What the Hell Is Going On

By AEI Podcasts

What's What the Hell Is Going On about?

The American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen address the questions we’re all asking in their podcast, “What the Hell Is Going On?” In conversational, informative and irreverent episodes, Pletka and Thiessen interview policymakers and experts, asking tough, probing questions about the most important foreign policy and security challenges facing the world today.

4.4

325325 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

What the Hell Is Going On episodes:

04.16.2024
WTH is Iran Attacking Israel? Fred Kagan Explains
Last weekend, for the first time since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iran launched a direct attack on Israel from Iranian territory. In total, some 170 drones, 120 surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, and more than 30 cruise missiles...
04.11.2024
WTH Can’t Democrats Quit Trump? The WSJ’s Barton Swaim Explains
Joe Biden and the Democratic Party love labeling Donald Trump and his MAGA followers as the greatest threat to American democracy. So why are Democratic-aligned Super PACs funding self-declared MAGA candidates in GOP primaries? In a recent article for the...
04.04.2024
WTH Is Going On With Biden and Israel? Dan Senor Explains
In the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Joe Biden stood by America’s closest Middle Eastern partner, providing diplomatic cover and military aid. Recently, however, the Biden administration has become increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
03.28.2024
WTH Do Americans Think the Economy is Terrible? Gary Cohn on Bidenomics
According to President Biden, his stewardship of the economy – which he has dubbed “Bidenomics” – should be praised as the best America has ever seen. Unemployment is down and jobs are up. So why exactly are Americans giving such...
03.21.2024
WTH Did We Do to Our Kids? Nat Malkus On The Consequences of Pandemic School Closures Four Years After COVID
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, students, parents, and teachers were told they have to stay home from school in order to stop the spread of disease. Anyone who questioned that advice was labeled a conspiracy theorist who does not "trust the...
03.14.2024
WTH is Going On at Harvard? Larry Summers Explains
Following the terrorist attacks of October 7th, Harvard University was among several elite bastions of higher education to show its true colors – moral relativism, raw antisemitism on campus, and poor leadership. Harvard, like other elite institutions, has and will...
03.07.2024
WTH Are Americans Thinking About November? Mark Penn Explains His Newest Data
Super Tuesday wrapped up as predicted, with Trump sweeping the GOP win and Haley dropping out. Barring a meteorite, this means we are locked into a Trump-Biden rematch. But the newest Harvard-Harris CAPS poll reveals an America that is not...
02.29.2024
WTH is Going On with Seizing Russian Assets? Stephen Rademaker Explains
Two years ago, at the start of the war in Ukraine, $300 billion in Russian assets were frozen in Western banks. The assumption behind Western economic pressure on Russia was that sanctions and seizures of oligarchs’ funds would have a...
02.23.2024
WTH is Happening Two Years into the War in Ukraine? Yaroslav Trofimov Explains
Since Russia invaded Ukraine exactly two years ago, Yaroslav Trofimov has been covering the war on the ground. His newest book, Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence, is a stunning account of the lead-up...
02.21.2024
WTH: Natan Sharansky on the Murder of Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny was allowed one book in his Siberian prison. He chose Fear No Evil by former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, who joins us for an important conversation today to speak about his correspondence with Navalny and his own experience...
02.15.2024
WTH is Going On with Biden’s Mental Fitness, the 14th Amendment, and the Border Bill Debacle? Andy McCarthy Explains All
The Department of Justice released a report that Joe Biden willfully retained classified documents – but can’t be tried because - long story short - he is non compos mentis. The Dems are outraged. Is it justified? On the other...
02.08.2024
WTH is Wrong with UNRWA? Jonathan Schanzer Explains
Media outlets have just begun to report on the rot of the United Nations Relief Works Agency – but the issue goes much farther back than October 7th, and the consequences will extend long past today. The top lines are...
02.01.2024
WTH is No Labels’ Plan For 2024? No Labels Co-Chairman Governor Pat McCrory Explains
America seems to be on a locked path towards a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024. But is this what people want? The polls say no. And is this really our only option? No Labels, the organization looking at presenting a third-party...
01.25.2024
WTH Happened in New Hampshire… and WTH Happens Next? With Josh Kraushaar
Trump won the New Hampshire primaries, but Nikki Haley is staying in the race. We had a lot of questions for our guest on what this might mean for the next few weeks of primary voting, what this might mean...
01.18.2024
WTH Happened in Iowa...and WTH Happens Next? Sean Trende Explains
The 2024 Iowa caucuses have come and gone, with the key takeaways some freezing temperatures, low turnout, and a Trump slam dunk. 15 percent of eligible Iowans gave 51% of the vote to the former president. Of course, that also means...
01.11.2024
WTH is Wrong with Gen Z? Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott Explain
