The Burn Bag Podcast

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk about the Quad — an informal set of security meetings between the United States, India, Australia, and Japan — given President Biden’s virtual meeting with the other three leaders of the Quad today. They discuss what exactly the Quad is, and give you a preview of what you might expect from these meetings, and whether the Quad is truly meant to...

On this week’s episode, co-hosts A’ndre and Ryan speak about the events at the Capitol on January 6th with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. As the representative from Michigan’s 8th District, Congresswoman Slotkin discusses her role in working with the Biden administration to combat and deal with domestic terrorism and violence. During this episode, she addresses various topics such as Iran, the Depa...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk about last week's U.S. air strikes against Syria and delve into the Biden Administration's Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. They talk about how the document signals an emphasis on multilateralism, a pivot to Asia, rebuilding America's soft power, and strengthening democracy at home and abroad. A'ndre and Ryan a...

Welcome to the second installment of The Burn Bag Podcast's special collaboration with The Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Security and Strategy ,  where we highlight contributions to the Scowcroft Center's "100 Ideas for the First 100 Days" project. The second episode in the series delves into three big ideas with Dr. Harlan Ullman, Evan Cooper, and Markus Garlaus...

On this week’s episode of the Burn Bag, co-hosts A’ndre and Ryan speak with Admiral (ret.) James Stavridis about his new book 2034: A Novel of the Next World War .  Admiral Stavridis, who served as former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and former Commander of U.S. Southern Command,  discusses the importance of cyber warfare and why we must rethink the idea of the typical U.S. soldier. During the...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk about the alleged coup attempt in Armenia, political instability in Georgia, and U.S. report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. They also discuss Australia's new media law and the likely prosecution of Sri Lanka's former president. 

The Burn Bag Podcast is excited to launch a special collaboration with The Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Security and Strategy , where we highlight the contributions to the Scowcroft Center's "100 Ideas for the First 100 Days" project. This inaugural episode in this new mini-series features an introductory conversation with the Center's Director Barry Pavel, wher...

In this week’s episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , co-hosts A’ndre and Ryan speak to Michael Barr, Dean of the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions. A’ndre, Ryan and Dean Barr discuss the challenges of rebuilding the global economy post-COVID-19, attracting foreign direct investment to the United States,...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss the aftermath of impeachment, the latest on the Navalny case in Russia, India’s domestic and foreign difficulties, the latest developments in Myanmar, and the Biden Administration’s outlook for the Middle East, among other topics.

On this special Presidents’ Day episode, A’ndre and Ryan talk with Zeke Miller, AP White House Reporter and White House Correspondents’ Assoc. President, about presidential reporting. They discuss the history of White House correspondents and the relationship between the President and the press. Zeke also discusses sourcing and the role of leaks. He shares his views on the public’s relationship wi...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump and the threat of far right domestic terrorism. They also talk about the easing of India/China tensions, Big Tech, and President Biden's phone call with China's Xi Jinping.

In this episode, A’ndre and Ryan talk with Tracy Walder, a former CIA  staff operations officer and FBI special agent, about her life navigating both of these agencies. They discuss why Tracy joined the CIA, and how she, as a 22 year old, was at the forefront of intelligence analysis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, interacting with officials at the highest levels of government, including Presi...

In this week’s episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , co-hosts A’ndre Gonawela and Ryan Rosenthal speak with Dr. Richard Haass, a veteran diplomat and president of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). A’ndre and Ryan discuss Dr. Haass’ new book The World: A Brief Introduction , American policy towards Mainland China and Taiwan, COVID-19’s strengthening of European institutions, popular protests in R...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss U.S. foreign policy decisions by the Biden Administration and the coup in Myanmar (Burma). They also talk about the fate of Alexey Navalny and provide an update on the farmer protests in India. 

In this week’s episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , co-hosts A’ndre and Ryan speak to retired Four Star General and current Brookings Institution President John Allen about how we 'reopen' both the United States and the world, in a conversation oriented around Brookings' 'Reopening' project . General Allen discusses why a global approach to addressing the pandemic is necessar...

In this week's episode, Ryan and A'ndre discuss the threat of domestic terrorism and challenges posed by the intersection of social media and politics. They also talk about the arrest of Russian opposition politician Aleksey Navalny and a recent ISIS bombing in Iraq.

In this week's episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , co-hosts A'ndre and Ryan speak to retired Four Star General Stanley McChrystal about his views on leadership. We discuss the topic with the General by drawing on lessons in leadership from his own career, looking at how General McChrystal spearheaded the transformation of JSOC, or the Joint Special Operations Command, to effectively adjust...

In this special episode of The Burn Bag , Dr. Joyojeet Pal speaks to us about the intersection of social media and politics, especially in light of the spread of #FakeNews and the recent banning of President Donald Trump from Twitter. An Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information, Dr. Pal starts out by giving us a primer on how politicians like Barack Obama first use...

In this special episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , we speak with Dr. Julia Nesheiwat, former Homeland Security Advisor (official title: Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security & Resilience) to President Donald J. Trump. Julia discusses the Administration's response to COVID-19 with respects to the domain of homeland security, in addition to discussing her prior experience i...

The January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol Building by a mob of far right extremists looking to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election was shocking to many, but not necessarily unexpected to some. A’ndre and Ryan speak to Janet Reitman, New York Times Magazine contributor, who is engaged in research on extremism, the far right, and domestic terrorism, to better understand why...

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss the siege of the Capitol, more Biden Administration nominations, and some political crises in Europe. They also breakdown their recent op-ed in The Hill  which advocates for a rethinking of U.S. cyber strategy. 

In the latest edition of this mini-series,  From the Director's Chair , Javed Ali (former NSC Senior Director of Counterterrorism) speaks with his old boss and mentor LTG James Clapper, who served as the Director of National Intelligence between 2010 and 2017, in addition to prior stints as Director of both the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. LTG C...

In this very special episode of The Burn Bag Podcast , A'ndre and Ryan speak with Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of the Eurasia Group, who is widely seen as bringing the trade of political risk to prominence as an academic discipline and to practical usage in financial markets, in addition to introducing a range of other concepts that are widely applied in geopolitical conversations today...

In this week's episode,  A'ndre, Ryan, and Javed discuss the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6th. They breakdown the root causes, explanations for how such an event could have occurred, and what it means for the United States domestically and on the world stage. Finally, they explore the implications of resignations and whether action may be taken to remove President Trum...

In the first episode of this new mini-series, From the Director’s Chair , our Executive Producer Javed Ali, who served as the former Senior Director of Counterterrorism on the NSC, interviews his former colleague Chris Costa, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Spy Museum. Costa served 34 years in government, with 25 of those years being for the U.S. Army, retiring...