Bombshell
104 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 644 ratingsThis is Bombshell, a bi-weekly podcast coming to you from Washington insiders to dissect today’s foreign policy crises and tomorrow’s security challenges. We’ll talk military strategy, White House mayhem, and the best cocktails known to (wo)man. Brought to you by War on the Rocks.
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Episodes
And the Money Kept Rolling In
December 04, 2018 17:46 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBThis week Erin, Loren, and Radha read the G20 tea leaves, opine on continued chaos in Afghanistan, and remind you about all the White House mayhem from Saudi politics to a Moscow Trump Tower. Radha gets way too excited about USMCA (pronounced U-Smack-Ah) and all things trade before the ladies round some pop culture. Keeping Up Foreign Relations Afghanistan Rahim Faiez, "At Least 40 People Killed in Deadly 24 Hours Across Afghanistan," TIME John Bacon, "3 American service members k...
Come What May
November 20, 2018 18:25 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBErin, Radha, and Loren invited Dr. Lindsay Cohn of the U.S. Naval War College to join their posse and explain America's history of employing the military for domestic purposes. In Keeping Up Foreign Relations, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is still negotiating the terms of her break up with the EU, and new revelations on the tragic killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are giving us a collective heart attack. A new entrant to White House mayhem, First Lady Melania Trump, flexes her muscle ...
A Post-Election Bomblette
November 08, 2018 17:34 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBLoren, Erin, and Radha meet up in a special short episode to talk about the election aftermath. What will happen with the change in the house, who is on the Senate armed services committee, and what is oversight anyway?! Plus, a quick discussion on the defense budget and why data and statistics should be a year-round pastime!
Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman
October 23, 2018 18:37 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBThis week Tamara Cofman Wittes joins the Bombshell ladies to discuss the fallout of the Khashoggi assassination and the future of US-Saudi relations. We get further bogged down in Afghanistan and try to understand the migrant caravan moving north from Central America. Then Radha tries to cheer us up by explaining the intricacies of the Universal Postal Union. For icing on the cake, we dive deep into the INF treaty and wonder if the Defense Department really being asked to cut its budget. ...
Every Rosé has a Thorn
October 09, 2018 14:52 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBThis week, Loren, Radha, and Erin are reunited to discuss such cheery topics as political assassinations and sexual violence (albeit in the form of Nobel Prizes awarded to combat it). Radha dives deep on NAFTA 2.0, and we work our way through the crazy Chinese hacked hardware story. Rounding out White House Mayhem, John Bolton is back and joins the president and vice president in making blustery foreign policy speeches. And Erin demands answers on Banksy's newest prank. New WOTR podcas...
Every Rosé has a Thorn
October 09, 2018 14:52 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBThis week, Loren, Radha, and Erin are reunited to discuss such cheery topics as political assassinations and sexual violence (albeit in the form of Nobel Prizes awarded to combat it). Radha dives deep on NAFTA 2.0, and we work our way through the crazy Chinese hacked hardware story. Rounding out White House Mayhem, John Bolton is back and joins the president and vice president in making blustery foreign policy speeches. And Erin demands answers on Banksy's newest prank. New WOTR podcas...
In Vino Veritas
September 26, 2018 16:23 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBThis week on bombshell Erin and Radha drink at Kori Schake's favorite bar in the world. Joined by Amelia Egghart, they discuss why climate change is still a thing and the (lack of) process in national security issues from Syria to Korea. They also remind us why you shouldn't start a land or trade war in Asia. And of course all the White House mayhem that's fit to print. Did we mention the guest was a chicken? Venezuela https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/world/americas/donald-trump-vene...
Live at the Army Navy Club!
