Shows
The Burn Bag PodcastWhat is National Security (Really)? Historian Peter Roady on FDR and the Struggle to Define the Most Powerful Phrase in U.S. PoliticsIn this episode, A’ndre Gonawela sits down with historian and University of Utah professor Peter Roady to explore how the definition of national security has evolved over the 20th and 21st centuries. They examine how U.S. presidents have shaped national security priorities, focusing on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s vision in the 1930s—one that included economic security as a core pillar. Roady unpacks the conservative opposition to FDR’s expansive view of national security and how this ideological struggle shaped modern policy debates. The conversation also considers how the concept of national security has expanded beyond military threats...2025-03-1855 min
The Burn Bag PodcastBiosecurity: Bird Flu, Bioweapons, Artificial Intelligence, and Other Bio-Risks with Dr. Jaime Yassif from the Nuclear Threat InitiativeIn this episode, A’ndre Gonawela sits down with Dr. Jaime Yassif, Vice President of Global Biological Policy and Programs at NTI | bio, to explore the evolving landscape of biosecurity and pandemic preparedness. They discuss key lessons from COVID-19, the ongoing Bird Flu, the growing threats posed by zoonotic spillover, bioweapons, and AI-driven bio-risks, as well as the urgent need for stronger governance frameworks. Dr. Yassif shares insights from her recent engagements at the Paris AI Action Summit and the Munich Security Conference, highlighting global efforts to regulate biotechnology and AI’s intersection with biosecurity. The conversation also examines hist...2025-03-1151 min
The Burn Bag PodcastThe Trump-Zelensky Fallout: Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer Reacts to the White House DebacleNOTE: This episode was recorded several hours before the announcement that President Trump was pausing all U.S. military aid to Ukraine.In this episode, A’ndre Gonawela sits down with Ambassador Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and a leading expert on U.S.-Russia relations, to dissect the fallout from President Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Washington and its impact on U.S.-Ukraine relations. They explore the broader geopolitical ramifications of Zelenskyy’s contentious meeting with President Trump, including Europe’s reaction and the shifting balance of U.S. global leadership. Ambassador Pifer pr...2025-03-0458 min
The Burn Bag PodcastDr. Anthony Fauci on Pandemics, Public Health, and a Lifetime in Public ServiceIn this episode, Dr. Anthony Fauci joins A'ndre for an in-depth conversation about his decades-long career in public health and his experiences leading the U.S. response to some of the world’s most pressing infectious disease challenges. Dr. Fauci reflects on his early work during the HIV/AIDS crisis, the evolution of treatments that saved millions of lives, and his role in launching PEPFAR, one of the most significant global health initiatives in history. He discusses his leadership at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), nav...2025-02-1759 min
The Burn Bag PodcastJoseph Nye on Neoliberalism, Soft Power, and a Moral Foreign PolicyProfessor Joseph S. Nye Jr., one of the most influential international relations thinkers of our time, sits down with A'ndre Gonawela and Andrew Wilson to discuss the applicability of his theories around neoliberalism in a Great Power competition framework, his assessments of executive foreign policy in past administrations, and where academia can inform the public as the international landscape continues to change. Professor Nye, who co-founded the neoliberalist school of thought, provides his take on what people get wrong about it. The hosts and Professor Nye discuss what 'soft power' is, in addition to recent concepts around 'smart power' a...2023-09-2549 min
The Burn Bag PodcastRisky Business: Due Diligence – Private Investigations of Public Importance with Dan Nardello of Nardello & Co.Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!For episode 6 of Risky Business, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priestap are joined by Dan Nardello, Founder of Nardello and Co. (a private investigations firm...2023-03-2247 min
The Burn Bag PodcastRisky Business: Private Sector Intelligence -- Earning the Trust of Governments, Research Institutions, and Fortune 500s with Greg and Eric Levesque from Strider TechnologiesWelcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode 5 of Risky Business, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priest chat with the co-founders of private intelligence firm Strider Technologies, Greg and Eric Leves...2023-03-0955 min
The Burn Bag PodcastRisky Business: The Business of Peace – Peacebuilding, Human Rights, and National Security with David L. PhillipsWelcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!This week, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett chat with David L. Phillips, Director of Columbia University's Program on Peace-building and Rights and a form...2023-02-2039 min
The Burn Bag PodcastRisky Business: The New National Security Economy – Globalization, Competition, and RiskWelcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode three, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett speak to David S. Lee about what he terms "the new national security economy." David disc...2023-02-0954 min
