Karen Elliott House knows well the personalities and history of the Middle East conflict from her experiences as a reporter, editor, and author. She received a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for her reporting on King Hussein of Jordan. She later became foreign editor of The Wall Street Journal and eventually its publisher.

She has written two books on Saudi Arabia: the most recent, published in July 2025, The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia; and, thirteen years earlier in 2012, On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future.

This is a critical moment to consider the history and future of the region, as the war continues and Israel carries out bombings in retaliation against Hamas.

We will talk specifically about the role of Saudi Arabia, its leader, and his actions within the kingdom and the broader region.