September 11, 2018 15:19 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBThe Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, hosted Loren and Radha this week for a live show. Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy and Valerie Insinna of Defense News joined the Bombshell crew to discuss defense journalism in the Trump administration, what it's like to cover a 17 year old war, and the most mayhem of mayhem weeks the White House has had in the last year. To listen to the audience Q&A for this episode, sign up for the War Hall at https://warontherocks.com/subscribe
Next Time Jack Write a Memo
September 04, 2018 19:26 - 47 minutes - 43 MBErin, Radha, and Loren head back to school from summer break, with smiling and shining faces. This week they catch up on some extensive Kabul mayhem, covering recent Taliban forays into Afghan-government controlled cities, the state of possible negotiations among both parties, and how this fits into new changes on command at ISAF and CENTCOM. Revisiting a topic that's come up since the first episode of Bombshell, the ladies check in on U.S. support to the coalition campaign in Yemen and rec...
It’s Aghast
August 07, 2018 16:44 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBWhile the ladies of Bombshell will talk with just about anyone, should the U.S. government? Bombshell dives into President Trump's proclivity for theatrical political summits with adversaries, following up on current efforts in Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran. Radha introduces a new segment on trade: It's Aghast! And the National Defense Authorization Act is a 2500 page gold mine of wonky policy fun. Keeping up Foreign Relations North Korea "North Korea continuing nuclear prog...
And Now For Something Quite Special
July 24, 2018 16:07 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBAlina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit. Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May’s Brexit woes continue as she mucks around with Northern Ireland. And despite Secretary Pompeo’s personal attention, President Trump is catching on to the fact that Singapore did not set up the greatest of deals with North Korea. In White House mayhem Trump...
And Now For Something Quite Special
July 24, 2018 16:07 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBAlina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit. Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May’s Brexit woes continue as she mucks around with Northern Ireland. And despite Secretary Pompeo’s personal attention, President Trump is catching on to the fact that Singapore did not set up the greatest of deals with North Korea. In White House mayhem Trump...
No Muppet, No Muppet. You're the Muppet.
July 11, 2018 16:09 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBThis week we do our best impersonation of the Georgetown set recording from 1789 and lamenting the world gone to hell. We break down Pompeo's trip to North Korea, Theresa May's Brexit woes, and the NATO summit which has already been overrun by chaos Muppets. With so much White House mayhem, we focus on Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin, and Radha gets on her soapbox about MAVNI and suitability screenings. Need a pop-culture escape? We suggest Crazy Rich Asians and Sharp Objects. Dahli...
Mutually Assured Dysfunction
June 26, 2018 15:47 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBBombshell goes international! Loren warily crosses the border to visit Stefanie von Hlatky, Stephanie Carvin, and Elaine Bunn for a special Canadian episode at the Kingston Conference on International Security. The ladies give deterrence a playlist and it’s own film series, then dive deeper into what deterrence means to the public and How to Teach Your President About Deterrence. And since deterrence is above all a human interaction, we discuss that elephant in the room: what it means to be ...
Practical, Tactical Brilliance
June 21, 2018 14:27 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBIn the most ambitious crossover event since that one time on TGIF, Bombshell joins Rational Security for a very special joint episode. Radha, Erin, Loren, Shane, and Susan take on our hellscape of a government’s evolving policy on family separation; Radha as a Real Life Economist schools us on the not-so-cleansing fire of the latest trade wars, and, of course we go full blast on Space Force. You knew it was coming. It’s real. And it’s spectacular.
The Goat Rodeos
June 11, 2018 14:50 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBRadha, Loren, and Erin invite Alex Bell to preview the Singapore Trump-Kim summit, explaining that while there’s more than staring into one another’s eyes for arms control, chemistry is a good start. When we recorded, the G7 had wrapped but not yet crashed and burned into a playground taunt with Canada, so Radha gives a good lesson on tariffs instead of assessing border skirmishes along the Great Lakes. If you’ve been distracted you may have not noticed the absurd amount of Chinese espionage...
The Hangover
May 29, 2018 16:11 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThis week we ask Emma Ashford to reveal the mysteries of Trump's Middle East policy. Then Loren, Radha, and Erin dive into the recent trade dramas before pondering whether the summit with North Korea is best understood as a Rom-Com or Telenovela. Colombian elections, change of command in Afghanistan, and the toxic culture within ICE round out the conversation before we escape to the wonders of pop-culture. Emma Ashford and John Glaser, “Unforced Error: The Risks of Confrontation with I...
