The Burn Bag Podcast

In The Burn Bag's first episode of 2021, A'ndre and Ryan chat with Ambassador Thomas Shannon, the former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (the third highest ranking position at the State Department), who held the position of Career Ambassador and was the highest ranking member of the U.S. Foreign Service, and also served briefly as Acting Secretary of State in-between the tenures of John Kerry and Rex Tillerson. Ambassador Shannon tells us about that Obama-Trump White House transition, the flight of senior State Department officials at the time, and how he 'formally dissented' with a Trump Administration immigration policy at the tail-end of his service at State. Ambassador Shannon goes on to provide us with his take on what the incoming Biden Administration's foreign policy may likely look like, and how President-Elect Biden would need to build a bipartisan foreign policy while rebuilding confidence and engagement with U.S. allies. We then dig into some of the biggest geopolitical challenges that the Biden Administration will face: COVID-19, climate change, state threats, migration, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic -- and even space. The Ambassador also provides with his some perspectives on his own career, and his words of wisdom on the importance of these challenges to the vitality of the 'American Project'.

In the latest installment of The Burn Bag Podcast, A'ndre and Ryan sit down with former CIA Senior Clandestine Services Officer Daniel Hoffman for a wide-ranging discussion drawing upon his experience and expertise as an operations officer and a CIA Chief of Station. Hoffman digs into what it means to hire spies and covers why human intelligence is still vitally important  and reliable to the United States, and how that information is processed. Hoffman, widely considered to be a leading Russia expert, gives us his take on Putin's Russia, discussing the recent revelations on the poisoning of a leading Russian opposition leader and how Putin aims to undermine the United States. Hoffman also talks about the importance of counterintelligence, and reacts to the recent news of a Chinese spy infiltrating certain political circles in the United States, that included the targeting of U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

In this week's episode, A’ndre and Ryan dig into Russia's SolarWinds hacking with Javed Ali. They discuss what happened, the implications, and potential responses by the United States. The conversation concludes with Javed's take on the "dual-hatted" leadership of CYBERCOM and the NSA and why it may be beneficial to split the two. Today's conversation is based on Javed's recent op-ed in Defense One and quotes from Mother Jones, WaPo, and ABC news.

In this episode of The Burn Bag Podcast, A'ndre and Ryan interview former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon, about her long and distinguished career in the CIA and as a leader in the Intelligence Community, and her perspectives on a range of issues. As PDDNI, Gordon was essentially the second-highest official leading the Intelligence Community,  and she gives us her outlook on the IC's relationship with the President of the United States -- drawing directly from her own experiences in briefing five of our last six presidents. Gordon also discusses her views on innovation in the IC, detailing her role in the establishment of In-Q-Tel and the development of technology in the CIA. We also spoke to Sue about her departure from public service last year, whether she'd return to public service in the future, and her thoughts on diversity in the IC. Lastly, Gordon talks a bit about counterintelligence, and the threats posed in that realm by China and Russia, especially given recent circumstances.

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk about Russia's hacking of the U.S. government and the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolboys by Boko Haram. They also provide an update on the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and discuss U.S. recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. 

In this episode, we spoke with Professor Allen Hicken, professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, about the protests in Thailand. Professor Hicken discusses the deep polarization of Thailand due, in part, to the ongoing protests of the past decade, the demands for reform of the Thai monarchy, and the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP). Lastly, we speak about the future of Thailand, the influence of technology on the movement, and Professor Hicken’s prediction on how the Thai government and monarchy will respond to the youth’s demands.

In this week's episode, A'ndre and Ryan discuss President-elect Biden's announcement of General (Ret.) Lloyd Austin as SecDef nominee, US arms sales to the UAE, and the mass protests in India. They also talk to Javed Ali about Iran's potential responses to the killing of its lead nuclear scientist and what this may mean for the US and its allies. Our conversation with Javed is based on his recent op-ed in The Hill.

In this special episode, we spoke with Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, about the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. Professor Lyons discusses how the remnants of the Ethiopian Civil War led to political reforms initiated in 2018 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, creating an opening for peace, but also an opportunity for divisive ethnic politics to re-emerge. Professor Lyons also discusses the humanitarian crisis and the international community's response to Addis Ababa's crackdown. We close the conversation by looking to the future of Ethiopia and how individuals can keep up with the unfolding conflict. For more information on the conflict, check out this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/world/africa/ethiopia-abiy-tigray.html 

We talk with Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, about the Israel- Palestine conflict and broader geopolitics within the Middle East. Riedel draws on his experience as part of President Clinton's peace process team, and specifically talks about what he saw at the 2000 Camp David Summit, and why he did not have confidence in the summit's proceedings, which ultimately failed. Riedel also provides his outlook on the nature of the conflict overall, in addition to his take on the recent normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, Sudan, and whether an Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization is on the horizon. Lastly, we get some insights on what the Biden Administration portends for these conflicts and situations.

In this week's episode,  A'ndre and Ryan discuss potential Biden Administration nominees, tensions between China and Australia, and the death of Iran's top nuclear scientist. They also cover Israel's political turmoil and provide an update on the situation in Ethiopia.