1.13.26 Iran’s vulnerability, catching up to China, Mike Huckabee on post-Hamas governance in Gaza, and thriving after homelessness

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It

Episode: 1.13.26 – Iran’s Vulnerability, U.S.-China Military Competition, Mike Huckabee on Gaza, and Thriving After Homelessness

Date: January 13, 2026
Podcast Produced By: WORLD Radio
Hosts: Mary Reichert, Nick Icker

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Overview

This episode tackles several crucial international and domestic issues:

• The precarious state of Iran’s regime in the face of widespread protests
• The United States’ struggle to maintain military parity with China
• Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s outlook on post-Hamas governance in Gaza and the prospects for Middle Eastern peace
• A powerful story of resilience and community support in overcoming homelessness
  Each segment is underpinned by original reporting and expert commentary characteristic of WORLD Radio's biblically informed perspective.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Iran’s Political Crisis and Regime Vulnerability

[06:13–12:48]

Highlights

• Widespread Protests & Regime’s Response
  • Protests spurred by economic hardship and crackdowns have led to over 600 deaths and 10,000+ arrests.
  • Iranian leadership accuses foreign actors (US, Israel) of stirring unrest while showcasing pro-government rallies.
• Expert Interview: Jonathan Saya (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
  • The regime’s position is described as the “most fragile the Islamic Republic has been” since 1979, due to:
    • Weakened regional proxies from Israeli strikes
    • Failing internal security, risk of military defections, and use of foreign militias (e.g., Iraqi PMFs, Hezbollah)
    • Deep generational dissatisfaction, especially among youth

Notable Quotes

• “Young people are risking their lives coming out to the streets. So this is the most fragile the Islamic Republic has been.”
  — Jonathan Saya [07:23]
• (On use of foreign militias) “They’re more likely to feel comfortable opening fire on protesters that are not of their same nationality.”
  — Jonathan Saya [08:35]
• “No matter what America does, these labels [of foreign interference] are going to exist... It is really meaningful now for America to back these threats with real actions.”
  — Jonathan Saya [10:33]

Key Insights

• Saya argues the regime’s negotiation overtures are a stalling tactic, not a genuine desire for reform.
• U.S. support should focus on empowering democratic and secular movements within Iran, through cyber support and resources, not direct military intervention.
• The monarchy under the Pahlavis has become a nostalgic symbol for young Iranians; any transition would aim for free elections.

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2. U.S. Military Readiness and the China Challenge

[12:53–18:46]

Highlights

• Post-Cold War complacency left the U.S. military’s edge blunted; China’s massive military buildup is now closing the gap.
• Budget is ballooning (2026 request: $900B), but modernization struggles with delays (e.g., ICBM replacement now targeted for 2050, 80 years after originals).

Notable Quotes

• “We squandered that advantage as China carried out an unprecedented military buildup.”
  — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, via reporter Mary Muncie [13:33]
• “When an opponent sees our well equipped and tough as nails warriors, they will decide that today is not the day to test American resolve.”
  — Hegseth [13:53]
• “We took a 40 year holiday from building nuclear weapons.”
  — Defense analyst [15:40]
• “It’s hard to understand how military things alone... are the winning ticket entirely. They may be necessary, but they cannot be sufficient.”
  — Henry Sokolsky [16:55]

Key Insights

• The Pentagon prioritizes new shipbuilding, nuclear modernization, and autonomous weaponry, but faces cost overruns and slow timelines.
• Analysts urge U.S. defense to adopt lessons from modern drone warfare—cheaper, more numerous systems—and caution against overreliance on massive, expensive hardware.
• The current strategic mindset is still heavily influenced by Cold War logic, which may not fit the challenges posed by contemporary China and Russia.

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3. Post-Hamas Governance in Gaza & Middle East Peace Prospects

[19:22–24:59]

Highlights

• Interview with Ambassador Mike Huckabee (U.S. Ambassador to Israel)
  • Reflects on the emotional return of Israeli hostages after 738 days [19:32].
  • Describes a U.S.-led push for a “Board of Peace” in Gaza, replacing Hamas—chaired by President Trump and including only those committed to ending terror.
  • Sees opportunity for a historic expansion of the Abraham Accords, speculating that even Syria and Lebanon could normalize ties with Israel (“...the next countries...could even be Syria and Lebanon, something that would have been unthinkable even a year ago” — Huckabee [22:48]).

