Tech Colonels, Posse Comitatus, Iran
Sirens: A Bombshell production
This is Sirens, a new podcast from the hosts of Bombshell. This week Loren, Erin, and Radha recast military movies with Muppets and kick off "it's a drill" - cocktail chatters on recent events like the commissioning of tech leaders and stalling of the big beautiful bill. Diving deeper with "Dumpster Fires," they talk concerns on domestic use of military forces and promise and perils of AI in public sector. With "Warning Signs" they dig into slow burn crises and long term hazards, with this week (no surprise) on Iran. How did we get here and is it a big deal? Closing out, a Gong Show...
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Cozy Mysteries, Delicious fantasy, and Nonfiction?
Sirens: A Bombshell production
This is Sirens, a new podcast from the hosts of bombshell. This week Loren, Erin, and Radha are experimenting with shorter form content to dive deep on matters large and small in between thelonger shows. Our first one explores summer reading philosophy, and you'll come away with a dozen ideas for your beach library. Come for the cozy or delicious novels, stay for the new series you should try. There's also some nonfiction if that's you thing!
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Bond markets, AI and DOGE2025
Sirens: A Bombshell production
This is Sirens, a new series, brought to you by the Ladies of Bombshell - Loren DeJonge Schulman, Radha Iyengar Plumb, and Erin Simpson. In this episode, our hosts talk about why they are launching a new podcast, reveal what horrible things they have discovered at the bottom of their work bags, and talk about issues that may lure men to their death (but in a good way!). They discuss what's stuck in their craw from the big beautiful bill to changes in foreign student rules to drama in the national security council. Then, they deep dive on key issues like why is there a race on AI,...
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Look what you made me do
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Loren, Erin, and Radha reunite for a special 90 minute episode to break down the biggest and messiest issues from the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. Come for the new (AI!) ice breakers, stay serious analysis (and gossipy intrigue) of tariffs-ahem-TRADE TAXES, a whole new world of foreign relations, and general government mayhem. And of course pop culture from spicy dragon books to Star Wars to our old favorite Thomas Cromwell. (An independent production)
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Then One Foggy Christmas Eve
Sirens: A Bombshell production
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.
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One for the Road
Sirens: A Bombshell production
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...
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Anticipation Is Making Me Late
Sirens: A Bombshell production
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!
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Final Countdown
Sirens: A Bombshell production
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!
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Karma Puh-leeze
Sirens: A Bombshell production
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 “,” Reuters, October 01, 2020 “,” The Guardian, October 05, 2020 Todd Lopez, “,” US Department of Defense, September 29, 2020
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When There are Nine
Sirens: A Bombshell production
This week, Mira Rapp-Hooper and Rebecca Lissner return to the show to discuss American grand strategy, female partnerships, and their fabulous new book, . 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.
info_outlineBombshell takes a step back to offer some context to the whirlwind of Ukraine and related investigations: what’s with Ukraine’s political trajectory, why is it a magnet for crises involving external actors these days, and how is it being impacted by today’s scandals? In Trump’s trade negotiations with China, how have elections become intertwined with those discussions? Turning to the White House, President Trump has had multiple crises emerge from calls with foreign leaders - how does his process shape those results. The NSC staff is wrapped up with today’s whistleblower investigation - who are they, and how can their role be politicized? In reacting to these events, President Trump’s language has taken an authoritarian tinge—what does political science tell us about his actions? And lastly, the president has suggested violence may erupt if he’s pushed out of office - how should we think about the military’s role in such scenarios?
Links
Ukraine
- Philip Bump and Aaron Blake, "The Full Trump-Ukraine Timeline," Washington Post, October 4, 2019
- Bryan Bender and Wesley Morgan, "How US Military Aid Became a Lifeline for Ukraine," Politico, September 30, 2019
- "Ukraine Profile – Timeline," BBC, September 10, 2019
- Alex Ward, "The Last 24 Hours in the Ukraine Drama Were the Worst for Trump Yet. Here's What Happened," Vox, October 4, 2019
Impeachment legal Counsel Advice
- Radha Iyengar, Tweet, October 2, 2019
Trump Leader Calls
- Carol D. Leonnig, Shane Harris, and Josh Dawsey, "Trump's Calls with Foreign Leaders Have Long Worried Aides, Leaving Some Genuinely Horrified," Washington Post, October 4, 2019
Authoritarianism
- Barbara Geddes, Joseph Wright, and Erica Frantz, Autocratic Breakdown and Regime Transitions: A New Data Set, (American Political Science Association, June 2014)
- Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, "This is How Democracies Die," Guardian, January 21, 2018
- Ari Berman, "How Endangered Is American Democracy?" New York Times, April 13, 2018
- Jennifer Mercieca, "Mueller Report Illustrates Trump's Authoritarian Rhetorical Tactics," Just Security, May 1, 2019