The Burn Bag Podcast

A'ndre and Ryan speak with University of Chicago Professor Robert Pape on political violence and radicalization, in the first episode of a new special series, The Opening of the American Mind, where The Burn Bag will interview leading scholars and thinkers on the the deep-rooted trends underlying contemporary foreign policy and national security issues, in an accessible, intellectual conversation. Professor Pape discusses radicalization in the context of foreign terror groups, drawing on pioneering work that has centered around suicide terrorism. Professor Pape disputes the idea that religion is the prime motivator for suicide terrorism -- rather, these roots are in nationalism and a response to foreign 'occupation'. Professor Pape, who recently published significant findings with UChicago's CPOST on 'who' the January 6th insurrectionists are, discusses why many of those who participated in the Capitol Riots came from Biden counties, and why their motivation may be rooted in the 'great replacement' theory. Professor Pape's recent article in The Conversation can be found here.

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan breakdown the major UN General Assembly speeches, assess the British PM's meeting with Biden, and foreshadow the Quad meeting in Washington, DC. They also discuss the outcome of the Canadian snap and Russian parliamentary elections, and give a final rundown before Germans head to polls to decide who will succeed Angela Merkel. 

In the fourth installment of our miniseries "Sri Lanka: Debt, Development, and Democracy?", we interview incumbent State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya to get the Government's take on economic diplomacy, U.S.-China, and the response to the United Nations Human Rights Council initiatives against Sri Lanka. Mr. Balasuriya, whose role is new and similar to that of a Deputy Foreign Minister with a regional focus, gives his take on the state of Sri Lankan foreign policy under the Rajapaksa Government, first discussing Sri Lanka's regional relations, highlighting ties with India. The State Minister disputes the notion that the Rajapaksa Government is 'pro-China', blames the previous government for the 99-year lease on the Hambantota Port, but does assert that China has been helpful to Sri Lanka's economic priorities. Balasuriya outlines why the Sri Lankan Government rejected the U.S. Millennium Challenge Compact (a proposed deal which was the subject of a visit to Sri Lanka by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a week before the 2020 Presidential Election), while asserting that U.S.-Sri Lankan relations are good, and asserting that Sri Lanka wants to maintain geopolitical neutrality. The State Minister rounds out the conversation with his response to initiatives by the United Nations Human Rights Council that have sought to bring about accountability with regards to the controversial ending of the Sri Lankan Civil War -- initiatives which were rejected on the day of our interview by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris, Mr. Balasuriya's immediate superior.While Mr. Balasuriya provides the Government's perspective on these key foreign policy issues, you can hear from other voices in the miniseries (and also hear A'ndre and Ryan's reactions to the interviews) via the links below:Episode 1: Journalist Uditha Jayasinghe on the State of Sri Lanka's Political and Economic LandscapeEpisode 2: Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on U.S.-China, Domestic Governance, and Political TurmoilEpisode 3: Tamil National Alliance MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Post-War Reconciliation and Political EnfranchisementEpisode 4: State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya on Economic Diplomacy, U.S.-China, and the UNHRC

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan speak with retired CIA Officer Marc Polymeropoulos on the Afghanistan withdrawal, his personal experience with the mysterious Havana Syndrome,  and his new book Clarity in Crisis. Marc, who served as the Head of Clandestine Operations in Europe and Eurasia, discusses the need for the United States to get its local allies out of Afghanistan and the future of counterterrorism strategy without certain intelligence capabilities on the ground. Marc criticizes both the Trump and Biden Administration for their actions in the waning days of the Afghanistan War and outlines what they could've done differently. Marc goes on to discuss a bit about his career in the CIA, and details his painful experience with the Havana Syndrome, which he contracted in Moscow, Russia, and that ultimately led to his retirement from the CIA. Lastly, A'ndre and Ryan talk to Marc about his new book, Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA, sketching out a unique leadership style honed from principles garnered through his service in the CIA.

