Eli Lake

1 week ago | thefp.com | Eli Lake

Today we’re bringing you the latest episode of Breaking History, the podcast where I go back in time in order to make sense of the present. The last episode told the story of how comedian Lenny Bruce brought vulgarity into the mainstream of American culture. This week, in the wake of a shocking attack on Indian nationals, we’re diving into the history of Pakistan, a nation that empowers Islamists. Listen to the episode, which features voices from both the past and present, in the player above.

1 week ago | thefp.com | Eli Lake

Over the weekend, Iranian envoys met with their U.S. counterparts at the Omani Embassy in Rome. At the table was Michael Anton, a senior State Department official with a penchant for charcoal-brown suits, Italian neckwear, and fine wine. Earlier this month, Anton was in Istanbul. He was sent by the Trump administration to keep tabs on the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives after three years of war.

2 weeks ago | thefp.com | Eli Lake

American Vulgarity, from Lenny Bruce to Kanye WestWhen you restrain jokes, an obscene backlash is inevitable. Today we’re bringing you the latest episode of “Breaking History,” the podcast where I go back in time, in order to make sense of the present. The last episode told the story of how North Korea got the nuke. This week, we’re looking at the godfather of American lewdness, Lenny Bruce.

2 weeks ago | nysun.com | Eli Lake

The death today of Michael Ledeen takes from America one of its most courageous historians and journalists — a figure who had been one of the liveliest and smartest in Washington, where for years he operated from the American Enterprise Institute. He had a corner office crammed with shelves of books and other totems of a life well lived, among them photos from his time teaching in Italy and a Darth Vader mask. The Darth Vader mask was a testament to his wit.

3 weeks ago | thefp.com | Eli Lake

After months of mixed signals from Washington over what Donald Trump’s foreign policy will mean for the Middle East, the president has revealed his hand. In his speech Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump explained that America is no longer trying to remake the world in its image. “In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins,” Trump said.