What the Hell Is Going On

The world is watching as protests rage across Iran amid nationwide internet blackouts, state-sponsored propaganda, and lethal security force crackdowns. Despite reports suggesting that hundreds, possibly thousands, have been killed at the time of this writing, Iranians are taking their future in their hands with extraordinary courage. For Tehran, what makes this wave of unrest different from those...

For many Americans, Operation Absolute Resolve, which brought Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to trial in New York, was an unexpected New Year’s surprise. For others who have endured the corruption of his regime and watched as American adversaries have turned Venezuela and Cuba into platforms for illicit investment, arms trafficking, and narcotics, it is a long-awaited moment of vindication. It...

It is officially 2026, which means America is turning 250 this year. Our question on this semiquincentennial looks back to America’s founding and the constitutional framework that gave birth to our nation. America is the only nation founded not on blood or soil, but on a creed. Established by the Declaration of Independence, this creed, now more than ever, should be viewed through Jefferson’s word...

While we celebrate the remarkable achievement of 250 years of the US military being a bulwark of democracy, it is important to understand the intentionally laid foundations on which America’s civil military relations tradition rests. Military deference to civilian authority and the legislature is a principle pioneered and championed by General George Washington, setting a powerful precedent for co...

The Reagan National Defense Survey has again illuminated the MAGA world: MAGA Republicans are not isolationists, nor are the majority of Americans. Despite what those in Washington assert Americans believe, the latest polling reveals that 64 percent of Americans support U.S. leadership on the world stage, with eight in ten self-identified MAGA Republicans driving that figure. So why do we see this...

If you were in your twenties and could choose to be born at any point in human history, would you be insane to choose any other time to be alive than right now? Our guest says yes, and the statistics back him up. Regardless of perception, shaped in part by politicians and populists, the average person today is richer than John D. Rockefeller simply by virtue of being alive in 2025. And yet, the “a...

Over the last decade, China has carried out the largest illicit transfer of capital, innovation, data, and technology in human history. One of the most overlooked elements of this heist is the role of industrial espionage and the theft of corporate secrets. The government-backed intelligence apparatus designed to clone American technology has strengthened Chinese competition across all industries...

Between the pardoned turkeys and those running loose on Capitol Hill, controversy over insubordination and sedition seem to be on the menu this holiday. The six Democrats who posted a video addressed to service members sowed chaos and confusion about the proper chain of command and lawful military orders. It is crucial to understand the constitutional framework that distinguish lawful militar...

For Donald Trump, China has served as a major justification for economic protectionism, highlighting our dependencies and need to onshore products with national security implications. But that’s the talk. The reality is more dismal: a less-than-hawkish trade deal this month, with tariffs that seem to isolate allies and, inversely, reshore production on China’s mainland. For Team Trump, three camps...

The legislative filibuster is one of the most important guardrails against the tyranny of the majority that exists in the United States Senate. Despite this critical function, both parties have, at various times, entertained the idea of eliminating the filibuster and with it, bipartisan compromise. Such an act of unbelievable shortsightedness would transform the Senate into a mirror image of the H...

The fever swamps of the alt-right have crept upstream. Fringe figures are making their way onto increasingly mainstream platforms, spreading ideological contagion to impressionable young audiences. Having long covered the creeping antisemitism of the Left, the fight now unfolding on the Right is an inspiring and essential one. With his debut WTH appearance, Eli Lake reminds us that this isn’t a qu...

Europe’s center of gravity has shifted eastward, and few political leaders stand out as capable of leading the necessary changes to revitalize, rather than regulate, the aging West. The Washington Post’s new editorial vision hopes to address these concerns, shaping how we think about ourselves and our allies in the coming years. The first step in avoiding Europe’s fate here at home is confronting...

With just one week until Election Day in New York City, we’re reflecting on the past and future of the Democratic Party, Gracie Mansion, and the political home of mayoral hopeful, Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist, having campaigned alongside and accepted donations from members of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group with a clear, parasitic strategy towards the Democratic...

The Trump administration continues to focus on achieving peace in the Middle East, navigating a fragile ceasefire and defining the conditions for a Palestinian future. Meanwhile, Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on, marked by stalled negotiations and continued bombardments. Both situations have proven more complex and unpredictable than the President initially hoped. Lately, Tomahawk missiles remain t...

After two incredibly long years, we are finally able to celebrate the return of all living Israeli hostages from the hell of Hamas. Absent specifics and relying on a long history of failed “new beginnings” in the Middle East, Trump’s 20-point Peace Plan begs the question, what comes next? With a successful Phase One and a fragile Phase Two, it is with cautious optimism that we ask: how will disarm...

More than three years into Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our European allies are reconsidering whether or not frozen Russian assets, totaling $300 billion on the continent, can be used to help Ukraine. As part of a broader brought about by the Trump Administration, Western countries are finally prepared to act in concert to overcome financial concerns, investment retaliation, and collect...

Two years ago today, Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. In this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss Dany’s article in the WTH Substack, Two years after October 7, there is no path to peace. Following October 7, 2023, the ideological defeat of Hamas has remained paramount to the survival of Israel. Hamas’s goal remains the same: the complete destructi...

On this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss Marc’s column,  Democrats shut down the government to protect covid spending, not Obamacare .  In the umpteenth government shutdown in recent memory, Democrats have decided that permanent COVID subsides for healthcare, already extended and phased out by a Democrat-controlled government, are more essential than keeping the government ope...

President Trump’s speech before the General Assembly has sparked debate over its style and substance, raising questions about UN organizations that do not serve American interests. As we continue to foot its ever-growing bill, the United Nations system appears to be failing in peacekeeping and security. How did Trump’s speech signal a shift in our relationship with the international organization?...

On this episode of WTH, Dany and Marc discuss the assassination of conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk. The problem of political violence in America has only worsened since its uptick in 2020 with compounding factors like spoken and online rhetoric and the symbiosis of the far left and mainstream. It’s inside this Petri dish that a permission structure for violence...

According to major news outlets, the capital of the free world is under federal occupation by Donald Trump. Here in D.C., the 30-day public emergency has expired and Pam Bondi’s “takeover” of the MPD has ended, but National Guard troops aren’t going anywhere with an extended deployment to Nov. 30th. Their presence has led to a major reduction in violent crime, but what happens when they vacate? Is...

After splashy announcements from our European, Australian, and Canadian allies, later this month, the UN will vote to “recognize a Palestinian State”. While theatrical and without legal import, the vote can only be understood as a reward for terrorism and October 7th. Hamas and too many Palestinians have no interest in state building, institutions, democratic elections, or taking part in the “two...

The intersectional coalition the Democrats put together in 2024, comprised of the 1%, coastal, corporate, elites and the 20% on 80/20 issues, is failing to register new voters or execute at the polls. While they abandon their historic constituencies and adopt more radical left wing cultural ambitions, it’s not clear how the Democratic Party will rebuild. Between inflation and immigration, the Part...

Closing out What the Hell’s summer book series, we offer a timely reminder of the value of free speech and critical thinking from a time when it wasn’t taken for granted. Charlie English discusses his book, The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature (Random House, 2025). Charlie chronicles George Minden’s 1980s covert intelligence operation that smuggled li...

In the next episode of our annual What the Hell’s summer book series, we are time traveling around the world with experimental archeologist, Sam Kean, who shares with us his latest science narrative novel, Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations (Little Brown and Company, 2025). Sam took us on an adventure of the s...