Shield of the Republic

Eric and Eliot welcome Stephen Kotkin, professor emeritus of history at Princeton University and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and Freeman-Spogli Institute. They discuss his recent Foreign Affairs article, “The Weakness of the Strongmen: What Really Threatens Authoritarians?” Kotkin explores the frailty and resilience of authoritarian regimes through the lens of recent events in Venezuela and Iran, as well as the rise of Russia and China as authoritarian powers. They also discuss potential alternative future paths for Russia and turn to the current authoritarian temptation in the United States, along with the historic reasons for optimism that American democracy is robust enough to weather the depredations of the Trump administration. 

Eliot’s Latest in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/trump-greenland-europe-nato/685720/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPgGy7Ja9UMv_dSH1wXC41Rk&utm_

The Weakness of the Strongmen: What Really Threatens Authoritarians?: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/weakness-strongmen-stephen-kotkin

The Five Futures of Russia: And How America Can Prepare for Whatever Comes Next: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/five-futures-russia-stephen-kotkin

Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928: https://a.co/d/40CsvHC

Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941: https://a.co/d/6IQt4nR

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

Eliot's coastal Georgian internet connection holds on just long enough to review the administration's latest jackassery before Eric welcomes journalist Michael Weiss to the show. Their wide-ranging conversation covers the prospects for U.S. strikes in Iran, Trump's Venezuelan adventure, and the latest from the Russia-Ukraine war. Finally, the two discuss recent revelations related to Havana Syndrome and the role Russian military intelligence has likely played in attacks on U.S. intelligence, law enforcement, and foreign service officers overseas.
Eric and Frank Miller's Latest on New START:
https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/time-to-end-the-last-us-russia-nuclear-trreaty-new-start-trump-putin-china-weapons-missiles-ukraine
Foreign Office by Michael Weiss:
https://macspaunday.substack.com/
Michael's Investigation in The Insider on GRU Links to Havana Syndrome:
https://theins.ru/en/politics/270717
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 discuss serious threats that Trump continues to make against Denmark and the possibility that the administration might use military force to seize Greenland. They also examine the seizure of the ghost fleet tanker Bella, the risks of inadvertent conflict with Russia, and ongoing negotiations in Paris over the future of the war in Ukraine. The conversation explores the odds that Russia can continue fighting in 2026 given immense battlefield losses, the country’s cratering economy, and shifts in Ukrainian domestic politics. Finally, they turn to the intensifying protests in Iran, contrasting them with earlier waves of public revulsion against the regime in the late 1990s, 2009, 2017–18, and 2022–23, and discuss what indicators might suggest the regime is truly coming apart at the seams.
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 return from holiday break with a special episode breaking down all things Venezuela. They discuss the Trump administration's raid in Caracas to capture Nicholas Maduro, the legal and constitutional basis for the operation, and the differences from past interventions in Panama and Iraq. The two also examine the next steps in Venezuela and the administration's prospects of success in "running" the country.
Eliot's latest in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/trump-hegseth-venezuela-military/685530/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPhkQGhz7GxTTEE7TT-QEa0Y&utm_
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Become a Bulwark Youtube Plus Member here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG4Hp1KbGw4e02N7FpPXDgQ/join

Eric welcomes Council on Foreign Relations President Mike Froman to discuss CFR's latest task force report on U.S. economic security. They explore the importance of AI, quantum computing and biotechnology as foundational technologies in today's strategic competition, the effort that China is investing in these technologies, and the market failures that have led the U.S. to underinvest in quantum and biotech. The conversation also covers supply chain vulnerabilities, human capital shortfalls in key areas of technology, and the tension in the Trump administration's effort to address China's growing technological dominance while simultaneously cutting funding for basic research at the NSF, NIH, and other institutions.

U.S. Economic Security: Winning the Race for Tomorrow's Technologies:
https://www.cfr.org/task-force-report/us-economic-security

Mike Froman on Substack:
https://mikefroman.substack.com/

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