Generation Z is now entering the workforce, and free speech levels have never been so low in America. Coincidence? We think not. Legions of Gen Zers are bringing the totalitarian ideas they were spoon-fed in university — CRT, DEI, and...
01.04.2024
WTH Were the 10 Best and Worst Things Biden Did in 2023?
2023 was not a year of shining achievements for the Biden administration. But along with the bad, there were achievements worth celebrating. So this year, Marc continues his tradition with the top ten best and worst things Biden did in...
12.28.2023
ICYMI: WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains
Happy holidays from the WTH team. In case you missed it, we are re-upping one of our best pods of the year with John Yoo, to explain why kicking candidates off the ballot (looking at you, Colorado) is undemocratic... Is...
12.21.2023
WTH Happens After the Israel-Hamas War? Elliott Abrams Explains
Nearly three months into the Israel-Hamas war, we’re back with Elliott Abrams for an update on what the hell is going on, and more importantly, where to go from here. The military objectives – what Israel must do in order...
12.14.2023
WTH Have All the Democrats Gone? With Ruy Teixeira
In 2002, Ruy Teixeira co-authored The Emerging Democratic Majority. Now, two decades later, his new book is out – Where Have All the Democrats Gone? So what happened to the Democratic Party in those intervening years? A couple of major factors stand...
12.07.2023
WTH is Ukraine Aid’s Best-Kept Secret? Most of The Money Stays in the U.S. John Ferrari Explains
The best-kept secret about aid to Ukraine? 90% of the money the US allocates for military aid is spent here at home. The money goes right to American defense companies that employ American workers to produce the weapons systems that...
11.30.2023
WTH is the UN so anti-Israel and anti-American? Brett Schaefer Explains
Why is the United Nations siding with Hamas in its war on Israel? An exaggeration? Nope. The examples are endless. The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), devoted to the question of Palestinian refugees in name, but de facto a...
11.22.2023
WTH: Tik Tok, Osama bin Laden, and Hamas. Rep. Mike Gallagher Explains
Since the events of October 7, the Chinese Communist Party has been spreading virulent antisemitic memes in the U.S. via its favorite information warfare tool: Tik Tok. We have had episodes on Tik Tok before, but the urgency of this...
11.16.2023
WTH Do Antisemitism and Critical Race Theory Have in Common? Professor David Bernstein Explains
What do Critical Race Theory and antisemitism have in common? A lot, actually, from the roots of each movement, to the ideology, to the way they are weaponized by the left today. The overarching philosophy linking these movements together is...
11.09.2023
WTH is Iran Up To in Israel and Gaza? Ken Pollack Explains
It is unclear whether Iran chose the exact date and time of the Hamas attacks, but the detail is irrelevant. The Islamic Republic of Iran has funded, coordinated, trained, and armed Hamas and other proxies for years. Should Israel not...
10.31.2023
WTH is Going On with the Explosion of Antisemitism on the Left? Ruth Wisse Explains
There are Charlottesvilles happening every day in America. This time, they’re everywhere, driven by an explosion of antisemitism. And these Charlottesvilles are happening at Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford among other elite havens of academe. This is not the alt-right, fringe...
10.25.2023
WTH is Wrong with Congress? Rep. Fitzpatrick Explains
It has been over 20 days since the House of Representatives ousted, and then successively failed to re-elect, a speaker of the House. The dysfunction could not be coming at a worse time: war in Europe, war in the Middle...
10.18.2023
WTH Did Hamas Attack and How Will Israel Respond? Haviv Gur Explains
The monstrosity of Hamas’ attack on Israel is hard to fathom. This podcast, with Times of Israel reporter Haviv Gur, shares some insight into developments on the ground in Israel, tragedies that Israelis are experiencing real-time, and analysis of the...
10.11.2023
WTH Aren’t We Holding Iran Responsible For The Attack on Israel? With Elliott Abrams
On October 7th, Israel suffered the worst attack it has experienced in its history at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas. 900 casualties in Israel, including at least 11 American citizens – not to mention around 150 hostages taken...
10.04.2023
WTH is Congress Undermining Our National Defense? Mackenzie Eaglen Explains
Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown last week when it passed a continuing resolution – a stop-gap spending bill that finances the government for a little over a month. What does this really mean? It means that we are spending...
09.27.2023
WTH Has Trust in American Institutions Collapsed? Gerry Baker Explains
Gallup, Pew, and other reputable polling institutes have been lock-step in reporting the precipitous decline of American trust in the country’s institutions over the past few years. Every survey examining public faith in our institutions to do what is right,...
09.20.2023
WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains the 14th Amendment, Biden Impeachment and More
The projected Biden-Trump rematch is not merely depressing, it is causing policymakers on the left and the right to abandon good sense. The result? A double-whammy Biden impeachment and Trump constitutional crisis as the country heads into the election season....
09.13.2023
WTH Can Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Americans Agree On? A Lot, Say Alyssa Rosenberg and Marc Thiessen
In a post-Dobbs political landscape, abortion policy has become the great divider. But disagreements over abortion cannot stifle much-needed conversations about what can be done to support American women, mothers, fathers, and children. To nobody’s surprise, WTH co-host Marc is...
