Sirens: A Bombshell production

Radha and Loren welcome the glorious Dr. Kori Schake to the podcast for a discussion of her new book, The State and the Soldier:A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States; hurray! As we hopefully welcome spring, we grapple with chaotic management of military promotions, the globally economy, and the Iran war in It's a Drill. And for Dumpster Fires, we wade into the political crisis + administrative burden burden + totally out of sync funding system that is federal science grantmaking, just for fun. Also: Devil Wears Prada 2, anyone? That's All.

Loren and Radha reminisce about wintry memories and Benedict Cumberbatch before a cocktail parties worth of gossip on Fed rates, tariffs, and appropriations politics. In dumpster fires, they explore the strange ways the federal government shapes higher education, including event moves to change accreditation. And we're delighted to welcome CNAS's Carrie Cordero to discuss what we SHOULD expect of federal law enforcement and how to think about reforms to DHS, near and long term.

Happy 2026 to all friends of Sirens! Loren, Radha, and Erin are truly astonished at the pace of news in their mid-winters nap and gab for an extended drill to cover new Hatch Act procedures, protests in Iran, the thwarted terrorist attack on NYE, the drastic decrease in financial crime fines in 2026, and Netanyahu's visit (also, Andy and Anderson's NYE, of course). While Venezuela could be an entire episode series unto itself, we augment with another dumpster fire: what exactly the daycare funding fraud allegations mean in Minnesota and how they may impact the entire theory of change of federalism. For Warning Signs, we offer what we're looking for and at ain 2026, and suggest some resolutions for American institutions in 2026.

On this mini-episode, we talk with Erin Sikorsky about her new book "Climate Change on the Battlefield." Listen in as we discuss how climate change affects military operations and military readiness, which countries are doing things right, and how the US could address systemic risks differently.

Sirens starts the school year bright eyed in It's a Drill, highlighting new Deputy Secretary of Defense powers in requirements, the new Chief Design Officer at the White House, and whether those trade taxes are legal. In Dumpster Fires, we explore the redistricting arms race set off by Texas and how it fits into the evolution of democracy in the US, along with how it feels to own 10% of Intel (any takers for a share of State Capitalism?). In Warning Signs, we are delighted (horrified) to welcome Dr. Lindsay Cohn to dig into when and how state governors resist federal deployments of the National Guard in their state, and what this portends for the role of the guard in the future.

In this mini-episode, join Radha and Erin's full interview with amazing guest and expert Emily Bensen on all things tariffs (aka trade taxes). They talk through the theory of the case for setting these tariffs, review the successful and not-so-successful negotiations, and look at where the economy and the American people likely to see the impact of these tariffs in the weeks and months ahead

Radha and Loren are so excited to welcome the Co-Director of the Yale Budget Lab, Martha Gimbel, to explore her team's work and her fantastic recent testimony exploring how the the national debt and tariffs show up in the lived experience of Americans. For It's a Drill, we note that the SAVE Act doesn't really save anyone, except maybe people who want to be saved from women's votes, and give you the long extended analogy of how the dynamics Straits of Hormuz is actually the movie He's Just Not That Into You. For Dumpster Fires, we use the recent court ruling on reinstating Voice of America staff to consider the role of government in the information space. Also: the Oscars!

Radha and Loren are so excited to welcome special guest Dana Stroul to help us understand this war, er, special military operation in Iran, but first we wade through cocktail party gossip on the end of the endangerment finding, forced ranking for civil servants, and like a lot of things going on in the western hemisphere. If you've ever wanted to know about the systems challenges of security clearances, our discussion on NBIS and its woes are for you; plus, of course we couldn't avoid getting into the messiness of the DOD-Anthropic situationship. Plus: do you have an Irish soda bread recipe? We don't.

Radha and Loren are very excited about a range of important things, starting with Radha's purse, which is the same as the newly supermajoritied Japanese PM (yes, that's a word, we made it one). Also in the cocktail circuit we have DHS shutdown and a new administration intervention on defense primes. We welcome (ok not really) schedule policy / career (schedule F) back to Dumpster Fires with a deep explainer on what this new policy means for civil servants and the American people, and then explore Munich Security Conference: Rubio, AOC, the weird civilizational dialgoue and the tired tropes. Finally we are so jazzed to welcome Dr. Rebecca Lissner to discuss her research on American sentiment on AI and data centers. Also, you get our extremely non-expert Olympic commentary.

Sirens welcomes the tremendous Dr. Mara Karlin as a guest to first determine which current buzzwords we'd ban but more importantly to assess this moment of US and allied relationships: what allies should be planning, how US chaos shakes up more than just NATO meetings, and signals to watch. For dumpster fires, we talk through what's new and what's unfortunate de ja vu as the Trump Administration pressures the Iranian regime amid increasingly violent protest crackdowns, as well as what the transition at the GAO means for oversight (yes, we do the sexy topics!). Finally: what delights and baffles you about the Jane Austen-verse?

