Podcast Episodes

The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century with Tim Weiner

Season 9 Episode 59

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Weiner joins Matt to discuss The Mission, his new history of the CIA in the 21st century. They explore the agency’s quiet successes and moral failings, from dism…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Iran’s Nuclear Future and Why Bombs Won’t Stop it with Joe Cirincione

Season 9 Episode 58

Matt is joined by nonproliferation expert Joe Cirincione to unpack what the recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran actually achieved—and what they didn’t. They discuss the extent of the damage to Iran…

Published on 1 month, 4 weeks ago

Espresso Martini | NATO Navigates Trump, Presidential War Powers, and Ukraine Under Strain

Season 9 Episode 57

This week, Matt and Chris break down the recent NATO summit, where Trump’s presence loomed large—even as the alliance bent over backwards to avoid a blow-up. Matt argues that NATO Secretary General M…

Published on 2 months ago

The Iran Intel and Tulsi Gabbard’s Future as DNI with Shane Harris

Season 9 Episode 56

The U.S.  just carried out its most significant strikes on Iran in 45 years. President Trump declared victory, but his intelligence agencies aren’t so sure. This week, Matt is joined by The Atlantic’…

Published on 2 months ago

Espresso Martini | Operation Midnight Hammer, Trump’s Claims, and What Comes Next

Season 9 Episode 55

This week, Chris and Matt return for an emergency deep dive on Operation Midnight Hammer, the largest US strike on Iran since 1979. They break down what the bombing raid and actually achieved, why in…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Espresso Martini | Israel vs. Iran, Trump Wavers, and Moscow’s China Paranoia

Season 9 Episode 54

This week, Chris and Matt dive into the war between Israel and Iran, now entering its second week, with President Trump weighing a direct US strike on Iran’s deeply buried Fordow nuclear facility. Th…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Espresso Martini | Operation Spiderweb, CIA’s Star Wars Fan Site, and the Mystery of RAT55

Season 9 Episode 52

Ukraine’s audacious drone assault on Russian airbases, codenamed Operation Spiderweb, leads this week’s episode, as Chris and Matt break down how Kyiv may have just kneecapped Russia’s strategic bomb…

Published on 3 months ago

The Rise of the Greek Far Right with Patrick Strickland

Season 9 Episode 51

In this conversation, Patrick Strickland discusses his experiences as a conflict reporter, particularly focusing on the refugee crisis in Greece and the rise of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. He sha…

Published on 3 months ago

Service Announcement | Chris is ill. No Espresso Martini this weekend.

Chris is feeling a bit under the weather, so unfortunately, there’s no Espresso Martini this weekend. However, on Wednesday, we’ll release his interview with journalist Patrick Strickland on the rise…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Pagan Extremism, Warrior Myths, and the Culture Wars of Russia and Ukraine with Ross Downing

Season 9 Episode 50

Chris speaks with researcher and author Ross Downing about his book Germanic and Slavic Paganism: Security Threats and Resiliency. Ross, who works with a network of scholars and specialists focused o…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago