BoomerLennials

Been There (with former Ambassador to Venezuela James Story, Ukranine-centered White Stork founder Will McNulty, AfganEvac Chair Shawn VanDiver and Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Brian Katulis)

A career foreign service officer chosen to be US Ambassador to Venezuela during Trump’s first term. A Marine veteran providing humanitarian and medical aid to front-line Ukrainian troops. A Navy veteran leading the national charge to save and protect Afghan allies who served alongside US troops in Afghanistan. An American father and scholar who lived and worked in Gaza. Join Josh and Doug in discussion with four outstanding American citizens whose hopes and frustrations about US engagement in current world hot spots has been shaped not by abstract observations but by their life experiences in these places. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boomerlennials.substack.com [https://boomerlennials.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

For Good (with Billy and Deb Shore, Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu)

2025. A Wicked year of bipartisan assassinations, bookended by an air crash over the Potomac and the desecration of the living national monument to a fallen young president who inspired a nation with a call to “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” But also a year For Good, in which John F Kennedy’s challenge still resonated across the decades for many Americans. Josh and Doug welcome the founders of Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry and the founders of Every Day Action, who are addressing the daily needs of Americans struggling to feed themselves and their families. Take a break from the blaring news headlines and join their conversation on the year-end episode of BoomerLennials This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boomerlennials.substack.com [https://boomerlennials.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Milestones

A young TV/film star, a retired government official and a GenZ poet walk into a bar, and — no, wait; not a bar. They’re on a Zoom call marking milestones that converged this year: family milestones, birthday milestones, relationship milestones, career milestones, life milestones. Oh, and podcast milestones, too. Pull up a chair and join Josh, Doug and producer Jon for BoomerLennials. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boomerlennials.substack.com [https://boomerlennials.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

America—What (now) In The World? (with Ned Price, Emma Ashford and Stephen Collinson)

From postwar and post-Cold War universal dominance to China’s rise, Russia’s belligerence and uncertainty on the parts of adversaries and allies alike, America’s roles and directions in international engagement need significant and pro-active re-examination. How to most effectively dealing with an increasing number of autocracies? How to better and more effectively use American power without abandoning fundamental values and ideals? How to engage the support of an American public increasingly disinterested in foreign policy? How to separate the foreign policy lessons worth keeping from Administration policies that seem volatile and unpredictable, often hostile towards traditional allies and sycophantic towards autocratic adversaries? Josh and Doug host former State Department spokesman Ned Price; CNN senior analyst Stephen Collinson and Stimson Center Senior Fellow Emma Ashford. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boomerlennials.substack.com [https://boomerlennials.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

“Shana Tovah”(with Theo Baker and Jeremy Ben-Ami)

Jews around the world will celebrate Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The recent global rise in anti-Semitism and events in Israel and Gaza have created new and unexpected contexts for Jewish men and women as they focus on annual reflections, religious upbringings and Jewish identities. Josh and Doug - joined by Stanford senior Theo Baker, the youngest-ever winner of the George Polk Award for special achievement in journalism, and J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami - host a special Rosh Hashana BoomerLennials discussion of the generational contexts shaping those reflections. For the most thoughtful and insightful commentary and analysis of issues such as those we discuss in our “Shana Tovah” podcast, we strongly recommend subscribing to Jeremy Ben-Ami’s “Word On The Street” on Substack. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boomerlennials.substack.com [https://boomerlennials.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]