Best Shield Of The Republic Podcasts (2025)

1
When Power Stops Caring About the Law 58:53

1h ago58:53

58:53

Eric and Eliot return from Thanksgiving to dissect the revelations from the Washington Post about the double-tap strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September. They discuss whether the strike was a war crime, the resignation of SOUTHCOM Commander Admiral Alvin Holsey, and the administration’s larger objectives in Venezuela. They also addre…

1
The Pentagon's Confederate Cover-Up 57:58

12d ago57:58

57:58

Eric and Eliot reflect on the memorial service for Vice President Dick Cheney and welcome Brigadier General (ret.) Ty Seidule, author of Robert E. Lee and Me and A Promise Delivered. They discuss the Commission created by Congress in 2020 to replace Confederate commemorations with tributes that better reflect American values, the pushback it faced,…

1
Can Taiwan Trust the United States? (w/ Michael Hunzeker) 53:33

19d ago53:33

53:33

Eric welcomes Michael Hunzeker, associate director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, to discuss his new book America’s Taiwan Dilemma, co-authored with Mark Christopher. They explore why a nation’s reputation for credibility matters for deterrence and alliance management, a…

1
Why MAGA Loves Illiberalism (w/ Laura Field) 1:01:32

28d ago1:01:32

1:01:32

Eric and Eliot pay their respects to the late Vice President Dick Cheney before welcoming their guest Laura Field to discuss her book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. They explore the origins of the effort to create an intellectual ecosystem for Trumpism starting with the Claremont Institute and Michael Anton's infamous "Flight 93" …

1
America Can't Go It Alone 58:58

1M ago58:58

58:58

Eric and Eliot discuss the GOP’s ongoing Nazi problem and the growing danger of anti-Semitism on the right. They debunk President Trump’s false claims about America’s nuclear arsenal, then pivot to a conversation about alliance management. Eliot shares insights from a recent trip to Canada, highlighting the damage Trump has done to America’s relati…

1
Paranoia and Purges Are Consuming the Pentagon 1:03:29

1M ago1:03:29

1:03:29

Eric and Eliot discuss appeasement and the striking similarities between Putin’s recent demands and Hitler’s insistence that the Czechs surrender the heavily fortified Sudetenland. They then turn to the latest idiocy coming from the administration, including Trump’s demolition of the East Wing, the Pentagon’s new exclusively right-wing press corps,…

1
The Dark Forces Conspiring Against Democracy (w/ Bill Galston) 47:19

2M ago47:19

47:19

Eric and Eliot welcome William Galston to Shield of the Republic to discuss his recent book, Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech. They explore why liberal-democrats tend to underestimate the importance of these forces and the special peril they might present to representative government. They also talk about why…

1
How The Jews Fought Rome 54:07

2M ago54:07

54:07

Eliot and Eric welcome back friend of the show Barry Strauss, the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. They discuss the series of Jewish revolts against Roman rule in 67-70 AD and the subsequent Roman siege of Masada, as well as the later Diaspora and Bar Kochba revolts situating them in the geostrategic…

1
Alliances With Dictators Never Last (w/ Tim Bouverie) 54:17

2M ago54:17

54:17

Eric welcomes historian Tim Bouverie, author of Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World, to Shield of the Republic. They discuss Tim’s fascinating account of the interplay among personalities and larger forces during the Second World War. They touch on Anglo-French relations and the role of Charles de…

1
SPECIAL EPISODE: Trump Preaches Insanity to The General Officers 33:12

2M ago33:12

33:12

On a special edition of Shield of the Republic, Eric and Eliot break down Secretary of Defense Hegseth and President Donald Trump's speeches to the General Officer Corps at Quantico this week. They discuss the administration's ongoing damage to civil-military relations and the implications for the future of our armed forces. Shield of the Republic …

1
The Hack Is Coming From Inside the House 46:41

2M ago46:41

46:41

Eliot and Eric welcome Anne Neuberger, former Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber Affairs and currently the Payne Lecturer at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Center, to discuss her latest article in Foreign Affairs. They discuss Salt Typhoon, the Chinese hack of U.S. computer systems, and the fact that the Chinese sit astride key nodes of U.S. dom…

1
Russia is Openly Attacking NATO 58:31

3M ago58:31

58:31

Eric and Eliot discuss the perilous moment for the American Republic in which we find ourselves after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. They discuss the recent developments in the Ukraine war, including the violation of Polish and Romanian airspace by Russian drones and the extreme danger these steps represent to European security. Eliot also repo…

