Shield of the Republic

Eliot reviews the week’s jackassery and offers his thoughts on Juneteenth and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He then welcomes Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, distinguished professor at Emory University and prolific author. She explains her background as a historian of the Holocaust, her work documenting Holocaust denial, and her experience being sued by British Holocaust denier David Irving. They discuss her work as Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism from 2022 to 2025, which included efforts to bring Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords and creating the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism. They explore the political and ideological forces behind the current global rise in antisemitism before pivoting to the threat it poses to democracy and the state actors exploiting it to sow division in the United States.
David Irving v. Penguin Books Ltd. and Deborah Lipstadt:
hdot.org

INSS Report on China’s online campaign to sow division in America:
https://www.inss.org.il/publication/china-usa-influence/

George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135

Letter from the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island to President George Washington:
https://www.gwirf.org/files/moses_seixas_letter.pdf

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

With Eric on vacation, Eliot welcomes Kenneth Pollack, VP for Policy at the Middle East Institute, to the show. Ken outlines MEI's mission before providing analysis on the current state of the Iran war. They discuss the difficulty of ending a conflict when both sides believe they are winning, and whether we are on the cusp of significant concessions or escalation. They explore whether the war was a good idea badly executed or a bad idea badly executed. The pair also speculate about what a successfully prosecuted war effort would have looked like before turning to the likely trajectory of the Iranian regime in the future. Ken explains the broader implications of the war for the Gulf States, Israel, China, Russia, and Turkey before closing with a conversation about why the United States cares about the region and why it presents such an enduring challenge.
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot dissect the latest jackassery before pivoting to the war with Iran. They offer differing assessments of the negotiations and discuss the prospects for a lasting ceasefire. Next, they return to the Russia-Ukraine war and reflect on the staggering Russian casualty levels and severe economic toll the war continues to inflict on Russia. They discuss the under-reported and dangerous nuclear developments on the Korean peninsula before closing with the books they're currently reading.
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eliot joins Eric from the shores of Lake Champlain to break down the latest administration jackassery before pivoting to the ongoing negotiations with Iran. They also discuss Russia's recent drone and missile barrage directed at Kyiv which included an Oreshnik missile capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. Eric outlines his new CSBA monograph on nuclear command, control, and communications in the context of deterring both Russia and China as nuclear peers. To close out the show, Eric provides commentary on the Kenyan government's rejection of US efforts to open a quarantine facility for Americans who have contracted Ebola, John Cornyn's primary loss, and the prospects for the administration's Cuba policy.
Eric's Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications Monograph:
https://csbaonline.org/uploads/documents/CSBA8429_(Three_Body_Problem_Report)_final.pdf
Eliot's Latest in The Atlantic (Gift Link):
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/words-war/687343/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPvaB1GNTRUB7dNFTvrxKF_o&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eliot and Eric discuss the current state of the Iran negotiations, the apparent US-Israeli plan to install Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a Delcy Rodríguez-type figure early in the war, and Reuters' report on the ongoing hollowing out of U.S. diplomacy. They assess Trump's apparent designs in Cuba, noting the indictment of Raul Castro, and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean. Finally, they touch on Turkey's deepening fall into authoritarianism and Putin's visit to Beijing before turning to guest Marc Bennetts, journalist and author of THE DESCENT: Witnessing Russia's Spiral Into Madness Under Putin.
The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral into Madness Under Putin:
https://a.co/d/01fuFsvu
Inside the Unravelling of US Diplomacy Under Trump:
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/inside-unraveling-us-diplomacy-under-trump-2026-05-21/
Early War Goal Was to Install Hard-Line Former President as Iran’s Leader:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/iran-israel-us-leader-ahmadinejad.html
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.