The Only Way Out Is through
May 15, 2018 17:47 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBThis week the Bombshell crew does something different. After a crazy few days in the national security world, we break down the good, the bad, and the pop-culture remedies. From Spain to Iran, to Iraq and Lebanon, to Niger and back home to the Haspel hearings and aviation mishaps we ask ourselves: what are we doing here? Also, Arnie Hammer discovered Iran-Contra and we rank order our favorite Chrises. Revolutions Podcast Fundraiser "Spain's ETA Basque terrorists disband," Economist ...
All He Had to Do Was Turn Left
May 02, 2018 16:12 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThis week on Bombshell, Rebecca Lissner of Penn's Perry World House guest hosts with Radha and Loren to discuss the handshake heard round the world at the DMZ. The Iran Deal is on the rocks yet again, despite the entreaties of a very affectionate President Macron of France and #squadgoals eye rolls of Chancellor Merkel. The White House has some personnel wins (Pompeo's confirmation), losses (Dr. Ronny Jackson's trash fire of a VA nomination) and draws (Gina Haspel's confirmation delay). A...
Only Mostly Dead
April 18, 2018 16:17 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBThis week on Bombshell, Radha, Erin, and Loren play natsec madlibs with Amanda Sloat, discussing every possible complexity of US-Syria policy during John Bolton's first week. The neverending potential for a trade war, protests in the run up to the US embassy in Israel's moving day, and Russian expulsions get a lightning round in Keeping Up Foreign Relations. And for White House mayhem they stick to the other side of the river, checking in on the disturbing trend of aviation mishaps, the an...
Long Legs and Brains
April 02, 2018 14:56 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBErin, Radha, and Loren make it back to the Show (where we never handle our own luggage), welcoming back all-star guest Kori Schake to talk NSC turnover, civil-military relations, and everything else that's radical in a tubular kind of way. We break down Kim Jong-Un's super-secret trip to Beijing and note that when the Saudi Crown Prince showed up for his two week tour of America, not all welcomes were warm. Meanwhile, VA Secretary Shulkin is out (sometimes you win), the president's personal...
Not Bringing Rexy Back
March 20, 2018 19:39 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBThis week, the ladies of Bombshell welcome Lindsey Ford, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, to chat about this spring's Appointment in Helsinki: the US-North Korea presidential summit. Then, they set an Iran Deal death watch and puzzle through what happens when Red Sparrow meets real life in the nerve-agent poisoning of a Russian double agent in the UK. White House mayhem continues to say "hold my beer" with the firing of Rex Tillerson and what it means for Trump administration Kremli...
Been Caught Steelin'
March 06, 2018 19:01 - 51 minutes - 47 MBThis week, the ladies of Bombshell welcome Sarah Margon, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, to explore a side of the Syria conflict we discuss too little on this show: the human dimension. The ladies wade through three different political maelstroms in Italian elections, President Xi’s quest for immortality, and President Putin’s land of misfit nukes. Hairstyles, process, and wrongheaded beliefs about trade deficits explain the White House, and Radha plugs spoken word cookbooks (wri...
Been Caught Steelin'
March 06, 2018 19:01 - 51 minutes - 47 MBThis week, the ladies of Bombshell welcome Sarah Margon, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, to explore a side of the Syria conflict we discuss too little on this show: the human dimension. The ladies wade through three different political maelstroms in Italian elections, President Xi’s quest for immortality, and President Putin’s land of misfit nukes. Hairstyles, process, and wrongheaded beliefs about trade deficits explain the White House, and Radha plugs spoken word cookbooks (wri...
No Joy in Munchen
February 21, 2018 19:49 - 46 minutes - 53.2 MBThis week, the Bombshell ladies welcome Lauren Fish of the Center for a New American Security to talk all things FY19 defense budget, including why this big funding increase may not be all that it seems. While finding future employment for Navy SEALs on the skeleton track, we talk North Korea’s charm offensive, how we and maybe everyone else have totally lost the plot in Syria, and why the Munich Security Conference was the party everyone wanted to bail on. We offer everything you wanted t...