09.06.2023
WTH is the Biden Administration Undermining The Ukrainian Counteroffensive? General Jack Keane Explains
This summer, several articles aired in mainstream media outlets citing unnamed individuals from the Pentagon, and criticizing the speed and tactics of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. These critiques appear to at once reflect a poor understanding of the military goals and...
08.30.2023
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Best Things First by Bjorn Lomborg
It may not come as a surprise that in much of the developed world, money spent is not necessarily money used well. We have done podcasts on the ideological and political dangers of bad development policy, but the dollar-to-donuts, real...
08.23.2023
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West by Calder Walton
Little known fact: the intelligence war between the East and the West started long before 1945. And not only that; it did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s either. Indeed, this silent conflict has...
08.16.2023
WTH Should I Read This Summer? The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink by Will Inboden
The What the Hell crew continues our summer reading series! Our next pick is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. The Peacemaker’s focus is Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy, adding to previous research with...
08.09.2023
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Chip War by Chris Miller
This August, the What the Hell crew brings you a summer reading series! Our first pick is Chip War, a book the NYT hailed as a cross between Mission Impossible and the China Syndrome. Nominally, this is the story of...
08.02.2023
WTH Do Republicans Really Think About Foreign Policy? Roger Zakheim Explains
With the incessant politicization of real foreign policy issues, sometimes it is helpful to go back to the numbers. And in this case, the numbers are detached from the reality that anti-Ukraine Republicans are trying to sell. In fact, a...
07.26.2023
WTH is Neocolonialist Environmentalism? Todd Moss Explains
One of America's greatest engines of growth is fossil fuels – cheap, reliable energy that jumpstarted the industrial revolution and paved the way for the security and prosperity we enjoy today. Others will not be so lucky. Many African countries...
07.19.2023
WTH Did Biden Blow It on NATO and Ukraine? Ambassador Kurt Volker Explains
Last week at the NATO summit in Lithuania, the world watched as Ukraine was denied an actionable plan for membership in the alliance. It was almost a rinse and repeat from 2008, when Ukraine and Georgia pushed for membership, and...
07.12.2023
WTH Happened with the Russian Mutiny? Yaroslav Trofimov Unravels the Mystery
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military company Wagner Group, staged a rebellion against Putin’s regime in Russia on June 24th. For a brief moment, the Wagner forces took over Rostov-on-Don, and came within 125 miles of Moscow before coming...
07.05.2023
WTH is Going On with the Supreme Court? Jonathan Turley Explains
The Supreme Court went out with a bang in 2023 – before heading off to recess, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruled Biden’s loan forgiveness grab unconstitutional, and prioritized the First Amendment in a creative design case. Each of these...
06.28.2023
WTH is Going On with the Hunter Biden Whistleblower? Peter Schweizer Explains
If you thought the Trump indictment capped the pattern of White House prosecutions, well, you’d be wrong (though see the WTH joint op-ed on how to end the prosecutorial death loop). Now, Hunter Biden has been indicted on misdemeanor charges...
06.21.2023
WTH is the Left Waging War on Things That Work? Noah Rothman Explains
The dictators of the nanny state are waging war on things that work. Daily appliances that make life manageable (your gas stoves, your AC, your lawn equipment) are increasingly under assault, with dubious climate/equity rationales. But the effects on climate...
06.14.2023
WTH is Going On with the Trump Indictment? John Yoo Weighs In
When the Founders conceived the U.S. Constitution, they were under the assumption that the head of state in America would be guided by honor – that an impeachment would virtually never be necessary, that the shame of the prospect would...
06.07.2023
WTH is the America First Case for Supporting Ukraine?
Over the past 15 months, Ukrainians have surpassed expectations in their response to the Russian invasion, showing valor and resilience. But more than a year into the fighting, many of those who advocate for aid to Ukraine still do so...
05.31.2023
WTH is the Republican Primary Forecast? Josh Kraushaar on the Growing Field
Last week saw two more entrants into what is already a crowded Republican primary field: Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) are officially in the running. Polling suggests that DeSantis is the only real challenger to Donald...
05.24.2023
WTH Happened with the Durham Report? Andy McCarthy on the FBI Failings
After four years of work, the Durham Report the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation was released last week. And notwithstanding the objections of the New York Times and other partisans, the report was revelatory: the probable cause for opening the...
05.17.2023
WTH is Going On with the Debt Limit Fight? Brian Riedl on our Fiscal Future
It’s a tale as old as time… where will our next trillion come from to feed our hungry coffers? We jest, but only a little: Negotiations on raising the debt limit are ongoing, marking, ahem, dozens of times this has...