Notable Quotes

• “President Trump will personally oversee every single person on that [Gaza peace] board. He will be its first chair...they must disarm, as President Trump has told them over and over.”
  — Mike Huckabee [20:21]
• “If there’s any friction between [Trump and Netanyahu]...I just simply don’t see it. Their relationship is close enough that it can afford the differences that they sometimes have.”
  — Mike Huckabee [21:34]
• “Time and time again, what he [Trump] puts in place of the unworkable becomes the unimaginable that actually works.”
  — Mike Huckabee [23:18]

Key Insights

• Huckabee underscores U.S. intentions for a fundamental transformation in Gaza: disarmament and new leadership untainted by terror.
• Optimism for broader Arab-Israeli normalization is tied to pragmatic, direct diplomacy.
• Normalization with neighbors like Syria and Lebanon could bring unprecedented stability to Israel’s borders.

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4. Overcoming Homelessness Through Community and Faith

[26:55–30:56]

Highlights

• Profile of Nina Poli, a college graduate who fell into homelessness after a series of setbacks.
• Survived for months in her car, eventually received help from faith-based organizations (Beacon Rescue Mission and DUMA).
• Received shelter, job training, and eventually an apartment and a car; now works as a middle school teacher and serves on DUMA’s board.

Notable Quotes

• “A lot of people are a couple wrong moves away, you know, a couple paychecks away, you know?”
  — Nina Poli [30:16]
• “We like to give people a hand up, not a hand out.”
  — Todd Snyder, DUMA director [30:36]
• “I feel like as time has passed, I’m like: use me, you know, use me, God.”
  — Nina Poli [30:44]

Key Insights

• Government assistance often isn’t enough; faith communities fill essential gaps.
• “Relentless support” and personal engagement—housing, cars, job leads—can help individuals climb out of deep setbacks.
• Those who’ve benefitted are motivated to pay it forward, strengthening the community network of support.

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5. Commentary: Assisted Suicide in New York State

[31:26–35:11]

Highlights

• Governor Kathy Hochul plans to legalize doctor-assisted suicide, citing compassion, autonomy, and her Catholic upbringing.
• Commentary cautions against normalization and mission creep of “guardrails,” challenges the framing that law merely supports choice and not public sanction.

Notable Quotes

• “I cannot stand here, even as a Catholic, and say, I can’t allow someone else to do something that I perhaps would not do. I cannot stand in their way.”
  — Gov. Kathy Hochul [32:15]
• “Once the state blesses suicide as a possible good...our public policy will say sometimes it is [the answer].”
  — Bethel McGrew (commentator) [33:22]
• “Ending a life is never a solitary act. It requires doctors, pharmacists, regulators, and ultimately the state itself. This is authorization disguised as neutrality.”
  — Bethel McGrew [34:25]

Key Insights

• The ethical and spiritual consequences of assisted suicide are profound, especially when cloaked in religious justification.
• Historical experience shows that initial “safeguards” in such laws tend to erode over time, with pressure both legal and subtle on the vulnerable.

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Notable Moments and Quotes with Timestamps

• Jonathan Saya on the regime’s vulnerability:
  “So this is the most fragile the Islamic Republic has been.”—[07:23]
• On foreign militias:
  “They’re more likely to feel comfortable opening fire on protesters that are not of their same nationality.”—[08:35]
• Huckabee on Gaza peace plan:
  “President Trump will personally oversee every single person on that board. He will be its first chair.”—[20:21]
• Huckabee on Arab–Israeli normalization:
  “...the next countries...could even be Syria and Lebanon, something that would have been unthinkable even a year ago...” —[22:48]
• Nina Poli reflecting on homelessness:
  “A lot of people are a couple wrong moves away, you know, a couple paychecks away, you know?”—[30:16]
• Gov. Hochul on assisted suicide:
  “I cannot stand here, even as a Catholic, and say, I can’t allow someone else to do something that I perhaps would not do. I cannot stand in their way.”—[32:15]
• Commentary on law’s implications:
  “Ending a life is never a solitary act...this is authorization disguised as neutrality.” —[34:25]

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Segment Timestamps

• News and Iran politics: 00:58–12:48
• U.S.–China military readiness: 12:53–18:46
• Middle East & Mike Huckabee interview: 19:22–24:59
• Technology segment (CES coverage): 25:14–26:26 (brief and lighthearted)
• Overcoming homelessness: 26:55–30:56
• Commentary on assisted suicide: 31:26–35:11

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Tone and Language

• The episode maintains a serious, respectful, and thoughtful tone, blending journalistic rigor with a faith-informed perspective.
• Interviewees and hosts speak plainly, using direct, accessible language—often emphasizing the human and moral dimensions of each story.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode offers a comprehensive, faith-oriented look at some of the most pressing issues on the global and domestic stage in early 2026. Its analysis of Iran highlights a moment of rare vulnerability for the regime and advocates for empowered local democratic movement rather than direct intervention. The segment on U.S. military readiness delivers a measured warning about the challenge posed by China and the difficulty of retooling outdated systems in time. Ambassador Huckabee’s interview provides both a personalized account of the Gaza hostage crisis and a broader vision for Middle East peace shaped by pragmatic, unconventional diplomacy. The feature on Nina Poli showcases the power of church-based assistance and personal resilience in escaping homelessness. Finally, the commentary on assisted suicide legislation in New York raises important questions about policy, ethics, and the blending of church, state, and morality.

