After threatening to impose tariffs, President Trump recently announced that he and the Mexican government reached an agreement to avert a US-Mexico trade war. So, what happened? Is this deal a breakthrough? Has Trump’s strategy of using the threat of tariffs been vindicated? And will this agreement make a difference?

On their third episode of “What the Hell Is Going On?” Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen review the new US-Mexico immigration deal with AEI’s Roger Noriega. The three also cover the US-Mexico border wall, the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, and the steps Congress needs to take to help solve the immigration problem.

Roger Noriega is a visiting fellow at AEI, where he coordinates the Latin America program. Before AEI, he served as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs in the George W. Bush administration, as the US ambassador to the Organization of American States, and as director of Latin America policy on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

What the hell is going on in North Korea? Is Kim Jong Un really executing people using piranha-filled tanks? Recent reports state that the North Korean regime is carrying out executions and purges over the failure to reach a nuclear agreement with the Trump administration.

On their second episode of “What the Hell Is Going On?” Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen discuss North Korea with AEI’s Nicholas Eberstadt. The three cover what might happen to someone who falls out of favor with the North Korean regime, the future of US-North Korea nuclear talks, life in one of Kim’s gulags, and the likelihood of North Korean denuclearization.

Nicholas Eberstadt is the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at AEI, where he researches and writes extensively on international security in the Korean peninsula and Asia. He is the author of the book “The End of North Korea” and a founding board member of the US Committee on Human Rights in North Korea.

What the hell is going on in Iran? The Trump administration recently attributed to Iran attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, citing as evidence video footage showing a small fast attack boat (characteristic of those the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps uses) pulling alongside one of the tankers.

On their very first episode of “What the Hell Is Going On?” Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen discuss current US-Iran tensions with AEI’s Fred Kagan. They address the internal politics of Tehran, President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and whether the US should apply to Iran the set of policies that led to the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union, often called the “Victory Strategy.”

Fred Kagan, author of the 2007 report “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq, is one of the intellectual architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq. He is the director of AEI’s Critical Threats Project and a former professor of military history at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Ever look at the mess across the world and wonder what the hell is going on?

Then tune in to the American Enterprise Institute’s new podcast “What the Hell Is Going On?” In informative and irreverent episodes, Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen interview the most interesting and knowledgeable guests who will help us make sense of the world — one issue at a time. You can find all episodes at AEI, Ricochet, and wherever podcasts are downloaded.

On this episode of the AEI Idea Makers podcast, we sit down with Phil Lebherz, an entrepreneur and founder of several companies, including LISI, a wholesale distributor of group health insurance.

In this conversation, Mr. Lebherz explains why every successful person is a good salesperson, discussing his career, policy, the Affordable Care Act, and more.

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