The Net Assessment Crew Sits Down with Ryan

This week on Bombshell, we walk through the first week of the Trump administration. Sit down and listen to Radha Iyengar Plumb, Loren DeJonge Schulman, and Erin Simpson discuss America First, cabinet confirmations, Chelsea Manning, Wall of Stars + Hall of Heroes, re-organization of the National Security Council, and the immigration order. Stick around for our favorite podcasts and thoughts on Sherlock.

1 Feb 201749min

Just an hour before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, Ryan Evans sat down with Richard Haass in New York at the Council on Foreign Relations. Given the momentous changes that seem to be underway, the topic under discussion was fitting: world order. Richard's new book - A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order - seeks to explain the origins of the current world order, the shifts currently underway, and how the United States should seek to shape the next world order. Ryan and Richard also discussed negotiating approaches to Russia and China and early decisions made by the Trump team. Richard, who served in four presidential administrations, ends by giving career and life advice to people leaving the Obama administration and others who thought they would be serving in a Clinton administration.

26 Jan 201731min

Welcome to Bombshell. This new bi-weekly series, brought to you by War on the Rocks, is hosted by three of your favorite Washington insiders who will dissect today's foreign policy crises and tomorrow's security challenges. Our hosts — Loren DeJonge Schulman, Radha Iyengar Plumb, and Erin Simpson — will talk military strategy, White House mayhem, and the best cocktails known to (wo)man. In this episode, our hosts introduce themselves and each other before launching into a guide to what is going to face the Trump administration as it takes hold of the reins of power. If you're wondering about new appointments, how the new National Security Council could run, and possible crises that could erupt as soon as day one, this is the episode for you. The first two episodes will be on the War on the Rocks feed. Don't forget to sign up for the Bombshell feed on your podcast app of choice (Note: Most apps use the iTunes feed and iTunes is taking their sweet time approving it. Keep trying).

17 Jan 201747min

If you follow international affairs, it often feels like you can't go to a lecture or read an article without being told that the world's economic and military center of gravity is shifting from West to East. Michael Auslin takes a different view in his new book, The End of the Asian Century: War, Stagnation, and the Risks to the World's Most Dynamic Region (Yale University Press, 2017). We sat down at the Tabard Inn in Washington, DC to talk about it. Auslin argues that Asia's golden age is over and the region is likely to be approaching an era of instability when it comes to economies, political systems, demographics, and war. Our conversation ranged broadly from U.S. interests in the region, the state of America's alliances, China's anxieties, and President Obama's missed opportunities. We also preview a new series on "Reclaiming Realism" and I tease a new bi-weekly podcast we have rolling out early next week called Bombshell. Have a listen!

12 Jan 201739min

One thing is clear about President-elect Donald Trump: He is skeptical of the U.S. intelligence community. With the aid of a bottle of bourbon, War on the Rocks assembled a top-notch group of experts to talk about what Trump means for the intelligence community. Our guests in this episode included Carmen Medina - a 32-year veteran of the CIA; David Priess - author of The President's Book of Secrets and a CIA veteran; Mark Stout - a WOTR senior editor, program director at Johns Hopkins, and a veteran of the CIA and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and Mark Zaid - a prominent national security attorney and the head of the James Madison Project.

5 Jan 201752min

In this episode of the War on the Rocks podcast, editor-in-chief Ryan Evans sat down with Michael S. Neiberg, author of the new book, The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America. Neiberg, an accomplished historian who holds the Chair of War Studies at the U.S. Army War College, covered a range of topics, starting with America and World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, World War II, the use and abuse of historical analogies, doing historical research, and advice for young historians.

23 Dec 201622min

Revelations over emails are going to be roiling this election season to the very end. This is, in no small part, due to a series of targeted hacks and leaks that cyber-security experts and the U.S. intelligence community have attributed to Russia. In this episode, we address this unprecedented Russian-directed information operations campaign targeting the U.S. presidential election and, indeed, the fundamental legitimacy of the American system of government. From email hacks to electronic voting machines, major vulnerabilities have been exposed and could change how we approach national campaigns forever, not just in the United States but in other democracies as well. Think I am overstating it? See what you think by the end of this episode. I gathered together an all-star group of experts to help me figure out exactly how this all happened, including Dmitri Alperovitch of Crowdstrike, Ben Buchanan of the Belfer Center, Shane Harris of The Daily Beast, Susan Hennessey of Brookings and Lawfare, Michael Poznansky of the University of Pittsburgh, and Benjamin Wittes of Brookings and Lawfare (who throws down the gauntlet for Sean Hannity). Have a listen! Ryan Evans is the founder and editor-in-chief of War on the Rocks.

31 Okt 201645min

In an "around the world" edition of our podcast series, Ryan Evans convened a top-notch group to discuss everything from Cuba to the Middle East to Russia to deterrence to China to personnel issues along with a whole range of big issues for the first 100 days of the next administration. Tune in to listen to Elbridge Colby (CNAS), Radha Iyengar (RAND), Will McCants (Brookings), and Bill Rosenau (CNA) talk about some of the world's most pressing issues with the aid of a few drinks. We also briefly remember the respected scholar and international security analyst, Angel Rabasa, who recently passed away. Image: U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Michel Sauret

30 Sep 201658min