Podcast
Shield of the Republic
Hosted by The Bulwark · EN
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. We probe beyond the hive mind of Washington conventional wisdom on national security and foreign affairs.
31episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ending the War Will Require Force
2w ago01:06:15Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot survey a wide range of jackassery, highlighting Trump's bizarre attack on longtime Mitch McConnell aide Robert Karem. They discuss Trump's gross mismanagement of the Department of Defense as exemplified by the US Army budget shortfall due to National Guard deployments to US cities and the border. They debate the intelligence community's leaked assessment of Iran's surviving missile and launcher capabilities and what advice they would give to a hypothetical "normal" administration on how to successfully extricate from Iran. They also review the Trump-Xi Summit in China, assess trump's designs on Cuba, and discuss the broader implications of Turkey's newly unveiled ICBM.Eric on the Reagan Defense Build Up (Gift Link):https://thedispatch.com/next-250/peace-through-strength-reagan-250/?gift_key=e0d7f3be6686eb5a&gift_ref=3886671&utm_source=giftlink&utm_campaign=membergift&utm_medium=copy_linkEric on Turkey's New ICBM:https://www.thebulwark.com/p/turkey-new-missile-is-a-symbol-of-gobal-chaos-erdogan-yildirimhan-icbm-saha-trump-europe-russia-ukraine-iran-israel-natoShield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Trump is Destroying Our Diplomatic Corps
3w ago00:58:49Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot lament the firing of 200 Foreign Service officers and the recent large-scale exodus of senior diplomats from public service. They discuss the impact of the Trump Administration's diplomatic malpractice including the handling of Operation Freedom and their own disagreements about it. They assess the likely costs of ensuring Iran is not left in control of the Strait of Hormuz and the inevitable long-term future US presence in the Persian Gulf. They also consider the impact of the UK local elections and the collapse of support for Keir Starmer's Labour Party. Finally, they address the US troop withdrawals from Germany and Vladimir Putin's worsening political, economic, and personal situation.Eric & Frank Miller on Withdrawing From Germany:https://www.thebulwark.com/p/withdrawing-troops-from-germany-is-own-goal-trump-merz-natoSecretary Hegseth's Defense Budget Video:https://x.com/SecWar/status/2052396775797891417?s=20Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Pete Hegseth’s Long War Disaster
4w ago00:50:55Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot discuss Pete Hegseth's job security amidst the ongoing war with Iran. They recap his contemptuous testimony at a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing and Vice President Vance's efforts to distance himself from the war through planted stories. They then turn to King Charles III and Queen Camilla's visit to the United States and review the King's speech to a joint session of Congress. Finally, they discuss recent military developments in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah's fiber-optic drone capabilities that highlight the changing nature of war.Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Can Iran Take More Pain Than Us?
Apr 2700:58:27Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot review an extended buffet of jackassery before turning to the current state of affairs in Iran. They assess the prospects for a negotiated settlement to the war, and whether we could end up in a "no war, no peace" situation. They also discuss the mutual incomprehension that leaders in both countries exhibit regarding the interests and intentions of the other, Iran's new collective leadership in the wake of Ali Khamenei's death, and the structural similarity to the situation faced by Soviet leaders after the death of Stalin. Finally, they respond to reports that the administration is considering deporting to the Democratic Republic of the Congo roughly eleven hundred Afghans in Qatar who were evacuated in 2021 amidst the US withdrawal.Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Eliot's Return & Schrodinger's Strait
Apr 2001:08:29Tap to summarizeEric welcomes Eliot back from his sojourn in Spain to break down the latest jackassery from the administration. They discuss the current state of the Iran war, including the somehow simultaneously open and closed Strait of Hormuz, the ongoing negotiations, and how China factors into the conflict. Turning to Europe, they assess Viktor Orban’s electoral defeat in Hungary and the blow it strikes against Trump, Vance, MAGA, and the European right writ large. The conversation also covers the U.S.’s diminishing support for Ukraine and the battlefield situation amidst Russia’s spring offensive. They wrap up with thoughts about the broader European reaction to Trump’s continued threat to withdraw from NATO and Trump’s architectural plans for the nation’s capital.Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Trump's Path of Destruction (w/ Mona Charen)
