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What the Hell Is Going On
The American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen address the questions we’re all asking in their podcast, “What the Hell Is Going On?” In conversational, informative and irreverent episodes, Pletka and Thiessen interview policymakers and experts, asking tough, probing questions about the most important foreign policy and security challenges facing the world today.
Episodes
What the Hell Is Going OnWTH Should I Read This Summer? Best Things First by Bjorn Lomborg
It may not come as a surprise that in much of the developed world, money spent is not necessarily money used well. We have done podcasts on the ideological and…
What the Hell Is Going OnWTH Should I Read This Summer? Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West by Calder Walton
Little known fact: the intelligence war between the East and the West started long before 1945. And not only that; it did not end with the collapse of the…
What the Hell Is Going OnWTH Should I Read This Summer? The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink by Will Inboden
The What the Hell crew continues our summer reading series! Our next pick is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. The…
What the Hell Is Going OnWTH Should I Read This Summer? Chip War by Chris Miller
This August, the What the Hell crew brings you a summer reading series! Our first pick is Chip War, a book the NYT hailed as a cross between Mission Impossible…
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WTH Do Republicans Really Think About Foreign Policy? Roger Zakheim Explains
With the incessant politicization of real foreign policy issues, sometimes it is helpful to go back to the numbers. And in this case, the numbers are detached…
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WTH is Neocolonialist Environmentalism? Todd Moss Explains
One of America's greatest engines of growth is fossil fuels – cheap, reliable energy that jumpstarted the industrial revolution and paved the way for the…
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WTH Did Biden Blow It on NATO and Ukraine? Ambassador Kurt Volker Explains
Last week at the NATO summit in Lithuania, the world watched as Ukraine was denied an actionable plan for membership in the alliance. It was almost a rinse and…
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WTH Happened with the Russian Mutiny? Yaroslav Trofimov Unravels the Mystery
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military company Wagner Group, staged a rebellion against Putin’s regime in Russia on June 24th. For a brief moment, the…
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WTH is Going On with the Supreme Court? Jonathan Turley Explains
The Supreme Court went out with a bang in 2023 – before heading off to recess, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruled Biden’s loan forgiveness grab…
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WTH is Going On with the Hunter Biden Whistleblower? Peter Schweizer Explains
If you thought the Trump indictment capped the pattern of White House prosecutions, well, you’d be wrong (though see the WTH joint op-ed on how to end the…
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WTH is the Left Waging War on Things That Work? Noah Rothman Explains
The dictators of the nanny state are waging war on things that work. Daily appliances that make life manageable (your gas stoves, your AC, your lawn equipment)…
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WTH is Going On with the Trump Indictment? John Yoo Weighs In
When the Founders conceived the U.S. Constitution, they were under the assumption that the head of state in America would be guided by honor – that an…
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WTH is the America First Case for Supporting Ukraine?
Over the past 15 months, Ukrainians have surpassed expectations in their response to the Russian invasion, showing valor and resilience. But more than a year…
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WTH is the Republican Primary Forecast? Josh Kraushaar on the Growing Field
Last week saw two more entrants into what is already a crowded Republican primary field: Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) are…
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WTH Happened with the Durham Report? Andy McCarthy on the FBI Failings
After four years of work, the Durham Report the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation was released last week. And notwithstanding the objections of the New…
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WTH is Going On with the Debt Limit Fight? Brian Riedl on our Fiscal Future
It’s a tale as old as time… where will our next trillion come from to feed our hungry coffers? We jest, but only a little: Negotiations on raising the debt…
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WTH is Going On with Title 42? Andrew Selee on our Broken Immigration System
This Thursday, the COVID-era immigration policy Title 42 will expire. Initiated by the Trump administration, it allowed for the expulsion of migrants at the…
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WTH is Going On with Law School Wokeness? Ilya Shapiro on the Dangers of DEI for the Rule Of Law
Not only is DEI hiring creating bureaucracy bloat in higher education country-wide, it is beginning to fundamentally alter our institutions. One place where…
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WTH is Going On with the Discord Leaks? Former CIA Field Officer Marc Polymeropoulos Explains How It Happened and What It Means
