Fareed Zakaria GPS

Episode: The Global Square: Navigating Economic and Political Challenges

Date: February 22, 2026
Host: Fareed Zakaria
Guests: Richard Haass, Karim Sajdepur, Kimberly Clausing, Jonathan Haidt

Episode Overview

In this episode, Fareed Zakaria explores the pressing economic and political challenges facing the U.S. and the wider world. The discussion ranges from the precarious fiscal situation in major American cities, to the U.S. military buildup near Iran, the fallout from a major Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s tariffs, and the landmark trial of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the impact of social media on youth mental health.

Key Segments & Insights

1. Zakaria’s Take: Urban Fiscal Crisis and Unaffordability

[00:02–08:51]

Main Points:

• New York City’s Soaring Budget

  • The city’s budget has nearly doubled in a decade, now rivaling that of mid-sized countries, while population dropped by ~5% since 2020.
  • High per-capita spending (30% higher than LA, double Houston) with mediocre outcomes in education and public services.
  • Quote:

    “New Yorkers pay tax rates comparable to European countries that provide universal health care, free college education and amazing infrastructure. New Yorkers get some 300 miles of sidewalk sheds.” — Fareed Zakaria, [04:55]

• Tax Burden and Fiscal Imbalance

  • Combined state and city income taxes for top earners can exceed 50%, while business tax rates are the nation’s highest.
  • Political inertia: “Blue cities are out of control, promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future day.” — Fareed Zakaria, [06:30]

• Urban Policy Recommendations

  • Critique of subsidy-based solutions for housing; calls for market-driven housing expansion to address affordability.
  • Highlight on government focusing on core competencies: schools, streets, sanitation, abundant housing for the middle class.

Notable Quotes:

• “New York City does not need more soaring rhetoric. It needs more homes.” — Fareed Zakaria, [07:44]

2. Middle East: U.S. Military Buildup vs. Iran

[08:51–14:06]; [15:23–20:41]

Guests: Richard Haass (CFR), Karim Sajdepur (Carnegie Endowment)

Main Topics:

• Escalation Dynamics

  • U.S. has amassed “massive amounts of American firepower” near Iran; President Trump considering limited strike.
  • Haass: Current crisis is one of choice, emboldened by a perceived easy win in Venezuela (“masters of the universe” syndrome).

• Decision-Making and Strategy

  • Lack of careful deliberation compared to historical precedents (Iraq and Afghanistan).
  • Quote:

    “This administration is very forward on its skis. ... They thought they were invincible. ... We’re not prepared for step two, step three. We got to start playing chess here. Checkers is not enough.” — Richard Haass, [10:23]

• Iranian Perspective

  • Sajdepur: “Game of chicken” between Trump and Supreme Leader Khamenei, who is “more prepared to die a martyr than a capitulator.” [11:28]
  • Iranian regime betting that U.S. action may reinforce internal security force cohesion, despite public unpopularity.

• Regional Implications

  • U.S. allies (Saudi Arabia, UAE) now warn against U.S. attack, fearing regional blowback and destabilization.
  • Quote:

    “They don’t have the luxury of being thousands of miles away from Iran... [the] US military force cannot remain indefinitely in the region.” — Karim Sajdepur, [19:03]

Outcomes Predicted:

• Haass: Unlikely either side wants a large war; expects a negotiated climb-down, possibly with a limited “face-saving” exchange.

  • Quote:

    “My guess is this massive armada is not going to engage in a large, prolonged conflict. Neither side wants it. ... They find a way through negotiations at most a limited exchange to basically declare victory.” — Richard Haass, [16:25]

• Both emphasize dangers of overreach and the lack of public debate or Congressional scrutiny.

