The race for AI leadership is about more than just the US and China. Despite the superpowers' dominance, other countries are vying for "AI sovereignty" — to reduce vulnerabilities in critical sectors. In this episode, A'ndre talks with Vivek Chilukuri, Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS. Read more of Vivek's work here: https://www.cnas.org/people/vivek-chilukuri 0:00 - The Global AI Race: An Overview 5:36 - The Role of Middle Powers in A...

In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre welcomes former U.S. Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta for a wide-ranging conversation on the Iran War, the lessons of America’s post-9/11 conflicts, and the future of U.S. foreign policy. Panetta offers a blunt assessment of the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran War, arguing that Washington lacks a clear strategy or endgame. He discusses Tehran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, the challenges of restoring freedom of navig...

In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre welcomes former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for a wide-ranging conversation on President Trump’s approach to diplomacy, the ongoing Iran War, the recent Trump–Xi Jinping summit, and the art of negotiating with America’s adversaries. Sherman, who led the U.S. negotiations that secured the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), assesses Trump’s negotiating style, the outcomes of his recent summit with Xi Jinping, and the implications for U.S.–Ch...

Former U.S. National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton returns to The Burn Bag for a wide-ranging assessment of President Trump’s foreign policy nearly two years into his second term. Amb. Bolton discusses the Iran War seven months in, the state of the Iranian regime, the Strait of Hormuz, and whether the Trump administration has a clear end state for the conflict. He also weighs in on the growing China–Russia partnership, Trump’s relationship with Xi Jinp...

Drones have gone from a specialized tool of warfare to an indispensable feature of the modern battlefield. From Ukraine and Russia deploying millions of drones to Iran using inexpensive Shahed systems against far more sophisticated adversaries, cheap and disposable weapons are changing the economics of war. A’ndre sits down with Dr. Sarah Kreps, Professor of Government at Cornell University and a former U.S. Air Force officer, to break down how drone warfare has evolved — and where it is head...

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins The Burn Bag for a candid conversation about Donald Trump, China, AUKUS, Taiwan, and the future of America’s alliances. Having dealt directly with both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turnbull offers a rare perspective on how U.S. leadership is viewed from abroad. He explains why he believes allies can no longer assume America will return to the foreign policy consensus of the past—and why countries like Austral...

What would American foreign policy look like if the progressive left were in charge? A’ndre is joined by Matt Duss, Executive Vice President at the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, to examine the left’s growing challenge to the Democratic Party’s foreign policy establishment. Matt traces Democratic foreign policy from the post-9/11 era through the Obama and Biden administrations, discusses Bernie Sanders’ alternative vision of Americ...

Twenty-five years after 9/11, what did America’s War on Terror actually accomplish? Peter Bergen, one of the country’s leading experts on terrorism and national security, joins The Burn Bag to take stock of a quarter-century of American war and counterterrorism. Bergen produced the first televised interview with Osama bin Laden in 1997 and is the author or editor of ten books, including his newest, All the President’s Wars, which examines twenty-five years of the War on Terror. From the initi...

Immigration is often framed as a domestic political fight — about borders, jobs, identity, and security. But America’s immigration choices also shape how the world understands U.S. power, credibility, and values. In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre Gonawela sits down with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge, to examine immigration as a foreign-policy and national-security issue. Drawing on her own family’s journey from Sri Lanka, her service at the State Department...

In this episode of The Burn Bag, Gal Beckerman joins us to explore what it means to be a dissident in an age of conformity, fear, and authoritarian drift. Drawing on themes from his new book, How to Be a Dissident, Beckerman reflects on the people who refuse to betray their conscience — from historic rebels and moral witnesses to ordinary individuals forced to decide whether silence is still an option. This conversation goes beyond the book to ask bigger questions about dissent itself: What s...