Eliot and Eric discuss the current state of the Iran negotiations, the apparent US-Israeli plan to install Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a Delcy Rodríguez-type figure early in the war, and Reuters' report on the ongoing hollowing out of U.S. diplomacy. They assess Trump's apparent designs in Cuba, noting the indictment of Raul Castro, and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean. Finally, they touch on Turkey's deepening fall into authoritarianism and Putin's visit to Beijing before turning to guest Marc Bennetts, journalist and author of THE DESCENT: Witnessing Russia's Spiral Into Madness Under Putin.

The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral into Madness Under Putin:
https://a.co/d/01fuFsvu

Inside the Unravelling of US Diplomacy Under Trump:
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/inside-unraveling-us-diplomacy-under-trump-2026-05-21/

Early War Goal Was to Install Hard-Line Former President as Iran’s Leader:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/iran-israel-us-leader-ahmadinejad.html

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.