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What the Hell Is Going On

What the Hell Is Going On

By: AEI Podcasts
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Summary
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.Copyright © American Enterprise Institute Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • WTH Just Happened with the Midterms? Matthew Continetti Explains.
    5 Nov 2026

    The Democratic Party just enjoyed its most successful midterm elections since 1974. Traditionally red states have flipped blue, which will carry lasting consequences for future presidential elections. The poll results reveal broad dissatisfaction among voters with Trump’s economy, governance, and corruption, and with the President himself. Join us to unpack the race outcomes, the reasons behind them, and their implications for the future.

    Matthew Continetti is the director of Domestic Policy Studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute, where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and editor in chief of The Washington Free Beacon and previously, opinion editor at The Weekly Standard. He is also a columnist for the Wall Street Journal.

    Read the transcript here.

    Subscribe to our Substack here.

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    59 min
  • WTH Do the Midterms Mean for Foreign Policy and the GOP? Newt Gingrich Explains.
    12 Nov 2026

    In this episode, we are joined by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to weigh past and future American policy. We discuss the Republican midterm losses, inflation, the Iran war, and other factors behind the current political shift leftward. Is there a precedent in American history? How will these policy choices affect Trump’s legacy? More importantly, what will the last two years of his presidency look like?

    Newt Gingrich is a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and 2012 presidential candidate. He is Chairman of Gingrich 360, a multimedia production and consulting company based in Arlington, Virginia. He is also a Fox News contributor and author of 45 books, including national best sellers Trump’s Triumph, March to the Majority, Defeating Big Government Socialism, Beyond Biden, and Trump and the American Future. He lives in Naples, Florida and McLean, Virginia with his wife Callista L. Gingrich, the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland.

    Read the transcript here.

    Subscribe to our Substack here.

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    59 min
  • WTH Is Going on with Trump at the United Nations? Brett Schaefer Explains.
    24 Sep 2026

    In honor of NYC’s least favorite week, we are joined by Brett D. Schaefer to analyze the ongoing United Nations General Assembly meeting. How the hell is this institution serving American interests? Together with Brett, we discuss the President’s address, weird US shenanigans, the threats to American interests posed by international governance, and the importance of U.S. oversight. The United Nations needs significant reform, but how the hell can the White House make that happen?

    Brett D. Schaefer is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on multilateral treaties, peacekeeping, and the United Nations and international organizations. Before joining AEI, Mr. Schaefer was the Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a member of the United Nations Committee on Contributions and an expert on the UN Task Force for the United States Institute of Peace. His work has been published in Fox News, The Hill, National Review, and National Security Journal, CNN, and CNBC, and more.

    Read Brett and Dany’s project on corrupt OCHA funding here.

    Read Brett’s reaction to Trump’s UN speech here.

    Read Brett’s United Nations Organizations Assessment Project here.

    Read the transcript here.

    Subscribe to our Substack here.

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    1 hr and 6 min
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