200 ships a week and rising, up nearly 400 percent from two weeks earlier.
- The United Arab Emirates, Iran's largest trading partner, cut off all transactions last week, including financial ones.
- Pakistan back in the mix: army chief Asim Munir spoke with President Trump last week, days before expected talks in Tehran.
Sources: New York Post, Trump is winning the Iran war · Jerusalem Post live updates
Guest: Paul Davis (@TheIWP), Vice President, Institute of World Politics · iwp.edu/faculty/paul-m-davis
9:20 A Struck Tanker, Iraq's Militias, and an Israeli Strike in Syria
Paul Davis stays on to track a fast moving map across the region.
- Iran warns that vessels violating its Strait of Hormuz rules could face fines, detention, or confiscation, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority posted on X. Who are they kidding?
- A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 63 nautical miles west of Saudi Arabia's port city of Yanbu, setting the main deck on fire. Houthis?
- Hamas continues to interfere with humanitarian operations inside Gaza.
- Iraq appears to be backtracking on its September 30 deadline to place militia weapons under state control.
- Israel's airstrike in northern Syria may have helped spur US action toward a Syria and Israel accommodation. Why did Israel strike?
Sources: Jerusalem Post, Gaza operations · Jerusalem Post, Iraq militias · Jerusalem Post, Syria strike
Guest: Paul Davis (@TheIWP), Vice President, Institute of World Politics
9:35 What Happens if Iran's Economy Collapses?
Christine Balling of the Institute of World Politics joins Jake on how this economic campaign is different and what a collapse could unleash.
- If drones are the new warfare, what do we call Economic D Day for Iran? How do these sanctions differ from every round before?
- Other Gulf states once helped Iran evade US sanctions. This time that does not appear to be happening.
- Was last week's leak about US ship escorts through the Strait a deliberate signal to get Tehran's attention?
- If Iran collapses, does Israel watch it crash or step in? And is there room for a humanitarian effort?
Guest: Christine Balling (@ChrBalling), Senior Vice President for Professional Affiliations, Institute of World Politics · iwp.edu/faculty/christine-balling
10:00 Are the Toughest Sanctions in History Tough Enough?
Brigadier General Blaine Holt joins Jake on whether the economic offensive can bring Iran to heel, and on a widening set of fronts.
- What will the United States unleash today, and how can Iran realistically respond?
- Why did the FDA approve an mRNA flu vaccine?
- In response to Iranian drone attacks deep inside Russia, Putin has stepped up strikes on Kyiv. Momentum, or a war of attrition?
- A milestone at the podcast: Episode 50, Target Ireland, is ready for download.
Guest: Brigadier General Blaine Holt, USAF (ret) (@the_irascible), host of the Dangerous Intellectuals podcast · dangerousintellectuals.com
10:20 Newsom Signs the Stop Nick Shirley Act
Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit joins Jake on a new California law that critics say takes direct aim at investigative reporting and the First Amendment.
- Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the controversial Stop Nick Shirley Act into law.
- Critics argue it is an attack on the kind of investigative journalism that digs into government malfeasance.
- Expect a Supreme Court fight, and a state that may simply ignore the outcome.
Source: New York Post on the Stop Nick Shirley Act
Guest: Jim Hoft, Editor, The Gateway Pundit · thegatewaypundit.com
10:30 America's Hundred Years' War Against Communism
Dr. Bradley A. Thayer joins Jake to argue that the fight against communism never ended. It evolved, spread, and embedded itself in American institutions and culture.
- His book America's 100 Years' War: How to Win Against Communism makes the case that the Cold War never truly ended because communism was never defeated.
- An Epoch Times op-ed by Armstrong Williams asks why some of America's most privileged young people have become its harshest critics.
- So how do we actually win the war against communism?
Source: The Epoch Times, when privilege turns against America
Guest: Dr. Bradley A. Thayer, author of America's 100 Years' War: How to Win Against Communism
10:50 Why Are Oil Prices Falling on Economic D Day?
Peter C. Earle of the American Institute for Economic Research joins Jake on a counterintuitive market as Washington readies its sanctions.
- Brent crude fell $1.23, or 1.3 percent, to $93.16 a barrel Monday, while West Texas Intermediate dropped $1.36, or 1.6 percent, to $85.70. Why lower ahead of the announcement?
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to unveil new sanctions on Iran and its trading partners. He calls it the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary.
- Which trading partners get hit, how hard, and can Russia absorb any more US sanctions?
- What would a total economic collapse in Iran do to world markets?
Guest: Peter C. Earle, Senior Director of Research, American Institute for Economic Research · aier.org/people/peter-c-earle
11:00 Can MAGA Survive Without Trump on the Ballot?
Author Scott Greer joins Jake on the most consequential question facing the American right as Trump reshapes the party in his image.
- Two developments in the past 24 hours sharpen the question: can the movement hold together when Trump is no longer on the ballot?
- What to make of the reported meeting between Jared Kushner and Hakeem Jeffries.
- Does the failure to deliver the Save American Act reflect on Trump, or on Senate Republicans who are not his allies?
Guest: Scott Greer, author of Whitepill: The Online Right and the Making of Trump's America and host of the Highly Respected podcast
11:30 An ISIS Plot Foiled, and a Firebombing Left Unsolved
Investigative reporter Scott Wheeler joins Jake on two cases that, side by side, raise hard questions about how the FBI chooses its targets.
- The FBI says it foiled an ISIS inspired plot to kill officials and damage the New York State Capitol, arresting 35 year old Jessica Bowie after she took possession of what she believed was an explosive device.
- Prosecutors say Bowie pledged allegiance to ISIS, ran reconnaissance, bought bomb making materials, and planned to hide a device in a food delivery bag.
- Wheeler contrasts that success with the unsolved firebombing of a pregnancy center in Amherst, New York, claimed under the Jane's Revenge banner, where the FBI made no arrests but his own team says it identified suspects.
Guest: Scott Wheeler, investigative reporter, national security expert, and US Army veteran
11:50 Salute the Troops
Jake closes the show honoring Master Sergeant Luis F. Deleon Figueroa. We thank him for his service and sacrifice.
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