The Burn Bag PodcastTop Risks 2023: Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group, Forecasts New Year's Geopolitical OutlookFor the third year in a row, The Burn Bag hosted Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer (@ianbremmer) to discuss his Top Risks 2023 Report -- a forecast of the top geopolitical risks most likely to play out over the coming year. A'ndre Gonawela spoke with Ian at length about the report's #1 risk, "Rogue Russia", and why Ian believes that it is the most dangerous risk he has forecast ever in his time doing the Top Risk reports. Ian also provides his thoughts on why his #2 risk, China's Xi Jinping, was able to resist the blowback of his Zero-COVID policies and...2023-02-0139 min
The Burn Bag PodcastRisky Business: Data – The New Oil or the New Nuclear Competition? with Jessie Liu, fmr. U.S. Attorney for the District of ColumbiaWelcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode one, the Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priestap speak with Jessie Liu about her career in national security and the business risks surrounding data...2022-12-2849 min
CNA Talks: A National Security PodcastThe Race for Autonomy: David Broyles on Getting Autonomy to Work for DefenseThis content was originally published on BMNT's YouTube Channel. You can find the original video here. In this follow-up conversation to BMNT’s June panel "The Race for Autonomy: Navigating a New Battlefield," A'ndre Gonawela talks to Dr. David Broyles, Research Program Director at the Center for Naval Analysis and co-host of "AI with AI", on the challenges facing the Department of Defense when it comes to developing and leveraging autonomous systems and capabilities. Dr. Broyles digs into why he (like our prior panelists) believes the state of autonomy today is ‘brittle’, and why the end goal for ma...2022-08-1847 min
Crypto GirlsWhat do financial sanctions have to do with crypto?We sat down with Ryan Rosenthal and A'ndre Gonawela, foreign policy experts and co-hosts of the Burn Bag podcast, to break down what's going on in Russia and Ukraine. In this episode, we get to the bottom of why the war is happening now, what financial sanctions actually accomplish, and how they think crypto may (or may not) play a role in the conflict. Ryan and A'ndre are the perfect experts to help us make sense of the situation more broadly – and we felt it was important to have a baseline understanding of what's going on as we con...2022-03-0738 min
The Burn Bag Podcast"The World": A Conversation with Dr. Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign RelationsIn this week’s episode of The Burn Bag Podcast, co-hosts A’ndre Gonawela and Ryan Rosenthal speak with Dr. Richard Haass, a veteran diplomat and president of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). A’ndre and Ryan discuss Dr. Haass’ new book The World: A Brief Introduction, American policy towards Mainland China and Taiwan, COVID-19’s strengthening of European institutions, popular protests in Russia, defining challenges of the 21st century and multilateralism. 2021-02-0847 min
The Burn Bag PodcastThinker, Teacher, Soldier, Spy: A Conversation with GEN (Ret.) David PetraeusIn this very special episode of The Burn Bag, hosts A’ndre Gonawela and Ryan Rosenthal talk to former CIA Director GEN (Ret.) David Petraeus about a range of topics. General Petraeus gives us his take on current and future U.S. defense policy in the Middle East, and provides an insight into his own time as CENTCOM Commander in the 2000s dealing with 'nation-building' in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also talk to General Petraeus about his strategy in dealing with counterinsurgency in Iraq -- drawing on the General's own acclaimed 'Field Manual'. General Petraeus also addresses the challenges po...2020-11-2351 min
The Burn Bag PodcastThe State of the Intelligence Community: A Conversation with former NGA Director Robert CardilloIn this special episode of The Burn Bag, hosts A’ndre Gonawela and Ryan Rosenthal talk to Robert Cardillo, former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on a variety of important topics pertaining to the state of the intelligence community. We discuss the relationship between the intelligence community and policymakers, NGA monitoring our adversaries, the future of intelligence in the Biden administration, and the importance of intelligence in a world that is increasingly becoming more connected. Robert provides us with key insights on how the NGA works together with the other intelligence agencies and the strides the intelligence co...2020-11-191h 01The Burn Bag PodcastHemispheric Pressure: Crises and Competition in Latin America with Fmr. NSC Senior Director Juan CruzIn this latest installment of The Burn Bag, hosts A'ndre Gonawela and Ryan Rosenthal have a lively discussion on US interests in Latin America with Juan Cruz, who served on the National Security Council between 2017 and 2019 as the Senior Director for Western Hemisphere affairs and as a Senior Assistant to the President. Juan has had a deep role in shaping the Trump Administration's approach to Latin America, and in this episode Juan discusses the political crisis in Venezuela, the ongoing terse relations between the United States and Cuba, and the current state of Colombia in the years following the...2020-11-021h 05