Apr 1200:57:50Tap to summarizeEric welcomes The Bulwark's own Mona Charen back to the show to discuss the week's developments. They cover the President's meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the Vice President's trip to Hungary before pivoting to Vance's new diplomatic assignment to negotiate an end to the war with Iran. They assess the potential impact on Vance's political aspirations and the splits in MAGA world over the war. They also discuss the role Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu played in persuading Trump to go to war and the catastrophic damage that Bibi has done to Israel's support in the U.S. Finally, they examine the Trump administration's hostility to Catholicism and rebuke recent comparisons between presidents Trump & Reagan.Eric's Latest in The Dispatch:https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-threats-abandon-nato/Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →The Cost of Boots on the Ground (w/ Mike Nelson)
Apr 601:00:55Tap to summarizeEric welcomes retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, and Penn Washington's Chief of Staff and Director of Communications, Mike Nelson to the show. They discuss the President's White House speech to sell the Iran war to the American people, and its failure to address a number of important questions. They discuss Mike's recent Dispatch article on the risks and benefits of different proposed courses of action for U.S. military forces on the ground in Iran, including the difficulties surrounding any mission to extricate the regime's remaining Highly Enriched Uranium, the potential risks to forces of seizing Kharg Island, the prospect for seizing the smaller islands like Abu Musa, the Tunbs, or Larak, and whether or not the juice would be worth the squeeze in providing an off-ramp to end the war. Finally, they address both the legality and advisability of attacks on Iranian infrastructure and how the Iranians might react to such a campaign.What a Ground Operation Might Look Like in Iran (Gift Link):https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-iran-ground-invasion-kharg-uranium-hormuz/?gift_key=38f86079ed7f33cb&gift_ref=3886671&utm_source=giftlink&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=membergiftShield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →Trump Needs Approval for This War (w/ Michael O'Hanlon) | Shield of the Republic
Mar 3000:59:02Tap to summarizeEric welcomes Michael O'Hanlon, the Philip Knight chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution, and author of To Dare Mighty Things, and a recent op-ed in the Financial Times on the Trump administration's $200 billion supplemental budget request to fund the Iran War. They discuss whether there is a unique American "way of war" or "way of strategy," and the accomplishments of U.S. grand and defense strategies in the post-World War II era and whether Trump is undoing those achievements. They also examine why limited force operations are sometimes hard to avoid, and the role of American pragmatism and innovation in allowing the U.S. to successfully adapt under fire on the battlefield. They close with a conversation about Congress's role in setting defense strategy and the role it could play in setting limits to "boots on the ground" in Iran and investing in the defense industrial base to increase its productive capacity to replenish the enormous stocks of precision munitions and missiles that have been expended in the war.Congress must not give Trump a blank cheque for the Iran war (Gift Link):https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/ce6a9f97-9f47-414b-856b-ab82972c6c20To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution:https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Mighty-Things-Strategy-Revolution/dp/0300279930
Transcribe →Iran and the Roots of Islamist Terror (w/ Jason Burke)
Mar 2300:58:29Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot open by analyzing the decapitation campaign against Iran's leadership, the knock-on consequences of the war's energy disruptions, and the Gulf states' reaction to the war. They also explore how the PRC will incorporate lessons from the war, and how depleted U.S. munitions stocks will be refilled. They then turn to special guest Jason Burke, author and longtime national security correspondent at The Guardian. They discuss Jason's effort to explain the origins of contemporary Islamist terrorism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the role technology played in the evolution of terrorism, and the transition from secular to religious terrorism in the twentieth century.The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s:https://a.co/d/09FMRU7UShield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Transcribe →How Does The Iran War End?
Mar 1501:02:19Tap to summarizeEric and Eliot continue to wrestle with the ongoing Iran war, examining the media coverage surrounding it, the tactical successes the joint forces have had, the inexplicable failure to provide counter-drone defense to US forces, the baffling inattention to mine storage facilities that may have led to mines being seeded in the Gulf, and the enormous expenditure of munitions that may leave the US vulnerable if military operations were required in other theaters. They also discuss how the war might be concluded, likely downstream consequences, and the prospect that President Trump may shift his focus to Cuba, where President Diaz-Canel has confirmed that quiet negotiations with the US have been going on for some time.Eliot's Latest in The Atlantic on Air Campaigns (Gift Link):https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/03/air-campaign-military-primer/686294/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPqEbYdfKy52g6Ojp5VlDiRo&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareShield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
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