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Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. Iran's government tries to maintain control as pressure mounts in the streets. Also today, American military readiness.

[Jonathan Saya]

When an opponent sees our well equipped and tough as nails warriors, they will decide that today is not the day to test American resolve.

[Nick Icker]

Well, that's the idea, but why is the US Military playing catch up with China? Later, an interview with the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and how Christians can help combat the alarming proximity of homelessness.

[Nina Poli]

A lot of people are a couple wrong moves away.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Tuesday, January 13th. This is the world and everything in it from listeners supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Icker. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Time for the news now with Kent Covington.

[Kent Covington]

President Trump says Iran wants to negotiate with the United States even as activists report the death toll from nationwide protests has climbed to well over 600. Protests erupted weeks ago over Iran's collapsing economy. Activists say more than 10,000 people have been arrested since. Trump has said the United States could step in if Iran violently targets protesters. But he said Iranian leaders called on Monday.

[Mike Huckabee]

Iran wants to negotiate. Yes, we may meet with them. I mean, a meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what's happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up.

[Jonathan Saya]

Iran called.

[Mike Huckabee]

They want to negotiate.

[Kent Covington]

Trump heard there aboard Air Force One. Officials in Tehran say they remain open to diplomacy while also blaming the unrest on outside forces, including the US And Israel. State media showed large pro government rallies Monday as authorities signaled that they intend to crack down further on demonstrations challenging the country's leadership. The Department of Justice is investigating Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The DOJ is confirming it has issued subpoenas tied to Powell's testimony last year about the design and price of a costly renovation of Federal Reserve buildings in Washington. The renovation totals about $2.5 billion. But Powell contends no one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law.

[Mike Huckabee]

But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's.

[Jonathan Saya]

Threats and ongoing pressure.

[Mike Huckabee]

This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation.

[Kent Covington]

Of the Federal Reserve buildings. The chairman says this is really about President Trump's displeasure with him for the Fed, not more aggressively cutting interest rates to boost the economy. The White House says President Trump did not direct the investigation. And press secretary Caroline Levitt said the matter is being handled independently by the Justice Department. U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro says her office sought information after repeated outreach to the Fed, adding that the legal process was used only after those efforts failed. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is suing the Pentagon, arguing it overstepped its authority by trying to discipline him over comments about military orders. World's Benjamin Eicher has more.

[Jonathan Saya]

Senator Kelly, a retired Navy captain, filed the lawsuit after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth formally censured him. The action followed Kelly's appearance in a video with other Democratic lawmakers that warned service members not to follow unlawful orders. But Pentagon leaders say that what Kelly and other Democrats in the video were clearly implying was that troops should disobey directives from the Trump administration. Hegseth says the censure could lead to a review of Kelly's retired rank in military pay. Kelly argues that the move amounts to retaliation for political speech and violates the Constitution. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing later this week. For WORLD I'm Benjamin Eicker, the British.

[Kent Covington]

Government is pledging to develop new tactical ballistic missiles for Ukraine. Those new deep strike missiles will carry a warhead of up to 200kg over a range of more than 300 miles. The UK's defense ministry said the missile would provide Ukraine with a long range option to counter Russian aggression. Meanwhile, firefighters rushed to extinguish flames in Kyiv after a Russian drone attack on an industrial neighborhood in the capital. No casualties were reported. That comes as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his government is communicating with the US Practically every day, but Moscow has yet to show sincere interest in peace. Thousands of nurses went on strike Monday at major New York City hospital systems after contract talks broke down over staffing pay and benefits. One nurse told reporters the strike is.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

About getting a fair contract for safer.

[Mary Muncie]

Staffing and also sticking to our health insurance, which is what Mount Steiner is trying to pull from us.

[Kent Covington]

Picket lines formed outside of several hospitals. The nurses union says about 15,000 workers walked out. Hospitals stayed open and brought in temporary nurses to cover shifts. Nurses say short staffing has made their jobs unsafe and pushed workloads too far. Hospital leaders, however, say they have improved staffing in recent years and argue that the union's demands would drive costs sharply higher. I'm kent covington and straight ahead, iran's government struggles to maintain control as pressure mounts in the streets. And later, an interview with us ambassador to israel mike huckabee. This is the world and everything in it.

[Nick Icker]

It's Tuesday 13th January. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the WORLD and Everything In It. Good morning.