1
How Does Israel Adapt After Failure? 54:28

3M ago54:28

54:28

Eric and Eliot welcome Yaakov Katz, former Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post and co-author of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East. They discuss Israel's persistent misjudgments of Hamas and lack of preparedness for October 7, highlighting the impact of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and the …

1
The Man Who Enlarged NATO 59:56

3M ago59:56

59:56

With Eliot traveling, Eric welcomes Stephan Kieninger, author of Securing Peace in Europe: Strobe Talbott, NATO and Russia After the Cold War. They discuss the role of Strobe Talbott, a close Clinton confidante and Deputy Secretary of State, in crafting Clinton’s strategy for building a “Europe whole and free” after the collapse of the Soviet Union…

1
How Do You Fight in a City? 1:00:05

3M ago1:00:05

1:00:05

Eliot and Eric welcome John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Madison Policy Forum and Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project and author of numerous articles and studies of urban and subterranean warfare. They discuss the unique characteristics of urban warfare, the traditional U.S. military approach to urban warfare as well as his…

1
Colombia's Challenging Path Forward 57:26

4M ago57:26

57:26

Eliot and Eric are joined by Juan Carlos Pinzón, former Colombian Minister of Defense and two-time Ambassador to the U.S. They discuss the success of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe's counterinsurgency efforts against FARC and narco-trafficking, the subsequent domestic developments in Colombia that have led to significant backsliding on nar…

1
Trump’s Amateur Diplomacy Tests U.S. Allies 55:42

4M ago55:42

55:42

Eric and Eliot discuss Secretary Hegseth's restoration of the '"Reunion" memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, the President's nationalizing of the DC National Guard to engage in law enforcement in the nation's capital, and the diplomatic pratfalls of Steve Witkoff whose misinterpretation of President Putin has resulted in the misbegotten forthc…

1
Putin's Growing Body Count 1:01:38

4M ago1:01:38

1:01:38

Eliot and Eric welcome Fred Starr, former President of Oberlin University and current Chairman of the Central Asia and Caucasus Institute (CACI). They discuss the current situation in Russia and highlight the logistic difficulties and enormous human and material losses that Russian forces are facing. They also discuss Central Asian countries like K…

1
What is Israel's Plan? 1:05:35

4M ago1:05:35

1:05:35

Eric and Eliot address the latest buffoonery emanating from the Pentagon before turning to a discussion about Trump's evolving position on Russia. They also address the horrendous situation in Gaza and try to apportion blame as fairly as possible given the difficulty of parsing statements by both Hamas and the Israeli government. The conversation i…

1
The Unlikely Rise of MBS (w/ Karen Elliott House) 1:02:58

4M ago1:02:58

1:02:58

Eric and Eliot welcome Karen Elliott House, former long-time correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, President of Dow Jones International, Publisher of the Wall Street Journal and author of The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed Bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia (New York: HarperCollins, 2025). They discuss the rise of MBS, the scop…

1
The International Order is Dead 57:43

5M ago57:43

57:43

Eric and Eliot welcome Rebecca Friedman Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper to Shield of the Republic to discuss their recent article in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, "Absent at the Creation?: American Strategy and the Delusion of a Post-Trump Restoration." They discuss the speed with which Trump has imposed policy changes, the likelihood that…

1
Is Trump Losing Control of the Pentagon? 55:11

5M ago55:11

55:11

Eric and Eliot cover the latest Pentagon dysfunction, with military aid to Ukraine stalled and mixed signals on Trump’s defense policy. They also look at the Iran strikes, Trump’s shifting posture on Putin, and the growing strain inside the MAGA foreign policy orbit.By The Bulwark

1
Eric and Eliot's Strike Assessment 39:42

6M ago39:42

39:42

Eric and Eliot host a special Shield of the Republic episode to discuss the Iranian response to Trump's strike on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. They assess the largely symbolic Iranian attack on al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as an attempt to take an off ramp from further escalation as they did in the aftermath of the Soleimani strike in 2020. They also …

1
EMERGENCY EPISODE: The Israel-Iran War 58:46

6M ago58:46

58:46

In a special episode of Shield of the Republic, Eric and Eliot discuss the Israeli military operation against Iran. They discuss the intelligence on Iran that purportedly prompted the decision to take military action against the Iranian program, the questions of whether the operation is really about regime change, if the US intervenes and bombs the…

