How did this happen? How did we spend 20 years, over 2 trillion dollars and over 2,000 American lives to wind up losing Afghanistan to the Taliban in under two weeks? Was the mission doomed from the start? Was it political incompetence? Or was it the fault of the military brass who refused to be honest about what it would take to win?
Today, a frank and wide-ranging conversation with H.R. McMaster, former National Security Advisor and three-star general. We talk about Obama, Trump, Biden; the corruption and incompetence of our elites; rising isolationism; and why he’s still bullish about America.
Today's podcast wonders at the bet Joe Biden has placed on the possibility that the chaos in Afghanistan relating to the exit of Americans will be short-lived and that he will suffer no long-term consequences from it. Is that bet likely to pay off? Give a listen.
So you’ve been vaccinated. And now you’re hearing that you could get infected? Or be contagious? Andy gets to the bottom of this when he calls up one of the clearest explainers he knows, Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo. They discuss why although you may get infected with SARS-CoV-2 eventually, vaccinated people are still unlikely to get COVID-19, and what that means. Plus, Andy breaks down the new recommendation about boosters.
Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt and Instagram @andyslavitt.
Follow Jennifer @JenniferNuzzo on Twitter.
Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.
Throughout the pandemic, CVS Health has been there, bringing quality, affordable health care closer to home—so it’s never out of reach for anyone. Learn more at cvshealth.com.
Order Andy’s book, Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165
Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
The founding editor of National Affairs, Yuval Levin, joins the podcast today to talk about the implosion of Afghanistan and Joe Biden’s shame as well as his article in the September issue of Commentary: “What We Have Gotten Right in the COVID Fight.”
It’s just Andy this week, speaking with my friend academic-activist Jake Werner (@jwdwerner) on how to make sense of the current ideological shift in US and global politics and especially the hostile rhetoric between US and Chinese elites.
(17:40) Some of the biggest proponents for new, big-government programs are also the loudest critics of China and Chinese competition. What’s going on with purported leftists who supported Bernie but are hawkish on China? And is that really so bad?
(45:40) We discuss a different way of thinking about China today on its own terms, reviewing its tumultuous 40-year encounter with a US-centered global system and what changed in 2008. How can we eschew approaches centered “national” and “cultural essence” and instead look at shared global dynamics between China, the US, and the rest of the world? (Jake outlined these ideas recently in this talk).
(1:13:20) Finally, Jake’s pitch for “progressive globalization,” something he is fighting for through his organization Justice is Global (along with friend of the show Tobita Chow!). Why is the US-China relationship so crucial for the next phase in world history, from climate change to Covid to equitable growth? What’s the response in DC? How can listeners become more active? (also: tankies catching strays)
The New York Times’s Jane Coaston joins Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor to talk about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Biden Administration’s scramble to contain the fallout, and how the latest culture war is the right-wing crusade against vaccine and mask requirements. Cook Political Report Editor-in-Chief Amy Walter also talks to Jon about what the new 2020 Census numbers mean for redistricting and the battle for the House in 2022.
The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban, and only over the course of a single weekend. The Commentary podcast on the terrible implications of America’s humiliation in Central Asia.
On this episode, Mark Edmundson joins contributing editor Mark Bauerlein to discuss his recent book “Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the Fight for Democracy.”
On this episode, Mark Edmundson joins contributing editor Mark Bauerlein to discuss his recent book “Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the Fight for Democracy.”