  • Quote:

    “Where’s the congressional hearings? Where’s the public debate? This is one of the few conversations about it, given the stakes totally absent.” — Richard Haass, [19:59]

3. Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariffs

[20:41–29:36]

Guest: Kimberly Clausing (UCLA Law; former Treasury economist)

Main Topics:

• Landmark Ruling

  • Supreme Court strikes down the use of a 1977 law for imposing tariffs, reinforcing Congressional authority.
  • Fareed parallels it with the historic Youngstown steel seizure ruling (1952):

    “To you, what's the significance of this ruling?” — Fareed Zakaria, [22:13] “It’s a defense of rule of law ... the power lies with Congress, not the president.” — Kimberly Clausing, [22:13]

• Trump’s Pivot and Limitations

  • Trump now uses a different statute allowing up to 15% tariffs for 150 days, but with stricter conditions and zero likelihood for Congressional extension.
  • Quote:

    “There’s really no evidence” of a balance of payments crisis now required for new tariffs. — Kimberly Clausing, [22:58]

• Tariffs’ Impact and Political Viability

  • The new global blanket tariff is less arbitrary than previous country-specific tariffs, but still distorting, especially at business level (uneven exemptions).
  • Public overwhelmingly opposes tariffs (65% disapproval in polls); little to no chance Congress will support continuation.
  • Anticipate ongoing court challenges and continued uncertainty for business.

4. Social Media on Trial: Meta and Youth Mental Health

[31:37–39:47]

Guest: Jonathan Haidt (NYU; Author, "The Anxious Generation")

Main Topics:

• Meta’s Internal Research and Public Accountability

  • Internal Meta studies showed as early as 2018 their platforms were harming youth’s mental health and were deliberately designed for addiction.
  • Quote:

    “They knew damn well that they were addicting kids. ... They reward their engineers for increasing engagement. But some of them actually literally use the word addiction.” — Jonathan Haidt, [31:37]

  • Litigation now brings these findings into public and legal scrutiny, potentially setting precedent for accountability.

• Distinguishing Correlation from Causation

  • Haidt rebuts Meta’s “just correlation” argument, citing longitudinal, experimental, and natural experiment evidence.
  • Quote:

    “This is a meta talking point ... It's just completely not true. ... We've organized seven lines of research and the claim that, oh, it's just correlation ... now it's just absurd.” — Jonathan Haidt, [33:31]

• Remedies: Age Limits & School Phone Bans

  • Discusses Australia's new age-16 minimum for social media; enforcement is delegated to tech companies, not government; school phone bans shown to have immediate positive effects.
  • Quote:

    “The school bans have been magic. The school bans have been incredibly effective all around the world.” — Jonathan Haidt, [37:14]

• Long-Term Societal Impacts

  • Emerging realization that attention span destruction is the larger, underestimated harm, affecting most of the generation born after 1995.

Notable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “New York City does not need more soaring rhetoric. It needs more homes.”
  — Fareed Zakaria, [07:44]

• “This administration is very forward on its skis. ... We're not prepared for step two, step three. We got to start playing chess here. Checkers is not enough.”
  — Richard Haass, [10:23]

• “More prepared to die a martyr than a capitulator.”
  — Karim Sajdepur (on Ayatollah Khamenei), [11:28]

• “My guess is this massive armada is not going to engage in a large, prolonged conflict. Neither side wants it. ... They find a way through negotiations at most a limited exchange to basically declare victory.”
  — Richard Haass, [16:25]

• “The president had managed to generate the largest tax increase in a generation without ever going to Congress. But ... that power lies with Congress, not with the president.”
  — Kimberly Clausing, [22:13]

• “They knew damn well that they were addicting kids. ... They knew that they were addicting kids. They reward their engineers for increasing engagement. But some of them actually literally use the word addiction.”
  — Jonathan Haidt, [31:37]

• “The school bans have been magic. The school bans have been incredibly effective all around the world.”
  — Jonathan Haidt, [37:14]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Urban Fiscal Crisis & Zakaria’s Take:
  [00:02–08:51]

• Middle East Crisis (Iran):
  [08:51–14:06]; [15:23–20:41]

• Supreme Court Tariff Ruling:
  [20:41–29:36]

• Social Media and Youth Mental Health:
  [31:37–39:47]

Summary Format:

This summary adheres to the episode’s thematic structure, preserves the tone and direct analysis from the speakers, and highlights the most urgent challenges in American politics, foreign policy, economics, and technology. It offers a roadmap for listeners to revisit segments of greatest interest, and connects the most incisive remarks to their policy implications.