1
What to Expect From the NATO Summit 1:00:52

6M ago1:00:52

1:00:52

Eric and Eliot welcome LTG (ret.) Douglas Lute, former Director of Operations for the Joint Staff, Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO to discuss the upcoming June 24-25 NATO Summit in the Hague. They discuss NATO Secretary General Mark R…

1
America's Original Protest Movement (w/ Rick Atkinson) 56:18

6M ago56:18

56:18

Eliot and Eric offer up candidates for jackassery of the week before turning to a discussion of The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780, (New York: Crown, 2025) the second volume of journalist/historian Rick Atkinson's monumental military history of the American revolution. They discuss Atkinson's backgro…

1
What to Make of The Middle East 59:04

6M ago59:04

59:04

Eric and Eliot discuss this week's jackassery (Joni Ernst's dismissive attitude towards Medicaid cuts, Trump's obsessive posting on Truth Social and his disconnection from reality) before moving into a discussion of the Ukrainian drone attack on Russian Long-Range Aviation and the degree to which it represents an inflexion point in military affairs…

1
The Return of Jackassery and Eliot's Travel Report 55:58

6M ago55:58

55:58

Eliot returns from overseas travel and brings back the jackassery of the week segment with him. He and Eric discuss the President's reliance on totally fraudulent evidence while ambushing the President of South Africa with a video alleging genocide against whites in his country, the President's bizarre commencement address at the "Army Acadmey," th…

1
How to Practice Productive Statecraft 1:00:37

7M ago1:00:37

1:00:37

With Eliot still on the road, Eric welcomes Dennis Ross, Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former Director of Policy Planning under James Baker, Special Middle East Envoy under President Clinton among several other high level national security positions at State, Defense and the…

1
The Man in Kissinger's Shadow 59:13

7M ago59:13

59:13

With Eliot traveling abroad, Eric hosts Financial Times Washington commentator Edward Luce, author of Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet (New York, Avid Reader Press, 2025). They discuss Zbig's historical significance, why there have been more biographies of Henry Kissinger than Brzezinski and whether or not he was…

1
America is Torching Its Credibility 57:55

7M ago57:55

57:55

Eliot and Eric welcome Larry Summers, former President of Harvard University and former Secretary of Treasury in the Clinton Administration. They discuss why his prescient advice about the dangers of inflation were ignored by the Biden Administration and whether or not Democrats have learned the lesson that inflation affects all Americans with corr…

1
A New Era of Economic Warfare 1:01:59

7M ago1:01:59

1:01:59

Eliot and Eric welcome Edward Fishman, Senior Research Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University's SIPA program and author of Chokepoints: American Power in The Age of Economic Warfare (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2025). They discuss the American tradition of reach…

1
Is America Underestimating China? 59:32

8M ago59:32

59:32

Eric and Eliot welcome former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi, Assistant Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University's school of Foreign Service and author of The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order, to discuss their article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, "Underestimating China: W…

1
Trump's New World Order 1:05:40

8M ago1:05:40

1:05:40

Eliot and Eric note this week’s jackassery—tariffing McDonald Island and Heard Island off Australia, almost exclusively inhabited by penguins, and Trump’s plan for a four-mile-long military parade to mark his birthday on June 14 and the anniversary of the United States Army. In a more sinister vein they discuss the absolute craziness of the NSC sta…

1
Lessons From a Successful American Diplomat 58:21

8M ago58:21

58:21

Eric and Eliot discuss VP Vance's trip to Greenland and his appointment by the President to oversee the purging of American history at the Smithsonian and other museums. They also discuss who the biggest loser will be from Signalgate. They consider an excellent diplomatic memoir from the 1960s written by former Ambassador and Under Secretary of Sta…

1
How Autocrats Use History 58:15

9M ago58:15

58:15

Eric and Eliot discuss the most recent example of jackassery by the Trump Administration national security team which appears to have conducted a sensitive Principals Committee meeting on bombing the Houthis in Yemen over Signal, an unclassified commercial phone app. To discuss this and much more they also welcome Katie Stallard, the Senior Editor …

1
The Ongoing Vandalism of Our Government 57:23

9M ago57:23

57:23

Eric and Eliot try to parse the firehose of insanity and self-harm emanating from the Trump Administration. They discuss the disestablishment of the Office of Net Assessment in the Pentagon, a little known but important institution created during the Cold War. They also discuss the silencing of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,…