Cha Cha Bang Bang
February 06, 2018 14:15 - 51 minutes - 58.9 MBThis week the ladies of Bombshell return to regularly scheduled programming, re-introducing ourselves with our new Bombshell questions including everyone's favorite bars and least favorite books. Next we turn to our old friends Afghanistan and North Korea (wondering if we'll ever get a public debate on either), before wonking out to the Nuclear Posture Review and State of the Union address. Also, if you PT three times per day but don't log it in Strava does it even count, bro? Finally, a daz...
It's Raining Men
January 26, 2018 15:44 - 1 hour - 74 MBOn our first anniversary we couldn’t help but wonder: What's it like to be a man in national security? Kai Ryssdal, Frank Gavin, and Benjamin Wittes join us to discuss.
Be Like Shawn
January 12, 2018 15:25 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBBombshell returns from a long winter's nap for its first 2018 episode and first test run of a brand new set of Bombshell questions! Christy Abizaid joins us to talk Pakistan and the joys of Austin, TX, and we talk protests in Iran and what happens when South Korea hears that hotline bling. Yet another White House shuffle could be in the works, and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of a new defense strategy. Finally, hyperspace ramming and Nazi uncles get the attention you'd expect from us ...
Special Episode: Live from Maxwell AFB!
December 19, 2017 17:37 - 1 hour - 88.6 MBLoren, Radha, and Erin traveled to Maxwell AFB for a special live year in review episode at the Air Command and Staff College. Come for their thoughts on the biggest national security stories of the year and stay for an extended Q&A with ACSC students (starting around 39:00). Plus, bonus Star Wars commentary.
We Can Only Hope, Sir
December 13, 2017 19:55 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThis week Susanna Blume joins to tell us how the sausage is made on Capitol Hill - the defense budget, continuing resolutions, and other congressional hijinks. And Radha returns from maternity leave! Then we wade through the president's Jerusalem announcement and recent Brexit breakthroughs, before dissecting the new National Security Strategy. And of course we discuss Season 2 of "The Crown" - and our new gift guide! Episode Reading: Susanna V. Blume and Lauren Fish, “A Brief History ...
Candlesticks Always Make a Nice Gift
November 29, 2017 16:20 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBThis week on Bombshell we talk with Mieke Eoyang about, well, basically everything. We take a rapid fire tour of political dramas in Zimbabwe, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Stop for a bit to bask in the crazy sunshine of Turkish plots and then return to the United States just to ask: Exactly how many troops do we have overseas? Then just for kicks, we debate what a lawful order for a nuclear first strike would look like. We wrap up with Mieke's Twitter conversation with John Cusack and...
Burn Before Pleading
November 15, 2017 19:52 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBThis week on Bombshell, Quinta Jurecic of Lawfare (and Washington Post!) fame joins us to break down the Mueller investigation, AUMF debate, and whether Mike Flynn is really a character from a Coen Brothers' movie. We also discuss the president's trip to Asia and do our best to understand the drama in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, which is all happening without the benefit of a functioning State Department. Quinta confesses her love of James Comey's Twitter account, while Erin and Loren do their...
The Fallout's Gonna Kill You
November 01, 2017 14:11 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBThis week on Bombshell, Alice Hunt Friend joins us to talk all things Africa and civ-mil. We dive into U.S. operations in Niger and the Kenyan elections reboot. Shinzo Abe and Xi Jinping get new mandates while preparing for the president’s big trip to Asia, along with the rest of us. And we all wait for the fallout from the Mueller indictments. Episode Reading: Alice Hunt Friend, "What Does Niger Have to Do with the AUMF?" Center for Strategic and International Studies Alice Hunt Friend...
Me too and the Gimme Gimmes
October 18, 2017 19:08 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBThis week on Bombshell, special guest Elizabeth Rosenberg explains the art of unmaking the Iran deal and the consequences of the Trump administration's Iran 'strategy.' Foreign relations are keeping us busy with a tinderbox in Kirkuk at the worst possible time, and a new lens on the Pentagon's under-scrutinized advise and assist efforts in Africa that resulted in four soldier's killed in an ambush this month. Mattis and the White House are sending mixed signals on transparency and democratic...
