Bombshell

By War on the Rocks

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

Let Us Be Elegant or Die

02.11.2020

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 ...

Bombshell episodes:

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 ...
12.04.2018 And the Money Kept Rolling In This week Erin, Loren, and Radha read the G20 tea leaves, opine on continued chaos in Afghanistan, and remind you about all the White House mayhem from Saudi politics to a Moscow Trump Tower. Radha gets way too excited about ...
11.20.2018 Come What May Erin, Radha, and Loren invited Dr. Lindsay Cohn of the U.S. Naval War College to join their posse and explain America's history of employing the military for domestic purposes. In Keeping Up Foreign Relations, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is ...
11.08.2018 A Post-Election Bomblette Loren, Erin, and Radha meet up in a special short episode to talk about the election aftermath. What will happen with the change in the house, who is on the Senate armed services committee, and what is oversight anyway?! Plus, ...
10.23.2018 Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman This week Tamara Cofman Wittes joins the Bombshell ladies to discuss the fallout of the Khashoggi assassination and the future of US-Saudi relations. We get further bogged down in Afghanistan and try to understand the migrant caravan moving north from ...
10.09.2018 Every Rosé has a Thorn This week, Loren, Radha, and Erin are reunited to discuss such cheery topics as political assassinations and sexual violence (albeit in the form of Nobel Prizes awarded to combat it). Radha dives deep on NAFTA 2.0, and we work our ...
09.26.2018 In Vino Veritas This week on bombshell Erin and Radha drink at Kori Schake's favorite bar in the world. Joined by Amelia Egghart, they discuss why climate change is still a thing and the (lack of) process in national security issues from Syria ...
09.11.2018 Live at the Army Navy Club! The Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, hosted Loren and Radha this week for a live show. Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy and Valerie Insinna of Defense News joined the Bombshell crew to discuss defense journalism in the Trump ...
09.04.2018 Next Time Jack Write a Memo Erin, Radha, and Loren head back to school from summer break, with smiling and shining faces. This week they catch up on some extensive Kabul mayhem, covering recent Taliban forays into Afghan-government controlled cities, the state of possible negotiations among ...
08.07.2018 It’s Aghast While the ladies of Bombshell will talk with just about anyone, should the U.S. government? Bombshell dives into President Trump's proclivity for theatrical political summits with adversaries, following up on current efforts in Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran. Radha introduces ...
07.24.2018 And Now For Something Quite Special Alina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit. Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May’s Brexit ...
07.11.2018 No Muppet, No Muppet. You're the Muppet. This week we do our best impersonation of the Georgetown set recording from 1789 and lamenting the world gone to hell. We break down Pompeo's trip to North Korea, Theresa May's Brexit woes, and the NATO summit which has already ...
06.26.2018 Mutually Assured Dysfunction Bombshell goes international! Loren warily crosses the border to visit Stefanie von Hlatky, Stephanie Carvin, and Elaine Bunn for a special Canadian episode at the Kingston Conference on International Security. The ladies give deterrence a playlist and it’s own film ...
06.21.2018 Practical, Tactical Brilliance In the most ambitious crossover event since that one time on TGIF, Bombshell joins Rational Security for a very special joint episode. Radha, Erin, Loren, Shane, and Susan take on our hellscape of a government’s evolving policy on family separation; ...
06.11.2018 The Goat Rodeos Radha, Loren, and Erin invite Alex Bell to preview the Singapore Trump-Kim summit, explaining that while there’s more than staring into one another’s eyes for arms control, chemistry is a good start. When we recorded, the G7 had wrapped but ...
05.29.2018 The Hangover This week we ask Emma Ashford to reveal the mysteries of Trump's Middle East policy. Then Loren, Radha, and Erin dive into the recent trade dramas before pondering whether the summit with North Korea is best understood as a Rom-Com ...
05.15.2018 The Only Way Out Is through This week the Bombshell crew does something different. After a crazy few days in the national security world, we break down the good, the bad, and the pop-culture remedies. From Spain to Iran, to Iraq and Lebanon, to Niger and ...
05.02.2018 All He Had to Do Was Turn Left This week on Bombshell, Rebecca Lissner of Penn's Perry World House guest hosts with Radha and Loren to discuss the handshake heard round the world at the DMZ. The Iran Deal is on the rocks yet again, despite the entreaties ...
04.18.2018 Only Mostly Dead This week on Bombshell, Radha, Erin, and Loren play natsec madlibs with Amanda Sloat, discussing every possible complexity of US-Syria policy during John Bolton's first week. The neverending potential for a trade war, protests in the run up to the ...
04.02.2018 Long Legs and Brains Erin, Radha, and Loren make it back to the Show (where we never handle our own luggage), welcoming back all-star guest Kori Schake to talk NSC turnover, civil-military relations, and everything else that's radical in a tubular kind of way. ...

Older episodes

Bombshell

What's Bombshell about?

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Bombshell episodes:

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

And the Money Kept Rolling In

Come What May

A Post-Election Bomblette

Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman

Every Rosé has a Thorn

In Vino Veritas

Live at the Army Navy Club!

Next Time Jack Write a Memo

It’s Aghast

And Now For Something Quite Special

No Muppet, No Muppet. You're the Muppet.

Mutually Assured Dysfunction

Practical, Tactical Brilliance

The Goat Rodeos

The Hangover

The Only Way Out Is through

All He Had to Do Was Turn Left

Only Mostly Dead

Long Legs and Brains

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