What's What the Hell Is Going On about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

What the Hell Is Going On episodes:

WTH is Iran Attacking Israel? Fred Kagan Explains

WTH Can’t Democrats Quit Trump? The WSJ’s Barton Swaim Explains

WTH Is Going On With Biden and Israel? Dan Senor Explains

WTH Do Americans Think the Economy is Terrible? Gary Cohn on Bidenomics

WTH Did We Do to Our Kids? Nat Malkus On The Consequences of Pandemic School Closures Four Years After COVID

WTH is Going On at Harvard? Larry Summers Explains

WTH Are Americans Thinking About November? Mark Penn Explains His Newest Data

WTH is Going On with Seizing Russian Assets? Stephen Rademaker Explains

WTH is Happening Two Years into the War in Ukraine? Yaroslav Trofimov Explains

WTH: Natan Sharansky on the Murder of Alexei Navalny

WTH is Going On with Biden’s Mental Fitness, the 14th Amendment, and the Border Bill Debacle? Andy McCarthy Explains All

WTH is Wrong with UNRWA? Jonathan Schanzer Explains

WTH is No Labels’ Plan For 2024? No Labels Co-Chairman Governor Pat McCrory Explains

WTH Happened in New Hampshire… and WTH Happens Next? With Josh Kraushaar

WTH Happened in Iowa...and WTH Happens Next? Sean Trende Explains

WTH is Wrong with Gen Z? Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott Explain

WTH Were the 10 Best and Worst Things Biden Did in 2023?

ICYMI: WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains

WTH Happens After the Israel-Hamas War? Elliott Abrams Explains

WTH Have All the Democrats Gone? With Ruy Teixeira

WTH is Ukraine Aid’s Best-Kept Secret? Most of The Money Stays in the U.S. John Ferrari Explains

WTH is the UN so anti-Israel and anti-American? Brett Schaefer Explains

WTH: Tik Tok, Osama bin Laden, and Hamas. Rep. Mike Gallagher Explains

WTH Do Antisemitism and Critical Race Theory Have in Common? Professor David Bernstein Explains

WTH is Iran Up To in Israel and Gaza? Ken Pollack Explains

WTH is Going On with the Explosion of Antisemitism on the Left? Ruth Wisse Explains

WTH is Wrong with Congress? Rep. Fitzpatrick Explains

WTH Did Hamas Attack and How Will Israel Respond? Haviv Gur Explains

WTH Aren’t We Holding Iran Responsible For The Attack on Israel? With Elliott Abrams

WTH is Congress Undermining Our National Defense? Mackenzie Eaglen Explains

WTH Has Trust in American Institutions Collapsed? Gerry Baker Explains

WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains the 14th Amendment, Biden Impeachment and More

WTH Can Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Americans Agree On? A Lot, Say Alyssa Rosenberg and Marc Thiessen

WTH is the Biden Administration Undermining The Ukrainian Counteroffensive? General Jack Keane Explains

WTH Should I Read This Summer? Best Things First by Bjorn Lomborg

WTH Should I Read This Summer? Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West by Calder Walton

WTH Should I Read This Summer? The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink by Will Inboden

WTH Should I Read This Summer? Chip War by Chris Miller

WTH Do Republicans Really Think About Foreign Policy? Roger Zakheim Explains

WTH is Neocolonialist Environmentalism? Todd Moss Explains

WTH Did Biden Blow It on NATO and Ukraine? Ambassador Kurt Volker Explains

WTH Happened with the Russian Mutiny? Yaroslav Trofimov Unravels the Mystery

WTH is Going On with the Supreme Court? Jonathan Turley Explains

WTH is Going On with the Hunter Biden Whistleblower? Peter Schweizer Explains

WTH is the Left Waging War on Things That Work? Noah Rothman Explains

WTH is Going On with the Trump Indictment? John Yoo Weighs In

WTH is the America First Case for Supporting Ukraine?

WTH is the Republican Primary Forecast? Josh Kraushaar on the Growing Field

WTH Happened with the Durham Report? Andy McCarthy on the FBI Failings

WTH is Going On with the Debt Limit Fight? Brian Riedl on our Fiscal Future