The Take: Will the US war machine doom the Iran ceasefire?

The bombs have stopped, for now. What will Trump’s war on Iran cost, and who gets to decide the peace?

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news briefing.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon on April 8, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. It was announced that a temporary ceasefire has been reached between the US, Iran, and Israel, pausing attacks for about two weeks while Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations continue towards a longer-term agreement [Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP]

How do we make sense of the last 40 days? After the threat to wipe out a civilization, the scars of the war so far are only just becoming visible. As the US moves on from language that’s been condemned for genocidal intent, what does it mean for both Iranians and Americans?

In this episode: 

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  • Negin Owliaei (@neginowl), Editor-in-chief, Truthout

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Chloe K Li, Sonia Bhagat, and Noor Wazwaz with Spencer Cline, Tuleen Barakat, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. 

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