In this week’s episode of What in the World, A’ndre and Ryan dissect the biggest global news story of the week: Nicki Minaj and the controversy around  her cousin’s friend, a story that’s elicited reactions from the White House and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. All kidding aside,  A’ndre and Ryan react to the announcement that the U.S. will provide Australia with nuclear powered submarines, a decision which has upset France. They also provide the latest news from Afghanistan, France’s killing of a prominent Sahara ISIS leader, and a scandal around a new World Bank report. The two also assess the recent revelations about General Mark Milley and former President Trump, as reported by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

In this week's episode of The Burn Bag Podcast, A'ndre, Ryan, and Javed Ali (former NSC Senior Director of Counterterrorism) reflect on the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th Attacks. Javed recounts his experience of being in Washington D.C. on the day of the attacks, having driven past the Pentagon shortly before it was hit, and shares how those tragic events shaped his own career in national security and counterterrorism. A'ndre and Ryan both share their own perspectives on how the the tragic events of that day shaped their own lives -- especially since both Burn Bag co-hosts were just toddlers in 2001, and have never known a pre-9/11 world.

In this week's episode, A'ndre recounts a strange dream he had that involved former President Richard M. Nixon. A’ndre and Ryan then go through the latest news from across the world, starting with an overview of the Taliban’s new government in Afghanistan — which includes someone with a multi-million dollar FBI bounty on their head. They also discuss the latest in Germany’s upcoming elections, some tension between the Biden Administration and Israel, and a little bit about the successful coup in Guinea. 

In the third installment of our miniseries "Sri Lanka: Debt, Development, and Democracy?", we speak with Tamil National Alliance MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam about the state of Sri Lanka's minority heavy North and East regions, areas facing the lingering effects of Sri Lanka's Civil War that ended in 2009. Rasamanickam asserts that the Tamil people have been left in a 'much worse' position since the war than they were at Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, and that the Tamil-majority areas have seen virtually no progress with regards to political rights. Rasamanickam, one of Sri Lanka's youngest members of Parliament, discusses his disappointment with a lack of sustainable development (which he distinguishes from 'basic infrastructure') in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, criticizing Chinese-linked 'vanity' projects and questioning China's desire for certain pieces of land.  Considered a rising star within the Tamil National Alliance, Rasamanickam states that he and many of his constituents do desire that the United States does emphasize human rights in its approach to Sri Lanka, as he continues to advocate for a federal approach to governance domestically. We close out the conversation with an in-depth discussion of Sri Lanka's economic crises, and Rasamanickam's take on the state of Sri Lanka's fragmented political opposition to the Rajapaksa Government.

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk about the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and what the future may hold. They also discuss President Biden's meetings with Israeli PM Bennett and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, India's undemocratic actions in Kashmir, and the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. 

In the second installment of our miniseries "Sri Lanka: Debt, Development, and Democracy?", we interview former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe about political and foreign policy developments that occurred during his tenures as premier (1993-1994, 2001-2004, 2015-2018, 2018-2019) and that are occurring under the present government. The former Prime Minister, who was the subject of a 2018 constitutional crisis, discusses Sri Lanka's governance structure while also responding to queries about the ISIS-linked Easter Sunday Bombings in 2019, which occurred towards the tail-end of his premiership. The bulk of the interview then focuses on Sri Lanka's place amidst U.S.-China competition, as Mr. Wickremesinghe gives his take on whether Sri Lanka is in a Chinese 'debt trap', and whether recent Chinese-led developments around the Hambantota Port and the Port City in Colombo are violations of sovereignty. The former Prime Minister, who has been seen by some as pro-West, outlines Sri Lanka's relationship with the United States, highlighting what it looked like under his premiership, while laying out criticisms of the current Rajapaksa-led government's approach to foreign policy. The interview concludes with a discussion on the severe economic crisis plaguing Sri Lanka and the implications of the COVID pandemic.NOTE: The former Prime Minister at times refers to the “19th Amendment”. The 19th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution was passed during his tenure in 2015, and sought to reduce the powers of the Executive Presidency, transferring some of those powers to the Prime Minister. The 20th Amendment, passed under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2020, reversed course and essentially restored those powers to the President.