[Mike Huckabee]

Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

I'm Nick Iger and I'm Mary Reichard. First up, the government crackdown in Iran. The political crisis continues to deepen this week with President Trump calling for possible military action.

[Nick Icker]

The last year in Iran saw shortages, an economic crisis and increasing executions by the Islamic government that culminated with demonstrators taking to the streets in large numbers last month. The protests have spread despite a violent crackdown, and as you heard moments ago, some reports say the number of dead now numbers around 600, with thousands of arrests. Here now to talk about it is Jonathan Saya. He is an Iranian American research analyst at the foundation for Defense of Democracies.

[Mary Reichert]

Jonathan, good morning.

[Jonathan Saya]

Good morning. Great to be with you.

[Mary Reichert]

Jonathan. The regime looks substantially weaker now than it has in the past. How can we measure its vulnerability to falling and what factors weaken it?

[Jonathan Saya]

There are two factors, internal and external. Externally speaking, their proxies in the regions are severely weakened by Israeli attacks throughout the last year. When we talk about their military, of course, air defense systems are down, meaning they cannot repel external attacks. Domestically speaking, not only are they ideologically bankrupt, and not only has the 1979 revolution proven to be deficient and incapable of governing, but more so, young people are risking their lives coming out to the streets. So this is the most fragile the Islamic Republic has been. And you can sense the paranoia given how harsh the crackdowns have been by authorities relying on foreign militias and relying on automatic weapons to attack unarmed protesters that have been protesting entering the third week.

[Mary Reichert]

Now, you mentioned foreign militias. Who are these groups? And why doesn't Iran just use internal security?

[Jonathan Saya]

It is greatly dependent on how paranoid the regime is. So the supreme leader is increasingly concerned with defections from its own military apparatus. These are different entities that have competed with each other, and these are gaps that foreign intelligence have been able to exploit in the past. The Mossad has been able to leverage ongoing rivalries between, let's say, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Intelligence Organization and the Ministry of Intelligence. So these gaps exist. And a second layer is that these militias, given that they're not Iranians, they're more likely to feel comfortable opening fire on protesters that are not of the same nationality as them. They don't speak the same language, realistically, not even the same religion as to who they are and what their background is. Most of them have been designated by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations. Many of them are part of the Iraqi Popular mobilization force, the PMFs. And of course, you have the Lebanese Hezbollah come in.

[Mary Reichert]

President Trump said he is weighing his options, and Tehran has signaled that it is open to talks. What do you think would be the goals of those talks.

[Jonathan Saya]

Regime officials always want to put up a facade of negotiations to ease tensions, to project a false image of improvement, to satisfy and appease their own support base and try to maybe distract the international community and their own population from what's really going on on the ground. But that is a tactic that was used by them during the 2025 spring negotiations, that they dragged out talks without offering any concessions or anything really meaningful. Just to say that one, they've exasperated all options and the ball is in America's court, and two, to signal to the protests that America's not on your side, that America's negotiating with us and not you. So that has been the tactic. Now, whether they that would deter Washington from signaling a strike against Iran's target, that has not been the case. Negotiations were not finally wrapped up in early 2025, before the 12 Day War, and still Israel struck Iranian sites. So just because there are negotiations, that does not mean that Washington is not going to proceed with a military action against Islamic Republic.

[Mary Reichert]

President Trump has threatened Iran with military action over killing the protesters. So what do you see as the correct way forward for the US And I worry that this plays into the US as foreign interferer narrative. What do you think?

[Jonathan Saya]

No matter what America does, these labels are going to exist. Even when there were no foreign interference in the past, Islamic Republic officials still blame and put these false labels on their own citizens, accusing them of being foreign agents or espionage operatives. So given that Islamic Republic has already pushed us down that road, it is really meaningful now for America to back these threats to with real actions. Given that Iranians on the ground are effectively begging for help, given that they're unarmed and they're getting massacred and the numbers are increasingly looking to be in the thousands. So really, the cat's out of the bag. It's now or never. And these remarks coming from Tehran don't carry any weight anymore.

[Mary Reichert]

All right, so concrete steps. What's the correct way forward for the U.S. as you see, it is not.

[Jonathan Saya]

About waging another war against another country. It's about enabling a democratic and secular movement to thrive in a very turbulent region. So it ultimately comes down to targeting the repression apparatus, enabling Iranian protesters through cyber support and through strike funds to maintain this battle against the regime. So that would ensure that in the long run, once we do arrive at the point of regime change, it would look more like a democratic transition with a movement that is aligned with American values.

[Mary Reichert]

And who would that be? If the regime falls, Protesters inside are.

