Bombshell

By War on the Rocks

History

What's Bombshell about?

This is Bombshell, a bi-weekly podcast coming to you from Washington insiders to dissect today’s foreign policy crises and tomorrow’s security challenges. We’ll talk military strategy, White House mayhem, and the best cocktails known to (wo)man. Brought to you by War on the Rocks.

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LAST EPISODE

Then One Foggy Christmas Eve

12.15.2020

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 ...

Bombshell episodes:

12.15.2020 Then One Foggy Christmas Eve 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 ...
11.17.2020 One for the Road 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 ...
11.03.2020 Anticipation Is Making Me Late 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 ...
10.20.2020 Final Countdown 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 ...
10.07.2020 Karma Puh-leeze 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. ...
09.22.2020 When There are Nine 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 ...
09.09.2020 I'm a Loser, Baby 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 ...
08.25.2020 It's Fun to Stay in the JCPOA 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 ...
08.11.2020 Tik Tok Ya Don’t Stop 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 ...
07.28.2020 Simple Joys of Maidenhood 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 ...
07.14.2020 People Try to Put Us Down With Radha and Erin on the road, Loren invites Ashely Feng of the Center for a New American Security, Kaleigh Thomas of CNAS, Kara Frederick of CNAS, Hijab Shah of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Meghan McGee ...
06.16.2020 Revenge of Cartography In this episode of Bombshell, the ladies welcome Madelyn Creedon, former deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, to discuss the state of arms control today. The crew also discusses other foreign relations goings on: North Korea won’t call ...
06.02.2020 China, All the Way to New York In this week’s episode, while Loren cleans out her office, Radha and Erin dig into an array of China-related topics: Huawei! India! Hong Kong! And last, but certainly not least, the World Health Organization. The ladies then turn to White ...
05.19.2020 I'm On A Boat This week Erin, Loren, and Radha regroup for a "what did I miss" session to discuss the events of the last few weeks. Starting with the bizarre coup that wasn't in Venezuela, the ladies go on to talk about the ...
05.05.2020 Burning Out Our Fuse Up Here Alone Jung Pak, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, joins Bombshell to discuss her fascinating and timely new book: Becoming Kim Jong Un. Radha, Erin, and Loren remind listeners that Afghanistan is still a thing even if the U.S. government would ...
04.21.2020 I Do My Hair Toss, Check My Emails This week the ladies are back with a normal-ish episode, complete with special guest Nora Bensahel! She helps them dive deep on COVID-19 impacts on the defense budget. From there, they explore possible changes to the “global order,” Loren offers ...
04.07.2020 The One Where We Talk About Our Feelings This week Loren and Erin talk their way through all the coronavirus feelings: fear, hope, gratitude, some minor policy questions, and the pop culture that's giving us life. Stay home, be safe, wash your hands.
03.24.2020 This is Fine Kathleen Hicks, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and all-around superhero, joins Loren, Radha, and Erin for an all-COVID-19 episode, starting with potential contributions by the Department of Defense to addressing this ...
03.10.2020 Don't Ask, Don't Get This week Erin, Loren, and Radha reunite after a midwinter break to talk pandemics. They then turn to the Afghanistan “peace” deal, Israeli elections (third time’s the charm?), and recent developments in Syria. As always, there’s plenty of White House ...
02.11.2020 Let Us Be Elegant or Die This week the ladies return to regular programming and try to catch up after one of the more crazy weeks in recent political memory. They start off with the Coronavirus crisis before returning to an old-standby, Brexit. They also provide ...
01.28.2020 Man, I Feel Like a Woman Erin, Radha and Loren welcome three special guests for their annual "manniversary" episode: Hayes Brown from Buzzfeed, Tommy Vietor of Pod Save the World, and Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe join them to talk about communicating national security in this crazy ...
01.14.2020 Tigers on a Gold Leash This week Bombshell welcomes Suzanne Maloney of Brookings to chat all things Iran. And because we love our listeners so much, we extended the discussion for the whole show to consider legality, effectiveness, process, and what happens next. Also, Megxit. ...
12.31.2019 Nothing Changes on New Year’s Day Erin, Radha, and Loren mull over 2019, muse about 2020, and debate Rise of the Skywalker. We will be with you again.
12.17.2019 Bombshell Live! From NatSec Girl Squad This week Radha and Erin lead a special live episode from the NatSec Girl Squad Conference. They are joined by Dana Stroul, Kim Kagan, and Mara Karlin who all recently participated in the Congressionally mandated Syria Study Group. Listen in ...
12.03.2019 Thank You Mr. Narwhal This week Radha, Erin, and Loren reunite to drink eggnog (or not!) and talk about events in London, from interrupting violent attacks with narwhal tusks to interrupting NATO ministerials with middle school-esque drama. The ladies then turn to protests in ...
11.19.2019 With Your Shield or On It This week Loren, Erin, and Radha are joined by the peerless Mira Rapp-Hooper. Taking a break from stalking her perfect oat milk, Mira walks the ladies through alliances and shifting demands with Japan and Korea. The ladies do a whirlwind ...
11.05.2019 It's (Barely) Daylight in America This week the ladies of Bombshell go deep on the Syria raid and the “value” of high-value targeting, before turning their attention to popular protests in Iraq and Lebanon. Of course, no episode would be complete without a Brexit update! ...