1
Russia Is a Habitual Treaty Violator 56:57

9M ago56:57

56:57

Eric and Eliot welcome Lt. Col. (ret.) Alexander Vindman, former director for Europe on the National Security Council during the first Trump term and author of The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself about Russia and Betrayed Ukraine (New York: Public Affairs Press, 2025). They discuss the U.S. government's prioritization of US-Russia re…

1
Is American Decline an Illusion? 53:36

9M ago53:36

53:36

Eliot and Eric welcome Michael Beckley, Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University, non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of Unrivalled: Why America Will Remain the World's Sole Superpower, and co-author, with Hal Brands of Danger Zone. They discuss his article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs…

1
Emergency Podcast: An Oval Office Ambush 39:25

9M ago39:25

39:25

Eric and Eliot bemoan the shameful meltdown in the Oval Office between VP Vance, President Trump and President Zelensky. They discuss Vance’s ambush and whether he executed it alone or in concert with Trump and note that those who are blaming Zelensky for rising to the bait are objectively pro-Putin. They discuss Vance’s dark political views and th…

1
A Disgraceful Episode of American Diplomacy 55:42

9M ago55:42

55:42

Eric and Eliot mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a shout out to the brave Ukrainians who are resisting Russian tyranny. They discuss the Friday night massacre at the Pentagon, noting the remarkable personal qualities of General C. Q. Brown and his role as Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs…

1
An American Blunder in Munich 53:12

10M ago53:12

53:12

Eliot and Eric discuss the Munich Security Conference including its background and history. They review the contradictory signals sent by the many Trump officials who have been in different parts of Europe in the run-up to and aftermath of the Munich conference. They discuss Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's comments, Vice President J.D. Vance's …

1
This Time the Damage Will Be Permanent 1:01:57

10M ago1:01:57

1:01:57

Eric and Eliot try to parse the fire hose of news emanating from the Trump Administration. They discuss Eliot's Atlantic article on the American antecedents and causes of Trump's ascendancy and whether there is still some point in looking at the European autocrats like Viktor Orban on whom some Trumpists model themselves, as well as Ruy Texeira's a…

1
Russia's Long History of Subjugating Ukraine 55:33

10M ago55:33

55:33

With Eliot traveling Eric welcomes Eugene Finkel, the Kenneth H. Keller Professor of International Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to discuss his recent book Intent to Destroy: Russia's Two-Hundred Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine (New York: Basic Books, 2024). They discuss the long-term Russian…

1
Charles Lindbergh and the Ghosts of America First 57:33

10M ago57:33

57:33

Eric and Eliot welcome Professor H. W. Brands, the Jack S. Blanton Chair in History at the University of Texas, Austin and the best-selling author of more than a dozen books on American History. They discuss his book America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War (New York: Doubleday, 2024) touching on what drew him to the subject of t…

1
How we brought down Goliath, January 23, 2025 9:43

11M ago9:43

9:43

How we brought down Goliath: A 30th anniversary message from Kevin Annett The campaign that exposed genocide in Canada began with the firing of Kevin Annett from the United Church on January 23, 1995. The movement he sparked eventually led to the topping of Pope Benedict and the rise of the global sovereignty and common law movement. In this 30th a…

1
The Intersection of Theatre and Politics 56:29

11M ago56:29

56:29

Eliot and Eric welcome Drew Lichtenberg (resident dramaturg at the Shakespeare Theatre Company) and Deborah Payne (Professor of Literature at American University), authors of Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company. They discuss the long history of Washington’s fascination with and interest in Shakespeare. They talk about the tensio…

1
Biden's Foreign Policy Legacy 43:46

11M ago43:46

43:46

Eric and Eliot welcome friend of the show Kori Schake back to Shield of the Republic. Kori is Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign Policy and Defense Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017). They discuss her recent retr…

1
Trump's New International Reality 1:06:02

11M ago1:06:02

1:06:02

Eric and Eliot are back from the break and have lots to discuss. They note the anniversary of January 6th and the somewhat successful efforts by MAGA types to rewrite its history in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Eric talks about the world that Trump will inherit which will be much more disorderly and dangerous that what he inhe…

1
Deterrence is Cheaper Than War 54:28

12M ago54:28

54:28

With Eliot traveling, Eric welcomes back prolific historian and author Hal Brands to the show to discuss his forthcoming book The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World (New York: W.W. Norton, 2025) which will be published in mid-January. They discuss the ideas and careers of geopolitical thinkers Halford Mackinde…

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Shield Of The Republic Podcasts

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