Yes - it's a mouthful of acronyms! And yes, it's hard to focus on anything besides the new national security strategy, but Sirens manages to open with our favorite holiday reads, merry and bright and dark and twisty. For dumpster fires, we explore the tragic shooting of two WV National Guardsmen through the lens of the evacuation of several thousand Afghans in 2021 and the complex and often limited support system they met in the US. Also, we reluctantly return to counter drug strikes in the Caribbean and exactly what we should expect of the military when it comes to unlawful orders. Finally; what holiday movie would you pitch to Hallmark?

Were you left wanting more economist talk after last week's Sirens? Joint Loren and Radha for the full, uncut interview with the Optimist Economy's Kathryn Edwards helps us navigate where we are (or not) on the highway to recession and what the government should be doing about it.

Everyone's negotiating these days, with the Ukraine deal, recent AI deals, and the near final Schedule F (er Schedule Policy/Career) closing up (or not) as the year wraps up and the holiday party circuit in DC kicks off. In dumpster fires, we take a good hard look at the recent MBS visit to DC and just whose strategy this strategic partnership is operating under, as well as tying threads across recent news in the James Comey, Jeffrey Epstein, and Mark Kelly investigations. Optimist Economy's Kathryn Edwards helps us navigate where we are (or not) on the highway to recession and what the government should be doing about it. And to close: what is your favorite absurd holiday treat?

Are you equal parts terrified and fascinated by recent mentions of restarting nuclear testing? The ladies of bombshell are here to help! Join us for the full-length interview with PONI Director Heather Williams as we discuss nuclear testing and nuclear weapons, how it relates to the international world order.

Sirens starts with favorite bake-off challenges and runs the cocktail circuit with the latest Supreme Court validation that tariffs are taxes, what the latest elections mean (or don't, apparently), and the trend of general officer removals. We dig into the sexiest dumpster fires: acquisition reform and where the death of direct file fits in the flow of tax reform in US history. PONI Director Heather Williams joined for a delightfully disturbing warning signs on nuclear testing and getting nuclear weapons into public consciousness. And finally, importantly: when is too early to put up Christmas decorations?

Breaking Defense reporter and longtime Pentagon press corps member Valerie Insinna details the work of the media in DOD, what the department owes Americans in terms of transparency, and the implications of Hegseth's new press guidelines.

Now that the Louvre jewel thieves have been caught, Sirens asks, what museum would you plan a heist for? On the cocktail circuit, we're chatting Tomahawks, no, sanctions yes on Russia-Ukraine, the new Japanese PM, and Trump's Asia trip. In Dumpster Fires, there's thousands unleashed across the US as the shutdown continues; plus, there is some strange strange stuff going on in Southcom. In warning signs, Breaking Defense reporter Valerie Insinna joins us for a discussion of what makes the Pentagon press corps unique amid Hegseth's recent actions against the media. Finally, what inflatable protest creature are you?

If you're wondering what happens when as the foundations of separtion of power shift in real time, then this mini-episode is for you! Join the ladies of Bombshell for the fasinating, full length interview with Laura Dickinson of GWU Law School. We get an expert view on recent Supreme Court rulings, what executive power really means, and where we go from here.

Sirens (should Sirens just be a book pod?) starts with the best question: if you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? On the cocktail party circuit, we had to discuss the Great Gathering of Gobsmacked GOFOs, plus how the US gave up AI norms at UNGA and changes to social security. Amid Dumpster Fires aplenty, we dig into chaotic reforms to H1B visa and the consequences to the economy and national security, as well as the nuclear change to senate nominations process. In Warning Signs, we welcome former US Chief Data Scientist Denice Ross for a wonderful discussion on the federal data system and democratic accountability. And Gong Show? We had no choice: Robert Redford. It's the fall that's gonna kill you.

Americans want a government that is agile, responsive, and able to deliver basic services while also solving complex challenges like climate change. Yet the climate community tends to over-focus on questions of climate policy design rather than questions of climate policy implementation — resulting in ambitious efforts like the Inflation Reduction Act that held great promise on paper but ran into roadblocks in the real world. In this live taping, host Loren DeJonge Schulman is joined by special guests Carol Browner, former U.S. EPA Administrator, Jordan Diamond, Executive Director of the Environmental Law Institute, and Nancy Metayer Bowen, Vice Mayor of Coral Springs, FL, to discuss why government capacity is the overlooked engine of climate progress — and explore how civic leaders, lawyers, and public innovators are tackling procedural bottlenecks, modernizing outdated systems, and strengthening the connective tissue between federal, state, and local actors to unlock faster and more durable climate outcomes.