[Jonathan Saya]

Increasingly calling for the return of the Pahlavis, the monarchy that has been really the symbol of this latest protest movement. Young Iranians only have a positive view of the past. Almost all Iranians at this point, majority of them have been born after the 79 revolution. So they've only lived under the misery of the Islamic Republic. And I've only heard about how amazing the economy was under the Shah or how great the passport was and how easily Iranians could travel abroad. It was really about that glory and about reclaiming it. But, but the opposition has been very clear that this would be about enabling a transition movement that would later facilitate the way for elections for Iranians to really define their form of governance. But it's a matter of getting there. And the crown prince is the only person that could lead that.

[Mary Reichert]

Jonathan Saya is a research analyst at the foundation for Defense of Democracies. Jonathan, thank you so much.

[Jonathan Saya]

Thank you for having me.

[Nick Icker]

Coming next on the world and everything in it, keeping pace with China. Late last year, the Defense Department requested $900 billion for its 2026 budget. That's nearly double what it was a decade ago. But is it even enough and is the strategy sufficient? World's Mary Muncie reports.

[Mary Muncie]

At the end of the Cold War, the American military had a clear path to maintain dominance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress this summer that the path has narrowed and China is the reason.

[Jonathan Saya]

25 years ago our military was unchallenged.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

Yet we squandered that advantage as China.

[Jonathan Saya]

Carried out an unprecedented military buildup.

[Mary Muncie]

The defense spending bill aims to make up for lost time, increasing US Manufacturing capabilities, particularly in shipbuilding and nuclear technology, and funding the purchase of more autonomous and long range drones.

[Mike Huckabee]

We're reestablishing deterrence.

[Jonathan Saya]

When an opponent sees our well equipped and tough as nails warriors, they will decide that today is not the day to test American resolve.

[Mary Muncie]

Hegseth says China is the one to keep pace with, something the administration emphasized with an $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan last month. Bob Peters is a defense analyst with the Heritage Foundation.

[Mike Huckabee]

I am all in favor of us.

[Nick Icker]

Arming Taiwan to the teeth.

[Mary Muncie]

The Defense Department says China is trying to amass a large and well trained military to project power worldwide.

[Mike Huckabee]

Xi Jinping, who I think is 76 years old, has said that China will.

[Nick Icker]

Solve the Taiwan issue in his lifetime.

[Mary Muncie]

That doesn't leave much time to update fleets or weapons. And many of the government's biggest projects are behind schedule and over budget. In 2018, the government decided to update the nuclear triad. That's the nation's land, air and sea based systems. A big part of that is replacing land based intercontinental ballistic missiles. The transition was supposed to be complete 10 years from now, but this fall the Air Force pushed completion to 2050, meaning current missiles will have been in service for 80 years and the estimated cost will be nearly $141 billion, 81% over the last estimate. And that is just a single component of the update.

[Mike Huckabee]

So the bottom line is that we're trying to build new plutonium pits, new warheads, new bombers, new rockets, new rocket silos, new ballistic missile submarines, all at the same time.

[Nick Icker]

Elon it's not going well because basically.

[Mike Huckabee]

We took a 40 year holiday from building nuclear weapons.

[Mary Muncie]

Another dimension is human capital.

[Mike Huckabee]

Everybody who had any experience doing it all retired during that period, and we're paying the price for that now.

[Mary Muncie]

And unlike the Cold War, America is now facing Russia and China. But some worry the proposed strategies won't work this time.

[Jonathan Saya]

The committees see a problem and they don't have many ready solutions.

[Mary Muncie]

Henry Sokolsky is the executive director of the Non Proliferation Policy Education Center.

[Jonathan Saya]

And so they go back to the solutions that were used before during the Cold War. That is excusable, explainable, but it will not be a complete thought for what we're up against.

[Mary Muncie]

He agrees that the old systems need an update, but he worries this bill opens the door to build more nuclear weapons, not just replace the old ones. And that door is hard to shut. Besides, Sokolsky argues, in the last century America tried deterrence three times before the first and Second World wars and the Cold War. Only one of those deterred a hot war.

[Jonathan Saya]

It's hard to understand how military things alone of any sort are the winning ticket entirely. They may be necessary, but they cannot be sufficient.

[Mary Muncie]

Sokolsky also worries that we're sinking money into large, complicated and expensive equipment that we can't manufacture quickly if it gets destroyed.

[Jonathan Saya]

The idea that you can concentrate military value by making a vessel bigger is simply to invite it being hit as a juicy target. But if you can see it, you can hit it.

[Mary Muncie]

He says the way to combat this is to make things like camouflage decoys and cheap drones, creating more targets and hiding the biggest ones. Part of the defense bill calls for designing and manufacturing those smaller pieces of equipment lessons learned from Ukraine's drone warfare.

