In the tradition of British dramas, Erin, Loren, and Radha reunite for a special holiday episode. The ladies flip the script, answering a range of questions from the first ever Manniversary guest Kai Ryssdal. They then return to some of their greatest hits including transition process, civ-mil issues, and personnel policy replete with process details and holiday movie analogies. Stay through the end to hear pop culture recommendations and special appearances from many former guests with answers to their favorite Bombshell questions ..read more

For their 100th episode, Erin, Loren and Radha discuss new issues, like the escalating conflict at the Ethiopia-Eritrea border, old issues, like HVT targeting of al-Qaeda leadership, and, of course, continuing trade issues with China. They then turn to a discussion of all the White House mayhem (Ok, not all! No one has that kind of time), including lack of legal authority for Department of Homeland Security leadership to make decisions about DACA, the Defense Department “purge,” and the complicated, not-quite-yet-started transition of the Biden administration. The team ties a bow on this episo ..read more

Loren, Erin, and Radha are joined by their most frequent guest (Kori Schake) and a new guest (Katrina Mulligan) to discuss foreign policy issues we'll need to worry about regardless of the election outcome! After a lively discussion, the ladies go over foreign policy issues that have been over-discussed, under-discussed, and the processes that will always be their valentines. They wrap up with pop culture, self-care, and indulgences to help get you through election day and beyond ..read more

Loren, Radha, and Erin reconvene to explore many of Bombshell's greatest hits - Brexit, troop levels in Afghanistan, and arms control. With a dash of ethnic conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh thrown in for flavor. The ladies then drop a Bombshell of their own: this fair podcast will be wrapping up in 2020. It's the final countdown!  ..read more

Erin, Radha and Loren use COVID-19 as a frame to ask what this crazy time has brought to our attention, what it’s distracted is from, what it’s possibly helped, and how it’s shaped our own skills and interests.  And shopping.   Links “Covid-19 and No-Deal Brexit Could Cost UK $174 Billion a Year,” Reuters, October 01, 2020 “No-Deal Brexit Risks Violence in Norhtern Ireland, MPs Warn MI5,” The Guardian, October 05, 2020 Todd Lopez, “Covid-19 Response Sparks Efforts to Strengthen Supply Chain,” US Department of Defense, September 29, 2020     ..read more

This week, Mira Rapp-Hooper and Rebecca Lissner return to the show to discuss American grand strategy, female partnerships, and their fabulous new book, An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First Century Order. The ladies then revisit the administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East - with notes on the UAE-Israel accord and Iran sanctions drama. Also, Tiktok! Soothing pop-culture ties a bow on it ..read more

Loren, Radha, and Erin invite Camille Stewart, non-resident fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center, to discuss all the cyber threats and how individual behavior uniquely connects with our ability to mitigate or respond to them. In keeping up foreign relations, we provide short updates on Alexei Navalny, Belarus, and Brexit alongside a brief farewell to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. We'd like to remind you all that Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq are still a thing, and after all the takes have been shared on Trump's views on service members, we talk about the role of the press in this story ..read more

Radha, Erin, and Loren host Nina Jancowicz, disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center and author of How to Lose the Information War, to talk about the ongoing protests in Belarus and what we should read into the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In keeping up foreign relations, the ladies explore the latest U.S. attempt to use the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or “Iran nuclear deal”) — an agreement the United States ghosted on — to reinstate sanctions on Iran, and in White House mayhem they assess how the recent Senate Select Committee on Intellig ..read more

This week Erin and Radha regroup while Loren takes a much-deserved vacation. They do a quick review on COVID-19 with the good (100 days no new cases in New Zealand), the bad (cases in Brazil, India, and the United States continue to grow), and the ugly (long-term economic consequences in the United States, India, and Brazil). They also dig into the recent explosion and protests in Lebanon and then go deep on the recent executive order impacting TikTok and WeChat. After reminding us that Afghanistan is still a thing, they talk about the lack of accurate and comprehensive briefings for ..read more

This week the band is back together with Loren, Radha, and Erin once again all in the same time zone. They dive into Mike Pompeo's China speech, global COVID trends, and the world-famous Missile Technology Control Regime. Also, Congress approved the NDAA, and they have lots of thoughts on DHS "troops" engaging protesters in Portland. Stick around for pop-culture dissection of the Guinevere Deception!   Links “Communist China and the Free World’s Future,” US Department of State, July 23, 2020 Thomas Wright, “Pompeo’s Surreal Speech on China,” Atlantic, July 25, 2020 Richard Haass, “W ..read more