We Got This, Rexy
October 04, 2017 14:22 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBThis week, the Bombshell squad goes shoulder to shoulder into the fray of referenda for the Iraqi Kurds and the Catalans in Spain, alongside a recap of the German general election. Like many women have before us, we ask "Why Chad?" and explore the merits of the new Trump travel ban. We wonder if it was painful for Secretary Tillerson to get cut off at the knees over North Korea, and contemplate the interagency fun of the Puerto Rico relief efforts. Finally, we spend some quality time pond...
How I Learned to Start Worrying...
September 20, 2017 00:46 - 53 minutes - 48.6 MBErin, Radha, and Loren get the band back together and invite Laura Rosenberger to dish about the launch of the Alliance for Security Democracy (her new project aimed at countering Russian efforts to undermine democratic institutions), her love of the Steelers, and our open invitation to military listeners to help us land on a carrier. Then it's Groundhog Day in Keeping of Foreign Relations, with new antics and new histrionics around North Korea and Iran, and White House mayhem heads to New Y...
Lattes at the End of the World
September 06, 2017 20:56 - 54 minutes - 50 MBThis week, Bombshell bids farewell to summer with our final distributed ops episode, closing out what has been a nice, quiet August (ha. ha). Afghanistan is, as usual, still a thing, but this time President Trump - or his teleprompter - actually gave us some thoughts on the matter. We lament waking up to a nuclear test in North Korea and the latest chapters in the Kenyan election and China-India border disputes, and drill down on how everything became about readiness and readiness became abo...
Livin' in a Powder Keg
August 22, 2017 18:37 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBThis week the Bombshell crew preps for the eclipse from opposite corners of the world to ask why we haven't all perished in the Fire and the Fury (alternate title for our next romance novel). Along with North Korea we talk India-China donnybrooks, military 'options' in Venezuela, and are somehow not overwhelmed by all the mayhem emanating from the White House. We go once more with feeling in Afghanistan, ask what Bannon's departure will mean for foreign policy, and debate the Chiefs subtweet...
Day-Drinking Like a Queen
August 08, 2017 12:54 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MBThis week on Bombshell, we each dial in from parts-unknown to compare our drinking habits to the Queen of England. We also discuss new North Korean sanctions, whether anyone sent flowers to the new Pakistani Prime Minister, and what on earth is happening in Venezuela. White House mayhem is dialed to eleven and we dissect leaks, tweets, and the new sheriff in town. Finally Loren and Radha confess their love of spoilers because they’re obviously insane control freaks. Episode Reading: "Dive...
How to Lose a Clearance in 10 Days
July 25, 2017 13:30 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBSusan Hennessey of Lawfare and Rational Security fame joins Radha and Erin to wade through recertifying the Iran deal, social media shenanigans in the Persian Gulf, and whither the new Russia sanctions. Also on tap: all the leaks! and how we forgot about our $1 billion in foreign loans. Radha swoons over a baby hippo and Erin begs Loren to return so we can talk about Jon and Sansa. Reading: Peter Baker, “Trump Recertifies Iran Nuclear Deal, But Only Reluctantly,” The New York Times. Mon...
In Space, No One Can Hear you Scream
July 12, 2017 14:35 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBSpecial guest Amy Shafer joins us for the full show and highlights her fabulous research on the civil-military divide in America (and dishes on the Air Force Tops in Blue). Then we celebrate the liberation of Mosul, walk through the North Korean missile test, and wonder what exactly happened at the G20 meetings. Also on the table: Whither our Afghan strategy? And Erin gets giddy over space marines. Stick around for our “Game of Thrones” preview!* *By which we mean fan-girl shouts of joy an...
Bombshell LIVE! Fake News Edition
June 30, 2017 16:00 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBA special LIVE episode from the CNAS annual conference. We pour some French 75s and talk to Karen Attiah and Jia Lynn Yang from The Washington Post about national security in a time of distraction. Then we dive into the Modi visit, late night Syria shots, and Defense Department recruiting and personnel issues. We wrap up with questions from the audience and a blast from the past: how not to dress like an Army colonel.
