America.gov, USPS, Energy Markets
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Rachel Ziemba joins us for a fascinating discussion of energy and geopolitics, stemming from the latest Russia - oil drama. For it’s a drill, the US has a new website and chat bot! It’s….fine. Plus, Hegseth made another speech, the Bull Market goes fully toddler, and super intelligence. Finally a great chat about the postal service. No really.
info_outline
EVs, DOGE recap, Trust in Government
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Lindsey Laferriere of the Partnership for Public Service joins us to nerd out on the latest research on Americans' views of government, contradictions, mysteries and all. For It's a Drill, we have the not-so-Triumphal Arch, California's efforts to unlock EV trucks, Veterans' Affairs staffing challenges, and of course AI safety. And with lots recent assessments of DOGE, we talk through the receipts, literally, and whether any good came out. Plus, royals gossip.
info_outline
CDC, National Dept, General Officers
Sirens: A Bombshell production
The remarkable Kate Kuzminski joins us this week discuss the health of the general officer corps in the US military. For It’s a Drill, quick hits on the CDC’s measles data mess, the ongoing disparity in government pay raises between civilians, law enforcement, and military, Hugging Face once more, and tankers. For Dumpster Fires, another deep dive into the national debt: what does it really mean for policymakers? And for gong show: school reading lists.
info_outline
Procurement, National Guard, Canada
Sirens: A Bombshell production
In yet another Not On Our Bingo Card of 2026 moment, we welcome Dr. Stephanie Carvin to help us understand our apparently escalating conflict with our close neighbor and ally, Canada (may there be peace in our time?!). For it's a drill, the president is once more making drastic mil-mil relationship change over social media, we're officially forced ranking feds, Deputy Secretary Feinberg wants better pricing transparency on defense contracts, and did you know that the war in Ukraine still continues? And for dumpster fires, we use the 1 year anniversary of the National Guard deployment in DC do...
info_outline
Fauci, ODNI, Reimagining Government
Sirens: A Bombshell production
We're lucky enough to have three incredible guests this week joining us from the Roosevelt Network's community of undergraduate students and early-career professionals: Yazmina Holness, Mya Love, and Sahiti Kulkarni, who joined Loren from the Roosevelt Library to talk about their views on reimagining government. For It's a drill, we get into what's up with DoD not attending Aspen, the turnover of political appointees, the Fauci hearings, and the latest frontier AI model shenanigans. And in dumpster fires we use the opportunity of a new director of national intelligence to ask, more than two...
info_outline
Testosterone, OTAs, the Odyssey
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Have you ever found yourself in a cave and thought, this would be a great place to store the retirement records of the largest workforce in the country? The government did - but maybe not anymore! That and engagement surveys, DODs testosterone tests, and China export controls feature in It’s A Drill. For Dumpster Fires, we get super nerdy in increased use of Other Transaction Authority in Pentagon AI buys. Finally, we have so many thoughts about the Odyssey! Except we haven’t seen it.
info_outline
DOT&E, Military economic insecurity, US-Europe DTR
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Sirens is overjoyed to come back from Summer break to bring on Dr. Amanda Sloat for a fantastic-if-depressing discussion on the stress points of the U.S.-Europe relationship (with the inevitable rom-com comparisons). We have a litany of crazy to walk through in It's a Drill, from the ongoing destustruction of DOT&E, the politicization of FEMA funds, the still somehow happening minimization of TBI in the military, and the weird little Claude Fable break the government went on. Dumpster Fires is a complex chat on military families and economic insecurity - and how that's...
info_outline
Gwyneth Paltrow, AI Week, Defense Innovation
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Gywneth Paltrow, typo right? Nope. Nope not at all. Check out our it's a drill segment where we again name drop Pope Leon, plus Schedule P/C, the Reflecting Pool refurbishment from hell, the proposed update to federal grantmaking, and the queen of Goop interviewing the founder of Anduril. Plus, we read all the recent federal AI policies so you don't have to, and welcome DCODE CEO Meagan Metzger to chat defense innovation and what makes it (not) work.
info_outline
New Jersey, Just War, Crisis Engineering
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Marina Nitze joins us to discuss their new book, Crisis Engineering, and how real change can come to government even in the worst moments. For Its a Drill, apparently the attack on science continues with the threat to defund the National Academy of Sciences, and the shocking response by ICE when Senator Andy Kim visited at detention facility. In Dumpster Fires we ask whether congressional war powers are well and truly dead, with some help from the Pope. Plus our angsty (and cringey) teenage vacation stories as we get ready to head into summer.
info_outline
FISA, Ukraine, and Reconciliation
Sirens: A Bombshell production
Molly Reynolds joins us to talk through all the mysteries and magic of reconciliation, and if the appropriations works will ever be the same. We don’t even get to the China trip because we have FISA 702 renewal, hantavirus, Germany troops rotations and new leadership in Hungary (plus zebras). There’s interesting things afoot in Russia-Ukraine despite or because of endless Trump shenanigans. And as always Devil Wears Prada.
info_outlineThis 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, “What Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Understand about China, Richard Nixon and U.S. Foreign Policy,” Washington Post, July 25, 2020
- “The Missile Technology Control Regime at a Glance,” Arms Control Association, July 2017
- Aaron Mehta and Valerie Insinna, “Trump Admin Officially Makes It Easier to Export Military Drones,” Defense One, July 25, 2020
- Amanda Macias, “Trump Allows Defense Contractors to Sell More Armed Droned to Foreign Militaries,” CNBC, July 24, 2020
- Rachel S. Cohen, “House, Senate Approve Defense Authorization Bills,” Air Force Magazine, July 23, 2020
- Connor O’Brien, “Senate Clears Bill Removing Confederate Names from Military Bases, Setting Up Clash with Trump,” Politico, July 23, 2020
- Jacob Nagel and Mark Dubowitz, “With a Potential Iran-China Deal, Time for Israel to Reassess its Policy,” Newsweek, July 26, 2020
- Philip H. Gordon, “Has Trump Driven China and Iran Together?” War on the Rocks, July 21, 2020
- Pablo Gutierrez and Sean Clarke, “Coronavirus World Map: Which Countries Have the Most Covid-19 Cases and Deaths?” Guardian, July 28, 2020
- Pablo Gutierrez and Ashley Kirk, “Revealed: Data Shows 10 Countries Risking Coronavirus Second Wave as Lockdown Relaxed,” Guardian, June 25, 2020
- “Global Coronavirus Cases Surge, Stinging Even Places That Seemed to Have Control,” New York Times, July 23, 2020