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Taliban flags distributed near the evacuated U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 26, 2021. (Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If you're catching up on your podcast listening over the long weekend, here's a curated list of recent episodes from Hudson’s Counterbalance [[link removed]] and Making a Killing getapp&nd=1&signupPrompt=1 to help you make sense of the catastrophic news from this bruising August.

From a deep-dive on the Taliban's financial networks to an insider perspective on how U.S. intelligence-gathering was compromised in Afghanistan, this collection offers timely insights and analysis on the most significant foreign policy crisis in recent history.

Counterbalance Trailer [[link removed]]

Counterbalance embodies Hudson’s tradition of challenging conventional wisdom. The Trump era attacked the elite consensus regarding several key issues, from the rise of China to U.S. policy in the Middle East. Many members of the foreign policy establishment view the Biden presidency as a total repudiation of President Trump’s policies and a return to “normalcy.” But, regardless of how one feels about the Trump era, the elite foreign policy consensus will never be the same. This is even more true in light of President Biden's disastrous handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. Counterbalance will reckon with what’s next.

Hosted by Hudson Institute's Michael Doran [[link removed]] and Marshall Kosloff [[link removed]].

Making a Killing Trailer [[link removed]]

Making a Killing explores how corruption is reshaping global politics and fueling some of the most deadly security threats facing the world today—from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, to terrorist networks, nuclear proliferation, drug trafficking and other organized crime.

Making a Killing is a podcast from Hudson's Kleptocracy Initiative and hosted by Nate Sibley [[link removed]], Paul Massaro [[link removed]] and Casey Michel [[link removed]].

Latest Episodes: Counterbalance

Ep. 26: Was Afghanistan A Failure of Intelligence? [[link removed]]

Ezra Cohen has served in senior intelligence and policy positions in both the White House and the Defense Department. He joins Mike Doran and Marshall Kosloff to discuss whether or not faulty intelligence contributed to the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as the impact of this debacle on America’s intelligence capabilities.

Ep. 25: Afghanistan, Assessing the Failing Withdrawal [[link removed]]

Rich Outzen, career military officer and senior State Department advisor on the Middle East, rejoins the podcast to diagnose the politics, strategy and military realities that led to the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Is the foreign policy establishment to blame? Will the Taliban use the "Hezbollah model" to court international sympathy as it attempts to govern a fractured state?

Ep. 24: Afghanistan, What Just Happened? [[link removed]]

Dr. Thomas Lynch, a distinguished research fellow at the National Defense University and a retired army officer with extensive experience in Afghanistan, joined Mike and Marshall to discuss the botched withdrawal and the swift return of the Taliban—an outcome he attributes to multilayered mistakes made over the course of many years.

Latest Episodes: Making a Killing

Ep. 17: Afghanistan, Part 1: Marshall Billingslea on the Taliban’s Illicit Financial Networks [[link removed]]

Amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea joins Nate Sibley to discuss how the Taliban funded its 20-year campaign and what the U.S. and its allies should do to keep it in check.

Ep. 18: Afghanistan, Part 2: Jodi Vittori on Corruption Failures in Security Assistance [[link removed]]

Jodi Vittori, a military veteran and leading expert on corruption and national security, joins Paul Massaro, Casey Michel and Nate to discuss how the failure to tackle pervasive graft fatally undermined the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and lessons for future operations.

Ep. 19: Jonathan Hillman on China’s Belt and Road Initiative [[link removed]]

Beijing has poured trillions of dollars into infrastructure development throughout the world since launching the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. But as CSIS scholar Jonathan Hillman tells Nate, these investments too often involve opaque deals, corrupt practices, and exploitative political influence. [[link removed]] Share [link removed] Tweet [link removed] Forward [link removed] Hudson Institute

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