Gutter? Catahr? Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
June 21, 2017 15:31 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBHow do you solve a problem like Qatar? This week over Pimms Cups, we talk with Mara Karlin about all the Middle East dramas (and why she loves the SAIS cult). We lament the State Dept budget and UK politics, pay tribute to the USS Fitzgerald, and wonder if we’ll ever have a strategy in Afghanistan or Syria. Finally, American Gods, the Manic Pixie Dream S2 of Band of Brothers, and Fidget Spinners. Reading: "Afghanistan Stabilization Program: A Summary of Research and Key Outcome Trends," b...
Soon, and For the Rest of Your Life
June 07, 2017 12:45 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBThis week we go it alone to focus on your questions! We force Radha and Loren to actually define their true loves of process and staffing, all while drinking delicious white sangria. Plus, what’s a wonk? Then we dig into the president’s whirlwind trip, upcoming U.K. elections and Erin and Radha's obsession with measurement error, how to make decisions on major international agreements after a Frenchman shakes your hand too hard, and whether the world is really as zero-sum as reality TV. Re...
Drink to the Foam
May 24, 2017 16:42 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBThis week we trek out to the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis for a geek field trip of epic proportions (three words: Jack Ryan's couch). We drink some rum and Claude Berube's scotch, and ring up former Under Secretary of the Navy Janine Davidson to talk about service secretaries, readiness, and why there is no Santa Claus. Then we dive into the Iranian elections, Syrian proxy war(s), our many desires for special counsels and other investigations, good skin care, and the defense budget...
Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Bombshells
May 10, 2017 14:35 - 54 minutes - 50 MBThis week on Bombshell, we say nothing about Jim Comey! We recorded Monday and who could have guessed we'd be here today? Instead, we discuss recent casualties in Afghanistan and Somalia, check in on Venezuela and the French elections, and talk about the many ways one does and does not talk to friendly dictators. We also do our part to keep Costco margaritas in business. And then, in honor of Mother’s Day, we talk to our moms. You should too (your moms, not ours). Episode Reading: "Elite ...
Mother of all Bombshells
April 26, 2017 17:51 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBThis week on "Bombshell," we dissect Trump’s first 100 days: whither America First, Axis of Adults (or just the big kids table?), budget shenanigans, and delegating all the things. But first, Mira Rapp-Hooper joins us to walk through the state of play on the Korean Peninsula (and reveals where you can get literal bombshells made into knives). And then Loren and Erin confess why all we want in life is Mara Jade back in the Star Wars canon. Want to meet the Bombshell crew in person? Click he...
Red, Red Lines
April 12, 2017 16:13 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBThis week on Bombshell we take a long look at Syria with special guest Melissa Dalton: what happened, what questions to ask, what hot takes to avoid, and where to go from here. And then we drink a lot. Also on the table: Devin Nunes and the Great Unmasking, reading tea-leaves in the National Security Council staff and membership, Jared Kushner's Wes Anderson adventure, how one dresses to go to war, and a few of our favorite spy novels. Readings: Jane Perlez, After Xi Leaves, Chinese Media...
There Xi Goes
March 29, 2017 16:05 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBThis week on "Bombshell," Kelly Magsamen joins us to talk about Sec Tillerson’s Asia visit, the upcoming Trump-Xi soiree, and North Korean chicanery. We also discuss splitting the check with NATO, attacks on civil servants, whether the Defense Department deserves a bonus (and how to spend it), and why we love Christine Fox. We also answer questions from the audience and reveal our favorite bourbon bars in DC. Readings "Did Rex Tillerson Misspeak?" by Laura Rosenerger "The Rebalance is ...
Iraq Chalk, Chickenhawk, DPRK Who?
March 15, 2017 13:33 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBThis week Radha, Loren, and Erin drink hot toddies and reluctantly dig into the newest Marine Corps scandal. They also explore growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and Europe with a brief "missiles: big, medium, and small" explainer; debate the wisdom of loosening counter-terrorism policies while gutting American soft power (aka, Is it always a good time to kill bad guys?); and exorcise the bogeyman of the deep state. Stick around for pop culture digestif. Readings: Marine Scandal as...