[Jonathan Saya]

That effort needs to be supported as much as possible, and the old ways need to be seriously questioned.

[Mary Muncie]

Questioned, but not necessarily abandoned. Defense analyst Peters says leaders shouldn't overestimate the lessons learned from a country with few options.

[Mike Huckabee]

They're using the cheap drones because they're cheap and that's what they can get their hands on and so forth.

[Mary Muncie]

America has more options, but what it may not have is time. Peters and Sokolsky both say that with a quarter century of inertia away from weapons manufacturing, it will take years to right the ship. Reporting for World, I'm Mary Muncie.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from His Words Abiding in you, a Bible memorization podcast designed for truck drivers. His Words Abiding in you on all podcast apps from Ridge Haven Camp in North Carolina and Iowa Summer camp registration open [e-mail] and from ambassadors Impact Network where investors collaborate on due diligence to fund faith based companies and venture funds. Ambassadorsimpact.com Coming up next on THE WORLD.

[Mary Reichert]

And everything in it. Envisioning a new Middle East. U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee remembers the day the last hostages came home.

[Mike Huckabee]

It was that kind of moment where you remember exactly where you were. I knew most of these families, so when I saw their faces and I saw the reunions, I was just overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude to God and joy.

[Mary Reichert]

October 13, 2025, following 738 days of captivity. Ambassador Huckabee says he thinks we're on the brink of a historic time in the Middle East. World's Travis Kircher talked to him recently about what that might look like.

[Jonathan Saya]

Ambassador MIKE Huckabee, Shalom. Thank you for joining us.

[Mike Huckabee]

What a pleasure. Travis, it's great to be with you.

[Jonathan Saya]

I want to start with the next phase of the ceasefire plan. It calls for a board of peace to replace Hamas as the ruling authority over Gaza. Who do you think should serve on this board? And how can we prevent Hamas sympathizers from getting a seat at the table?

[Mike Huckabee]

Well, I think anyone on that board is going to be very carefully vetted. President Trump will personally oversee every single person on that board. He will be its first chair. The people who are on the board are going to be those who are committed to creating a different kind of Gaza, one that is not driven by Hamas or terror or a mindset that it is okay to just murder and slaughter Jewish people. I really believe we're on the brink of something historic in the Middle East. Wouldn't happen without President Trump. He's the only person I know who could have gotten every one of the Arab nations to come to Charmel Sheikh and sign that document saying that they're going to be a part of the future of Gaza. And they're also going to be standing together to ensure that Hamas has no future there and that they must disarm, as President Trump has told him over and over and over again.

[Jonathan Saya]

Well, obviously President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are allies, but the two have had their differences. Netanyahu himself has expressed skepticism about the proposed Board of Peace. Do you see friction between the two in the future?

[Mike Huckabee]

I speak or meet with the prime minister almost every other day. This part of my job as ambassador from the United States. If there's any friction between the two of them on a personal level, I just simply don't see it. In fact, I would say that I think that their relationship is close enough that it can afford the differences that they sometimes have. But these aren't differences of policy. They're not differences that are divisive. My gosh, I've been married 51 and a half years. My wife and I have some differences, too. But we've still been married all this length of time because we know that we can trust each other. I think in many ways, what I see with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu is the most amazing relationship between two world leaders who like each other personally, who enjoy each other's company, who talk regularly, but they talk honestly. And if there's a disagreement, and surely they have some from time to time, they deal with it respectfully, and they come to a conclusion that they both are realistic and can live with. That's how good relationships work.

[Jonathan Saya]

Well, talk more, if you would, about the future of the Middle east generally. What does that future look like?

[Mike Huckabee]

I think we could see something such as Abraham accords expansion in 2026. Let me surprise you and tell you I think it could be that the next countries that would be a part of Abraham Accords could even be Syria and Lebanon, something that would have been unthinkable even a year ago, unheard of. But it's just kind of maybe indicative of the complete realignment that's taking place in the Middle east because of a very different kind of diplomacy that President Trump has employed. President Trump is the ultimate pragmatist. He. He looks at every decision and wants to know two things. Will it work and will it make things better? And if it won't work, he won't do it. And if it won't make things better, he won't do it. He's less concerned about the horizontal left and right. Will it be liberal? Will it be conservative? He's interested in the vertical. Will it work? And Will it make things better? And if it doesn't, then he throws out the playbook and he puts something on the table that nobody ever thought of before. And time and time again, what he puts in place of the unworkable becomes the unimaginable. That actually works.

[Jonathan Saya]

So Lebanon and Syria are entertaining, joining the Abraham Accords?

