Fuels, Ports, and Power: How South Asia's Smaller States are Navigating Crisis, with Nilanthi Samaranayake
As geopolitical tensions spill into the Indian Ocean, smaller states in South Asia are finding themselves on the frontlines of crises they did not choose. From the sinking of an Iranian vessel off Sri...
29 Apr 46min
Global (Dis)Order: America and the Future of the International System with Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper
In this episode of the Burn Bag Podcast, A'ndre Gonawela is joined by Mira Rapp-Hooper, a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior D...
31 Mar 51min
Iran After Khamenei: Vali Nasr on the New Supreme Leader and Tehran's War Strategy
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei — Iran's new Supreme Leader? Who was the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? In this episode of the Burn Bag Podcast, A’ndre Gonawela is joined by Vali Nasr, the Majid Khadduri Professor o...
13 Mar 42min
Fmr. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the Iran War's First Week
As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran escalates following the February 28 strikes, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joined A'ndre for a quick chat to assess how the conflic...
7 Mar 31min
War With Iran: The Ayatollah's Death, Trump's Gamble, and the Gulf Under Fire with fmr. NSC Senior Director Javed Ali
In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre Gonawela sits down with former NSC Senior Director Javed Ali to unpack the rapidly escalating crisis between the United States, Israel, and Iran following the F...
1 Mar 24min
The Iran Crisis: The Protests, the Ayatollah's Crackdown, and Trump's Decision with Alex Vatanka
Iran is at a critical juncture as it faces a wave of nationwide protests driven by economic strain, political frustration, and societal exhaustion. In this episode of The Burn Bag, A'ndre Gonawela is ...
23 Feb 51min
Syria After Assad: The SDF Transition and Ahmed al-Sharaa's Strategy with Charles Lister
Syria is at a pivotal moment. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the country’s new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa is working to reunify a fractured state — and the biggest test is unfoldin...
17 Feb 1h 1min
Russia’s Gambit: Moscow’s Middle East Strategy After Syria and Iran, with Dr. Iulia Joja
In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre Gonawela is joined by Dr. Iulia Joja, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, to examine Russia’s strategy in the Middle East in 2026 following major setbac...
9 Feb 56min
