The Burn Bag Podcast

In this episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk with Andrew McCabe, former Acting and Deputy FBI Director. McCabe served as the FB's acting director following the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey and, during his tenure,  oversaw the Russia investigation. This conversation delves into the the before, during, and after of the Russia inquiry. McCabe not only dispels myths surrounding the inves...

A'ndre and Ryan discuss the political turmoil engulfing Tunisia, China's increasing involvement in Afghanistan, a possible Iran-linked attack on an Israeli oil tanker, trouble with a new Iranian Nuclear Deal, the January 6th hearings in the House of Representatives, and Philippines' President Duterte's unorthodox and concerning approach to dealing with the unvaccinated. Plus, a...

In this special episode, A'ndre and Ryan celebrate and reflect on  The Burn Bag Podcast's  first year. The two co-hosts recount how they started the podcast in July 2020 in the depths of the pandemic, and discuss their favorite episodes and highlights from the past year. A'ndre and Ryan also talk upcoming changes and a future revamping of the podcast!

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss the Pegasus spyware that has reportedly targeted world leaders, the DC visit of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikanouskaya, and calls by some Florida politicians to send WiFi balloons to Cuba. They also discuss the Blue Origin space flight, flooding around the world, and the human impact of innovation. 

In this special release, we speak with Ambassador (ret.) Susan Page about the political turmoil engulfing Haiti in the aftermath of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Ambassador Page,  who served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti, in addition to a range of other diplomatic postings with the United States, discusses Haiti's history post-independen...

In our latest episode, A'ndre and Ryan speak with Justin Scheck, the co-author of Blood and Oil: Mohammed Bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Power , about the Saudi Crown Prince whose ambitious and swift rise portends significant developments for the Middle East. Justin discusses how MBS, initially thought to be a reformer, has courted many prominent leaders in the United States and elsewhe...

In this week's episode, A’ndre and Ryan breakdown the recent anti-government protests in Cuba, new developments in the assassination of Haiti's president, and advancements made by the Taliban. They also discuss the riots in South Africa and reported concerns within the U.S. military that Donald Trump may attempt a coup in the last days of his presidency. 

This week, A'ndre and Ryan speak with Anja Manuel, former diplomat and advisor on emerging markets, about the rise of India and China in a conversation largely based on her critically acclaimed 2016 book,  This Brave New World: India, China, and the United States . Anja contextualizes the conversation by discussing how India and China's 'glorious distant past' coupled with a mo...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan breakdown the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moisi, new developments in the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan, and the causes of Kim Jung Un's significant weight loss. They also discuss COVID, regional insecurity in the Middle East, and Russia's latest aggressive move in the Baltics. 

In the last episode of our miniseries on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we speak to Yossi Klein Halevi, famed Israeli author and journalist, on  'myths' and 'realities' around the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and Zionism. Yossi talks about the idea of Israel and 'historic' Israel before the founding of the modern day state, and what Israel means to Jewish pe...

In this episode, A’ndre and Ryan talk with Will Carless about the Proud Boys and the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. Will, who is a USA Today national correspondant covering extremism and emerging issues in the United States, has gained unprecendented access to former Proud Boys who detail the recruitment and self-perpetuating extremism tactics. This illuminating episode delves into the ideo...

In this special conversation with Fiona Hill , Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, we dive into Russia and its modern day leader Vladimir Putin. Fiona, who served as deputy assistant  to President Trump and was present at the notorious Helsinki Summit between Presidents Trump and Putin p...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss Biden's plan to grant visa's to Afghan interpreters and recent developments in the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal. They also talk about the discovery of mass graves of indigenous children in Canada, the UK-Russia spat off the coast of Crimea, and the border crisis. 

In this episode, A'ndre and Ryan speak with Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur (often referred to as the 'Father of Modern Entrepreneurship') and Silicon Valley guru, about his thinking on defense innovation and how a civil-military alliance can help the U.S. maintain its technological edge. Steve, who spearheaded the creation of the 'Hacking 4 Defense' class at Stanford whi...

In the latest episode of our miniseries focusing in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we speak to Dr. Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian American historian who currently is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, on the history of the Palestinian people and Palestinian nationalism. Dr. Khalidi, the author of  The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (2020) and  Pales...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan are joined by Javed Ali  to discuss the Biden-Putin Summit, the White House's National Domestic Terrorism Strategy , and the House vote to repeal the 2002 Iraq War AUMF. An'dre and Ryan also discuss the state of Israel's new coalition and the resumption of hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas. The episode concludes with an ov...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk with Ash Jain and Ambassador (ret.) Daniel Fried about the importance of democratic multilateralism. Ash and Amb. Fried advocate for expanding the G-7 into a D-10, which would be a broader forum for the world's leading democratic countries. They also discuss whether the world is currently defined by the divide between democracy versus aut...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss President Biden's trip to Europe where he will participate in the G7 before heading off to Geneva to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They also breakdown President Biden's democracy-centric foreign policy and how the "Macron Slap" is a symptom of populism and the growth of the far-right. The conversation touch...

In this special episode of The Burn Bag Podcast, we speak to former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (2011-2013) about a range of national security 'flashpoints' that stand to affect the United States and the Biden Administration in the coming years. Secretary Panetta, who oversaw the Bin Laden Raid as CIA Director, reacts to President Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghani...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan are joined by Javed Ali to discuss the recent ransomware attack against JBS, the largest meat processing company in the world. They also discuss the broader implications of cyber crimes and how the Biden Administration is responding. A'ndre and Ryan then discuss the Israeli opposition coalition that is set to oust PM Netanyahu. The episode con...

In this special episode, A'ndre and Ryan speak with Nabil Fahmy,  Founding Dean of the American University in Cairo's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and former Egyptian Foreign Minister. Dean Fahmy shares his perspective on the recent Gaza War and Egypt's historical role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dean Fahmy digs into Egypt's relationship with Israel, the...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan speak with leading North Korea expert Dr. Sue Mi Terry about the "Hermit Kingdom". Dr. Terry, who served as a CIA analyst, Deputy National Intelligence Officer, and NSC Director, provides her assessment of the Trump-Kim Summits and how the Biden Administration will approach the Kim regime. She also breaks-down the vertical of power in Nor...

In this special release, A'ndre and Ryan speak with Dr. Jess Ghannam , Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Global Health Sciences at the UCSF School of Medicine, about post-conflict trauma and the importance of incorporating this trauma into larger conversations about national security. Dr. Ghannam, who is Palestinian-American and hails from Detroit, speaks on how "the juxtaposition of...

In this week’s episode, A’ndre and Ryan discuss President Biden’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the shocking air piracy by Belarus. They also discuss the crisis in Ethiopia and recent US ambassador nominations. .

This week, A’ndre and Ryan speak with Ambassador Nathan A. Sales , former State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism (2017-2021) and former Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Ambassador Sales also served as Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (acting).  Ambassador Sales opens the episode by providing a general overview...