The Ukrainians are running out of munitions and the war is predicted to endure past 2023; China is debuting new missiles that have the ability to penetrate US…
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WTH Happened To Patriotism, Faith and Community in America? Patrick Ruffini Explains the Decline in Key Values that Made Us Who We Are
The priorities that have traditionally shaped American national character – patriotism, religious faith, family, community involvement – are no longer as…
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WTH Happened to American Military Power? Seth Jones on Why the US Can’t Produce the Weapons We Need
The conflict in Ukraine has revealed what conventional war looks like in this day and age. It has also made clear just how extensively the US defense…
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ICYMI: WTH is Tik Tok So Dangerous? Klon Kitchen on How the Chinese Communist Party is Reading Your Keystrokes and Collecting Your Data
It’s spring break, and your kids might have more time on their hands… so we are revisiting one of our best and increasingly relevant episodes.Over a third of…
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WTH is Going On with Artificial Intelligence? Tyler Cowen Explains the Next Technological Revolution
The wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, and… ChatGPT? A Luddite you may be, but there is no escaping the world’s newest technological revolution…
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WTH Donald Trump 2024? Karl Rove on Whether the Former President can be Beaten
The 2024 presidential nominee field is starting to take shape, with headlines pointing to a Biden-Trump replay. But are those really the only likely options?…
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WTH is Going On with Silicon Valley Bank? Michael Strain on how Federal Policy Helped Cause the Disaster
Before Friday, Silicon Valley Bank was the sixteenth largest bank in America. Now it bears the standard of being the second largest bank failure in US history…
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WTH is Going On with the Lab Leak Cover Up? Josh Rogin on Why We Must Get to the Bottom of the Origin of COVID
More than three years later, we are still investigating the origins of the deadliest pandemic in recent history. The DOE and FBI have given credence to the…
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WTH is Going on with “Death on Demand” in Canada? Alexander Raikin Explains Medically Assisted Death in the Great White North
Canada’s euthanasia protocol – not merely doctor assisted suicide, but specifically euthanasia – is among the most expansive in the world. The euthanasia…
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WTH is Going On with China, Russia and Ukraine? General Jack Keane Explains How To Defeat Putin and Deter Beijing
This week marks the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The anniversary comes on the heels of the Chinese spy balloon debacle. Think these…
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WTH is Going On with Iowa's Revolutionary School Choice Plan? Governor Kim Reynolds on Education Reforms in the Hawkeye State
Parents are increasingly losing ownership of the right to their child’s education. Americans saw the effects from widespread school closures over Covid (nearly…
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WTH Happened with the Chinese Spy Balloon? Rep. Mike Gallagher on the Brazen CCP Incursion and the Threat from Communist China
The Biden Administration has been “too little too late” in countering Russia, and is increasingly playing by the same rules with the Chinese Communist Party…
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WTH Happened to Western Resolve In Ukraine? Yaroslav Trofimov on the Long War Ahead
Next month will mark a year since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has continued. The Russian military has proven to be disorganized and surprisingly…
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WTH is the House GOP Doing on National Security? Hugh Hewitt Explains what the House Freedom Caucus Means for Defense and Ukraine
The race for Speaker of the House underscored the 2022 midterm narrative: the Republican Party is increasingly divided, and unable to consolidate power long…
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WTH is Happening with the Biden Classified Document Scandal? Andy McCarthy on the Legal and Political Implications
This is the third incident of document-gate in as many election cycles: Hillary Clinton with her “home brew” internet server, Trump with Mar-a-Lago, and now…
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WTH Happened with the "Never Kevin" Rebellion? Chad Pergram Explains the Chaos in the House GOP
The 118th Congress has arrived, and after 15 grueling voting sessions, we finally have a Speaker of the House: Kevin McCarthy. This is the first time an…
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WTH Happened in 2022? The 10 Best and Worst Policy Things Biden Did
What the hell happened in 2022? Joe Biden is midway through his presidency, and he has delivered both good and bad policy. The bad may outweigh the good ……
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WTH Is Going On with Mike Pence? The Former VP on January 6, Loyalty to the Constitution, China, Ukraine and More.
We’re familiar with the story: the storming of the Capitol nearly two years ago, Donald J. Trump’s attempt to “stop the steal,” the legal mess that ensued. But…