
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.
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 200 | Founded | 7 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | NewsPoliticsGovernment | |||

Over the weekend, the United States signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to begin negotiations on a nuclear deal. To understand what a good deal would entail, it is important to assess the status of Iran's nuclear weapons program following ... more
While the world’s attention has been fixed on the war in Iran, the battlefield in Ukraine has largely shifted in Kyiv’s favor. ISW’s George Barros joins us to explain how Ukrainian innovations in drone warfare, logistics, and battlefield technology h... more
In his relentless pursuit of a deal with Iran, Donald Trump has now returned to military escalation, resuming combat operations and warning that the United States will seize Iran’s key oil export hub on Kharg Island. This so-called moderate ceasefire... more
We’re now in the eighth week of a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Trump Administration is stuck in a holding pattern as Iranian negotiators continue to ignore US redlines and both sides insist on their own superior leverage. The unfortunate reality... more
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I think of all the podcasts I listento each week, this is my favorite and I look forward to it. You need to listen to it if you wanna know more about the Middle East I would hope that in the future they would focus more on China. I think China is our main adversary.
Great common sense podcast. Go baby go.
Marc is fantastic and the only reason I listened to this show at all is because of him, but I am unsubscribing. Pletka is pretentious and utterly off putting. She even thinks hard-working taxpayers should pay for NPR. Put a decent person in her place and I will subscribe again.
Great guest today with insight on Venezuela and foreign policy in general . Guests such as this will keep you in the rotation, despite Pletka’s brain dead anti Trump mewlings
I love this podcast and it has become one of my favorites. I lead a constitutional conservative forum in my community and this podcast has inspired and informed material that I have used. Please keep up the great work, including interviews and conversations. You may not know it, but you’re helping me out!
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Apple Podcasts | #207 |
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Two seasoned foreign policy voices interview policymakers, generals, diplomats, and analysts to unpack complex security challenges and U.S. strategy abroad. Episodes routinely blend sharp analysis with provocative lines, covering topics from Iran, the Middle East, and NATO to sanctions, elections, and global power dynamics. Noteworthy is the hosts' willingness to push for concrete policy options, often presenting hawkish, decision-forward takes, and drawing on expert guests from AEI, CSIS, and allied institutions. Listeners seeking deeply informed, opinionated, policy-focused conversations about geopolitics and national security will likely find this show highly engaging.
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What the Hell Is Going On launched 7 years ago and published 200 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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Recent guests on What the Hell Is Going On include:
1. David Albright
2. General Jack Keane
3. Adam Kaplan
4. Howard Husock
5. Sarah Isgur
6. Marc Cancian
7. Chris Park
8. David Hale
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