[Mike Huckabee]

I think it's possible, yeah. I mean, I'm not going to make a prediction as to when or exactly how it'll all come about, but there's real progress being made there.

[Jonathan Saya]

What would be the implications of that were it to happen?

[Mike Huckabee]

It would bring an incredible calm to the northern and eastern borders that Israel has with both Syria and Lebanon. And I think the leaders of those countries do understand that they have more to gain by normalizing a relationship with Israel than they do by not. They understand Israel is not interested in going into an incursion in either Lebanon or Syria on any permanent basis. The only thing they want is they want a secure border. Israel would love not to have anything to do with Lebanon or Syria other than waving across the fence and saying, good morning, neighbor. And that would be a blessing to everyone on both sides of the fence.

[Mary Reichert]

We'll run a longer discussion with Ambassador Huckabee this weekend on the World and everything in it podcast feed.

[Nick Icker]

Every January, the gadget world gathers in Las Vegas. Vegas to show us the future. And every January, someone reminds us the future might need some adult supervision.

[Mary Reichert]

As I walk around the show floor today, I feel like this year's theme.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

Is just add AI and stir.

[Mary Muncie]

You know?

[Nick Icker]

You know?

[Mike Huckabee]

Yeah.

[Nick Icker]

Elizabeth Chamberlain talking about this year's worst of show, a voice activated AI fridge.

[Mary Reichert]

Got all these cameras now. What you don't want to. You don't want a camera on the.

[Mary Muncie]

Front of your fridge watching you all.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

The time, do you? I don't.

[Nick Icker]

Well, really, AI Was running wild. There's the AI Coach to help you on the treadmill. The AI Barista to help with making coffee. The AI E bike that tells you when it's broken. But listen, I want to go back to that AI Fridge a minute. That may have some promise because if it watches closely enough and if the AI Is honest enough, it'll notice that what you need is for that door not to open and stay locked and you go out for a walk.

[Mike Huckabee]

Yeah.

[Nick Icker]

It's the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

Today is Tuesday, January 13th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Coming next on the World and everything in it. Getting a hand up. Government assistance is designed to be a temporary safety net, but it often falls short, and the needs are not always small. For Christians, the idea of government assistance and the moments it fails raises an important question. What can the church do?

[Mary Reichert]

World associate correspondent Elizabeth Schenck recently met a young woman whose unexpected journey through homelessness gave a network of churches an opportunity to help her get back on her feet.

[Narrator]

Nina Poli woke up in the middle of the night and looked out of her car window.

[Nina Poli]

This is such a scary moment, but I, like, woke up and there was a car parked across the parking lot.

[Narrator]

After a long day of deliveries, she had parked in an empty lot behind a Chicago area warehouse to sleep.

[Nina Poli]

And there's a guy staring at me. This is like the middle of the night. And I drove away. I was so shaken by that.

[Narrator]

Living in her car was supposed to be temporary. She was in her early 20s, a college graduate with a stable job. She was also newly heartbroken and had decided to pack up and move, thinking she could put the pieces back together.

[Nina Poli]

I've heard about people who've, like, lived in San Francisco and have been homeless and they've made it somehow, but they, like, had, like, actual jobs. I was like, I have doordash and I have a car. Maybe I can do it for a second and then I'll just.

[Narrator]

That second turned into six months. She'd broken her lease, and that followed her. Then she wrecked her car in a rainstorm.

[Nina Poli]

I was like, man, this is, like the culmination of all of the bad decisions that I've made. And here we are, and I can't escape it.

[Narrator]

And in a way, her shelter was gone. Her livelihood was gone, and her dad had co signed for the car, so she'd wrecked his credit too.

[Nina Poli]

I remember, like, praying outside one night and, like, asking God, you know, I need you to, like, help me. Like, I need you to help me again, because I feel like I'm not, you know, I'm not where I need to be.

[Narrator]

When Pulley's family discovered she'd been living in her car, they begged her to come back to North Carolina.

[Nina Poli]

And so my dad was like, you can't. You can't stay here.

[Narrator]

Her father knew the feeling. He had been homeless himself when Pulley was a baby. But going back had its own challenges.

[Nina Poli]

I was in the boondocks, and there was no way for me to get to an interview or even get to a job if I got one.

[Narrator]

So Pulley found a shelter in the town of Dunn. Amos Love is the director of the Beacon rescue mission. He connected with Pulley when she arrived.

[Mike Huckabee]

She wanted to be a teacher, but she wasn't. She didn't have the certifications or anything that happened while she was staying with us.

[Narrator]

The mission gave her shelter while she worked on her teaching certifications and worked multiple jobs within walking distance. Then she discovered Douma, the Dunn United ministerial Association. It's a food pantry offering financial assistance and medical care. She met with the director, Todd Snyder, the grant magnate. He wrote over 60 grants this past year.

[Mike Huckabee]

I've got eight of them sitting in there on my desk to do in this next month.

[Narrator]

And he helped her get her first apartment.

[Nina Poli]

And Dunn Duma basically sustained me, literally and literally was the reason why I was able to live there.

[Narrator]

Douma and the mission partnered to get her a car. Love sent out a line to volunteers detailing Pulley's needs.

[Mike Huckabee]

And a friend of ours who's a doctor reached out and said, we want to help with that.

[Narrator]

Today, two years later, Pulley is back at Douma, one person in a sea of over 250. She's here as a volunteer and as a member of Douma's board of directors. Pulley help. Polly helps a woman navigate a grocery cart down a narrow aisle, calling her by name and carefully loading her cart with enough groceries for two weeks.

[Nina Poli]

I started to really think about when people fall through the cracks and how difficult it is to get yourself out of that. A lot of people are a couple wrong moves away, you know, a couple paychecks away, you know?

[Narrator]

Polly's also halfway through her first year as a middle school English teacher. She's still paying off that wrecked car, but she's making it.

[Mike Huckabee]

We like to give people a hand up, not a hand out.

[Narrator]

Todd Snyder is now teaching Pulley to write the same kinds of grants she once received.

[Nina Poli]

I wanted to contribute to an organization in like, a meaningful way and, like, get more involved in the community. I feel like as time has passed, I'm like, use me, you know, use me, God.

[Narrator]

And getting her footing means Polly can offer a hand up to others. Now reporting for world, I'm Elizabeth Schenck In Dunn, N.C.

[Nick Icker]

Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Nick Icke.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Governor Kathy Hochul is delivering New York's state of the state address this afternoon in which she will lay out her key priorities. One of those is to legalize doctor assisted suicide and make New York the 13th US state along with the District of Columbia to allow it.

[Nick Icker]

Defending that mother, the governor has taken her case beyond policy alone. World opinions commentator Bethel McGrew explains what she leaves out.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

Governor Hochul is preparing to sign legislation legalizing doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. In explaining her decision, Hochul has repeatedly framed the issue in terms of compassion, autonomy and conscience, even invoking her own faith.

[Mary Reichert]

I was raised in a strong Catholic family, and for many this is a moral decision, a moral judgment. And there are members of the faith community who will not accept or understand this decision I've made on behalf of not myself, but 20 million New Yorkers. But I can't stand here, even as a Catholic, and say, I can't allow someone else to do something that I perhaps would not do. I cannot stand in their way.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

That framing sounds restrained, humble even. The governor presents herself as stepping aside, letting individuals make deeply personal choices for themselves. But that posture depends on a comforting fiction, that a policy like this is merely hands off. Hochul insists it's not about ending life, only easing suffering.

[Mary Reichert]

I realize we're not talking about ending life early. We're about ending dying early. And so people can transition, surrounded by family, loved ones, not in a hospital bed with strangers at a time when they just slip away after grueling pain.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

But once the state blesses suicide as a possible good, even under limited conditions, that distinction cannot hold. We may continue to say suicide is never the answer, but our public policy will say sometimes it is. To reassure her critics, the governor emphasizes the safeguards she negotiated into the bill.

[Mary Reichert]

Those are some of the constraints I put around this. They're not impossible, but they give me the confidence to know that those voices that were so concerned about this that.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

I've addressed them, of course, we've seen this movie before. In every jurisdiction where assisted suicide is legalized, guardrails that begin as protections are eventually redefined as obstacles. Activists press, courts reinterpret, restrictions loosen, and not all pressure is forcible. It can be ambient, cultural, unspoken. But the sick and elderly will hear the message loud and clear, especially in a system where death is cheaper than long term care. Governor Hochul frames the policy as a matter of personal autonomy.

[Mary Reichert]

No one has to do this. It is a choice.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

But ending a life is never a solitary act. It requires doctors, pharmacists, regulators, and ultimately the state itself. This is authorization disguised as neutrality. And that brings us back to the governor's central moral claim.

[Mary Reichert]

And if a New Yorker chooses to have that under the circumstances we pre designated, then who am I to stand in their way.

[Elizabeth Schenck]

The question is not who she is. The question is what the state becomes once it decides that helping someone die is a public good. And what it becomes once it borrows religious language to absolve itself. Governor Hochul is free to choose this path, but she should leave God out of it. For world I'm Basel McCrew.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow, female athletes fight for an even playing field at the Supreme Court and breaking down language barriers to spread the gospel. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichardt.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Icker. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates. The Bible says everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Four verses from chapter seven of the Gospel according to Matthew, verses 24, 25, 26 and 27 go now in grace and.