Three Vans, a Startled Farmer and an Iranian Plot Against the U.S.

About this episode

<p>What exactly happened near an air base in Britain used by the United States?</p><p>Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, discusses what he’s learned about the mysterious events around the base, including the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. Air Force bombers.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/eric-schmitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Eric Schmitt</strong></a><strong>,</strong> a national security correspondent for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>A mysterious call near a military base used by the United States set in motion a huge counterterrorism response and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/world/europe/raf-fairford-air-base-incident-iran.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">days of uncertainty in Britain</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/us/politics/iran-drone-attack-threat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The United States withdrew 12 bombers from the base</a> after information emerged about a potential Iranian drone attack, U.S. and British officials said.</li></ul><p>Photo: Getty Images</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>