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Joined July 2020
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NEW: Former Australian Prime Minister @TurnbullMalcolm joins The Burn Bag. 🇦🇺
Turnbull sits down with A’ndre Gonawela to talk Trump, China, AUKUS, Taiwan, strategic autonomy & the future of the U.S.-Australia alliance.
Full conversation:
🎥 YouTube: bit.ly/4hoGr15
🎧 Spotify: bit.ly/4AwQiL1
🎧 Apple: bit.ly/4AAnFwA
🇺🇸🇵🇸 Former CIA Director Leon Panetta says the U.S. should back Palestinian statehood — even if Israel’s government opposes it.
The former Defense Secretary argues Washington must maintain its relationship with Israel while charting its own course on Gaza.
🎙️ Watch the full conversation on The Burn Bag!
🚨 NEW EPISODE: Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta returns to The Burn Bag!
Panetta calls the Iran War “another failed war in the Middle East,” warning that Washington lacks a clear endgame.
We also discuss the Global War on Terror, the CIA, regime change, and America’s global standing.
🎥 YouTube: bit.ly/4eo8flr
🎧 Spotify: bit.ly/4dNtWeD
🎧 Apple: bit.ly/3Uxx9Zf
What does it actually take to negotiate with America’s adversaries?
Former Deputy Secretary of State @wendyrsherman, who led the 2015 Iran nuclear negotiations, critiques Trump’s “drive-by” diplomacy and assesses his summit with Xi Jinping.
WATCH: bit.ly/4i2xpXZ
NEW EPISODE 🎙️
What does it actually take to negotiate a deal with Iran?
Former Deputy Secretary of State @wendyrsherman joins The Burn Bag to discuss the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Trump’s approach to negotiations, and whether a new agreement is possible.
📺 Watch: bit.ly/4i2xpXZ
🎧 Spotify: bit.ly/3VK0Vu7
🎧 Apple: bit.ly/4sbt3T6
What will Trump do in Iran after the midterms?
Former National Security @AmbJohnBolton criticizes Trump’s shifting approach to the Iran War, pointing to reversals on oil sanctions and blockades.
With Election Day approaching, Bolton says Trump’s next move is “very hard to predict.”
🎥 Watch below.
The Burn Bag retweeted
It’s important to remember that China and Russia have a growing, unlimited partnership. One can see their influence in various hot spots across the globe. For example, the Beijing-Moscow alliance uses Iran as their surrogate in the Middle East.
youtu.be/j_HFQAr_J2Y?si
Watch our interview with @AmbJohnBolton below 👇🏽
The Chinese are trying to figure out what Trump would do if Beijing threw a blockade around Taiwan. I’m concerned that Xi believes Trump wouldn’t know how to respond.
youtu.be/j_HFQAr_J2Y?si
NEW EPISODE: Former National Security Advisor @AmbJohnBolton returns to The Burn Bag for a wide-ranging conversation on President Trump’s foreign policy nearly two years into his second term.
We discuss:
🇮🇷 The Iran War
🇨🇳 Trump, Xi & China
🇹🇼 Taiwan
🇷🇺 The China–Russia partnership
🌐 NATO & America’s alliances
🇬🇱 Greenland
🗳️ The midterms & what comes next
Bolton also makes the case that Trump still lacks a coherent foreign policy strategy — and explains what he believes Xi Jinping is learning about American resolve.
WATCH: bit.ly/4zDozXZ
LISTEN 👇🏽
Spotify: bit.ly/4i5Ghx1
Apple: apple.co/4j7XarY
“Bad intelligence is gonna lead to bad outcomes whether there’s a human in the loop or not.”
Is AI really the problem when military strikes go wrong?
@sekreps argues that even the best technology — and human oversight — can’t compensate for flawed intelligence.
Watch:
Cheap drones are changing the economics of war.
Ukraine is producing them by the millions. Iran has used them to challenge vastly more expensive U.S. defenses. And America has gone from pioneering drone warfare to playing catch-up.
In this special weekend edition of @BurnBagPod, @andregonawela spoke with @CornellTPI's @sekreps about #Ukraine, #Iran, #Taiwan, #AI — and the future of drone warfare.
🎥 YouTube: bit.ly/4hKI89l
🎧 Spotify: bit.ly/4hutPqE
🎧 Apple: bit.ly/3TGDQYp
Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull says AUKUS is a “really good deal” for the United States — but a bad one for Australia.
His biggest concern? Australia could spend billions and ultimately end up with no submarines.
Full conversation on @BurnBagPod.
#AUKUS #Australia
For our extended conversation, please watch here: youtu.be/xA2HFFkYS7s?is=Q_K4…
“How do you deal with Trump?”
Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull dealt with him directly while in office.
His answer: don’t suck up to him — “Donald Trump is… a bully.”
Full conversation with @BurnBagPod:
bit.ly/4hoGr15
What does a progressive American foreign policy actually look like?
@andregonawela asked @mattduss — former foreign policy adviser to @BernieSanders and EVP at @CIPolicy — to lay out the case.
They covered Obama, Biden, Gaza, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, and why he thinks foreign policy is inseparable from politics at home.
A thread 🧵
And on Taiwan, Duss argues for maintaining the status quo.
He says both a Chinese military takeover of Taiwan and a U.S.-China war over the island would be catastrophic. His approach: avoid steps that could provoke a conflict while continuing to strengthen Taiwan’s ability to defend itself.
He calls it the “path of least harm.”
So the real disagreement may be bigger than any single war or administration.
What is American power actually for?
That’s the question running through our full conversation with Matt Duss on @TheBurnBagPod.
🎧: bit.ly/4hdRXMy
📺: bit.ly/4dLuFN9