10.22.2019 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream Melissa Dalton from CSIS joins Loren, Radha, and Erin to offer a thorough, if morose, update on the U.S. military withdrawal from northern Syria and where that leaves Syrian Kurds. Bombshell returns to the topic of the United Kingdom which....might ...
10.08.2019 Context is All Bombshell 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 ...
09.24.2019 Because We Can Can Can This week Bombshell is blessed by the return of Tamara Cofman Wittes to help everyone understand Iran’s possible motives in the strike on an Aramco facility and what Saudi Arabia might do next. And as a bonus she sticks around ...
09.10.2019 Out of Order This week Erin, Loren, and Radha are joined by War on the Rock's new editor-in-chief Becky Zimmerman to talk about the talks that never were with the Taliban and catch up on the situation in Afghanistan more generally. The ladies ...
08.27.2019 Second Thoughts Tori Whiting of the Heritage Foundation joins Radha in geeking out over trade chaos and the potential for a recession -Bombshell's very first guest economist. Erin, Radha, and Loren catch up on the impact of over a century of South ...
08.12.2019 The Bluest Eye The great Meg Guliford joins Erin and Radha for this week's episode of Bombshell, while Loren enjoys a much deserved vacay. The ladies take a tour of world hotspots with a discussion of North Korean missile tests, the Kashmir crack ...
07.30.2019 The One with Mara Jade This week on Bombshell Loren and Erin hold down the fort and ask the brilliant Elsa Kania to explain the new Chinese defense white paper. Britain has a new PM, Pakistan’s visited the US, and there are ongoing protests in ...
07.16.2019 Stranger Than Fiction Erin, Radha and Loren reunite with author and general badass Nada Bakos to talk about her new book, The Targeter. Foreign relations are pretty lit these days: possible Russian funding of far-right politics in Italy, tiny steps of progress in ...
07.02.2019 The Apprentice Erin, Radha and Loren return after some technical difficulties to rehash the G20, a newsy leader summit full of the president reversing the well-honed positions of his staff. Radha explains how China and the US are talking trade again, with ...
06.04.2019 Lie [Down] and Think of The Queen Bombshell welcomes back Amanda Sloat to dish on all the drama across the pond - Brexit, the selection of the new Tory leader, and Trump’s visit, which was surely not (short)waisted [sic]. Foreign relations are a-twitter with elections in the ...
05.21.2019 A Song of Slights and Ire This week the ladies dive into the recent Iran drama with Ariane Tabatabai. Next, they revisit some recent election results before turning to whirlwind trade developments, as talks with China fall apart and new restrictions are levied against Huawei. White ...
05.07.2019 This is the Song That Never Ends This week Erin and Radha hold down the fort and return to some of Bombshell's greatest hits topics, starting with North Korean missile tests and a double feature from ISIS (a new video from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the horrific ...
04.23.2019 Comedy or Chocolate This week, Loren, Radha, and Erin explore the world's many recent elections - in Israel, India, Indonesia, and Ukraine. They then return to Northern Ireland, not to talk about Brexit, but to unpack resurgent sectarian violence. The recent coup in ...
04.09.2019 Real or Fake? The ladies of Bombshell take on proteins and Afghanistan policy all in one segment with special guest Frances Brown. Across the pond, Brexit is going nowhere fast and NATO is celebrating a grand birthday while the American president is questioning ...
03.26.2019 Think Instead About Having a Great Life Join Bombshell for a rousing discussion of the fathomless train wreck that is Brexit and the increasing lack of predictability of the upcoming Israeli elections. Believe it or not, China trade talks are not going as well as they might, ...
03.12.2019 Live at Duke University! Erin, Radha, and Loren made the trip to Duke University to join the Carlucci National Security Symposium at the Sanford School of Public Policy. On the agenda for this special live show: topics we want presidential candidates to debate, big ...
02.26.2019 Ain't It Hard Keeping It So Hardcore This week Dr. Tanvi Madan joins the ladies to explain the brewing crisis between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Then Radha breaks down last week’s trade negotiations with China (what really is an MOU anyway and what happened to our ...
02.12.2019 Shove It All Into OCO This week Paula Garcia Tufro joins the Radha, Loren, and Erin to discuss the brewing crisis in Venezuela. Then the ladies fashion an update on Brexit, explore uncharted waters in Iraq, and ask what is the point of a second ...
01.29.2019 A Few Good Men It's our 2nd annual Manniversary episode! We dug deep to find the most smoldering hot takes from the men in the national security arena. Join us for a far-ranging discussion with Stan McChrystal, Jeffrey Lewis, and Clint Watts! Links Stanley ...
01.15.2019 Makes We Wonder Why I Even Bring the Thunder Bombshell returns in 2019 with a new set of Bombshell questions and a guest, Dana Stroul, to give our best shot at explaining US-Syria policy. Secretary Pompeo has finished a whirlwind tour (while his staff are unpaid) trying to do ...
01.01.2019 Live at the National WWI Museum! Loren and Erin travel to Kansas City for a special live recording at the National World War I Museum. Joined by John Ismay and Steve Leonard, they dig into the many aspects of the Forever Wars including some Civ-Mil 101, ...
12.21.2018 An Emergency Bomblette This ONE TIME we huddled for an emergency podcast. Because the Secretary of Defense resigned in protest. That doesn’t happen everyday. At least we hope not. Enjoy!
12.18.2018 It Was a Very Good Year This week Radha, Loren, and Erin sit down to try and figure out just what the hell happened in 2018. Storm clouds gather as the ladies discuss what NatSec stories we missed - and what we’ll still be talking about ...

