In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill wade into the moral fog of war, asking an old question that never quite stays settled: when, if ever, is war justified? Using the framework of Just War Theory, they unpack the escalating conflict between Donald Trump and Iran, and the public tension between Trump and Pope Leo.

Is this war defensible under traditional criteria like just cause, proportionality, and last resort—or are those categories breaking down in real time? And what happens when political power collides with spiritual authority over the meaning of justice itself?

Expect sharp analysis, a few irreverent detours, and a conversation that refuses easy answers. Because if Just War Theory is supposed to clarify our moral vision, this moment might be testing its limits.

What happens when Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan get dragged into the same geopolitical argument? You get one wild quote from Benjamin Netanyahu—and one even wilder episode of New Persuasive Words.

This week, Scott and Bill react to Netanyahu’s eyebrow-raising claim that history suggests goodness doesn’t really have an edge over ruthless power. In other words: nice guys…don’t finish first. Or second. Or maybe even at all.

Naturally, the guys introduce a new moral framework for our troubled times: WWGD — What Would Genghis Do? (Spoiler: it’s not “turn the other cheek.”)
Along the way, they wrestle with some uncomfortable questions:

• Is history just a scoreboard for the strong?
• Does moral goodness actually “win,” or does it just write better memoirs afterward?
• And are we supposed to take geopolitical advice from a 13th-century warlord now?

It’s sharp, a little irreverent, and just self-aware enough to know that comparing Jesus and Genghis Khan might say more about us than about history itself.
Come for the hot take. Stay for the existential crisis.

Is the war with Iran actually a religious war? That’s the explosive question posed by Tucker Carlson in a viral clip that has ricocheted across the internet. In the video, Carlson suggests that beneath the geopolitical rhetoric—nuclear weapons, regional stability, national security—there may be something deeper and more dangerous at play: religious narratives about holy sites, prophecy, and the possibility of rebuilding the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill react to Carlson’s question and ask what it reveals about the current moment. Are religious ideas actually shaping foreign policy—or is this just another conspiracy-flavored explanation for a complicated geopolitical conflict? Along the way, they unpack the strange alliance of nationalism, theology, and online discourse that now frames debates about Iran, Israel, and America’s role in the Middle East. Is Carlson raising an uncomfortable question… or just lighting another rhetorical fire? Scott and Bill dig in.