Older episodes

Bombshell

What's Bombshell about?

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Bombshell episodes:

Then One Foggy Christmas Eve

One for the Road

Anticipation Is Making Me Late

Final Countdown

Karma Puh-leeze

When There are Nine

I'm a Loser, Baby

It's Fun to Stay in the JCPOA

Tik Tok Ya Don’t Stop

Simple Joys of Maidenhood

People Try to Put Us Down

Revenge of Cartography

China, All the Way to New York

I'm On A Boat

Burning Out Our Fuse Up Here Alone

I Do My Hair Toss, Check My Emails

The One Where We Talk About Our Feelings

This is Fine

Don't Ask, Don't Get

Let Us Be Elegant or Die

Man, I Feel Like a Woman

Tigers on a Gold Leash

Nothing Changes on New Year’s Day

Bombshell Live! From NatSec Girl Squad

Thank You Mr. Narwhal

With Your Shield or On It

It's (Barely) Daylight in America

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Context is All

Because We Can Can Can

Out of Order

Second Thoughts

The Bluest Eye

The One with Mara Jade

Stranger Than Fiction

The Apprentice

Lie [Down] and Think of The Queen

A Song of Slights and Ire

This is the Song That Never Ends

Comedy or Chocolate

Real or Fake?

Think Instead About Having a Great Life

Live at Duke University!

Ain't It Hard Keeping It So Hardcore

Shove It All Into OCO

A Few Good Men

Makes We Wonder Why I Even Bring the Thunder

Live at the National WWI Museum!

An Emergency Bomblette

It Was a Very Good Year

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