Lawyers, Guns & Money

[https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/B-2_Spirits_on_Deployment_to_Indo-Asia-Pacific-1.jpg]https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/B-2_Spirits_on_Deployment_to_Indo-Asia-Pacific-1.jpg Last week Dan, Cheryl and I talked through the implications of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Cheryl gave us a damage assessment, we worked out the domestic politics, and Dan gave some thoughts both on Trump and on the broader international implications. I talked the airpower angle, contrasting the Israeli performance with Russia’s air campaign in Ukraine. Some links of note: * Details of the strike. [https://www.twz.com/air/gbu-57-massive-ordnance-penetrator-strikes-on-iran-everything-we-just-learned] * Jeffrey Lewis on Iran’s trajectory towards a bomb [https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/27/iran-us-israel-strikes-dia-bomb-facilities/]. * Ankit Panda on the flagging non-proliferation regime. [https://www.ft.com/content/be6fd9c0-090b-4da9-9353-3387c7fe9495?shareType=nongift] * When the cards were down, Moscow and Beijing were nowhere to be found. [https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/06/iran-china-russia-axis-crumbles/683369/?utm_source=feed] * Speaking of cards, Tulsi folded like a house of them… [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/tulsi-gabbard-trump-iran/683323/?utm_source=feed] * Israeli success has made the Saudis nervous. [https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-war-with-iran-has-reordered-the-middle-eastbut-not-as-expected-78f1c3f5?mod=hp_lead_pos3] > As a policy matter, I think Trump officials are smart to lie about the destruction of Iran's nuclear program to avoid being drawn further into this shit show. As a professional with a reputation to uphold, I have to point out that these statements are untrue. It's a weird time. > > — Jeffrey Lewis (@armscontrolwonk.bsky.social) [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qu4xxcvwtudykd3mbchawpz6?ref_src=embed] 2025-06-29T19:03:38.299Z [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qu4xxcvwtudykd3mbchawpz6/post/3lsrecttdns2i?ref_src=embed] Transcript is here. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XCJOqGcCOLVOf8pwEkq3YR1MWl-PK2ni0vuV4mlIcMg/edit?usp=sharing] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawyers-guns-money/id1332780055] * Android [https://subscribeonandroid.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Youtube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVtqgIRZRPmkAlVStEZfPqRJBfpxiKIQ&si=n81CS_B5uRwKKh_Z] * Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/lawyers-guns-money-608162] * Podcast Index [https://podcastindex.org/podcast/961005] * Subscribe by E-mail [https://subscribebyemail.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Audible [https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K57B3RH?qid=1633990345&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VYY47BX10FABQ5ENAGMG] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/07plahOlbTxlOQP4clDRxK] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/39a5de1e-be11-4b60-8ab4-23bbe6d52c54/lawyers-guns-money] The post LGM Podcast: In the Wake of the Iran Strikes [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/06/lgm-podcast-in-the-wake-of-the-iran-strikes] appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com].

[https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-04-at-9.20.55-AM-696x1024.png]https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-04-at-9.20.55-AM.png On the latest LGM podcast I had the good fortune to speak with Dr. Ian Ona Johnson [https://history.nd.edu/people/ian-ona-johnson/] about his book Faustian Bargain: The Soviet-German Partnership and the Origins of the Second World War [https://amzn.to/4iJow3O]. The subject is interwar cooperation between the Red Army and the Reichswehr, a subject near and dear to my own academic interests. [https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=7ha0NOEAAAAJ&cstart=20&pagesize=80&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=7ha0NOEAAAAJ:UebtZRa9Y70C] Ian and I talk through the origins of the cooperation, the organizational dynamics at play in both the Reichswehr and the Red Army, the nature of the technical and intellectual collaboration, the German experience living in the Soviet Union, and finally the long-range outcomes of the cooperative projects. From the cold open: > They want to test this new mustard gas equivalent, and they have 800 young conscripts march down a road and then an aircraft flies over them and sprays them. I don’t know if they’re briefed. Only the front row are given protective equipment. And then doctors come and they take a look at them. Even the Germans, who are using, interestingly enough, graduate students in some instances to do smaller scale testing voluntarily, they comment. They said, “The Soviets, you require extraordinary discipline of your soldiers.” Transcript is here. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxiOM9SJWUKO6jt-ORUU7_OrrDTm1GU12dgPoUIOIjY/edit?usp=sharing] The Vladimir Putin op-ed on the interwar period (referenced in the podcast) is available here. [https://nationalinterest.org/feature/vladimir-putin-real-lessons-75th-anniversary-world-war-ii-162982] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawyers-guns-money/id1332780055] * Android [https://subscribeonandroid.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Youtube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVtqgIRZRPmkAlVStEZfPqRJBfpxiKIQ&si=n81CS_B5uRwKKh_Z] * Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/lawyers-guns-money-608162] * Podcast Index [https://podcastindex.org/podcast/961005] * Subscribe by E-mail [https://subscribebyemail.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Audible [https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K57B3RH?qid=1633990345&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VYY47BX10FABQ5ENAGMG] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/07plahOlbTxlOQP4clDRxK] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/39a5de1e-be11-4b60-8ab4-23bbe6d52c54/lawyers-guns-money] The post LGM Podcast: Faustian Bargain [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/05/lgm-podcast-faustian-bargain] appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com].

[https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-05-at-12.45.34 AM-666x1024.png]https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-05-at-12.45.34 AM.png Dave and I had a terrific discussion with UMich Law’s Leah Litman about her terrific new book, Lawless. [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628] We discuss (truth in subtitling!) how conservative jurisprudence runs on vibes and resentments rather than the grand theories it claims, how much Republican doctrine derives from the principle that being accused of discrimination is infinitely worse than invidious discrimination, how the brief and aberrational Warren Court era has inexplicably dominated the public’s perception of the Supreme Court for decades, how Neil Gorsuch resembles Patrick Bateman, and many other topics. Enjoy, and consider buying or borrowing Leah’s book. Transcript is here. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UBJIFS6bNxKm6Ehj9OPLnrvViemk4qiaXmZ9qbblBpc/edit?usp=sharing] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawyers-guns-money/id1332780055] * Android [https://subscribeonandroid.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Youtube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVtqgIRZRPmkAlVStEZfPqRJBfpxiKIQ&si=n81CS_B5uRwKKh_Z] * Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/lawyers-guns-money-608162] * Podcast Index [https://podcastindex.org/podcast/961005] * Subscribe by E-mail [https://subscribebyemail.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Audible [https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K57B3RH?qid=1633990345&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VYY47BX10FABQ5ENAGMG] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/07plahOlbTxlOQP4clDRxK] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/39a5de1e-be11-4b60-8ab4-23bbe6d52c54/lawyers-guns-money] The post LGM Podcast: Leah Litman [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/05/lgm-podcast-leah-litman] appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com].

[https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mark_Carney-1-819x1024.jpg]https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mark_Carney-1.jpg On the latest LGM Podcast, the OG LGM Trio of Scott, Dave, and myself talked through Canada’s upcoming election. [https://338canada.com/] We discussed the historic collapse of the Conservative Party’s electoral explanations, the negative coattails of MAGA and other parties associated with the transnational Right, the legacy of Justin Trudeau, the current state of polling as an art and science, and finally some points where the wisdom of Canadian constitutional governance may exceed that of its neighbor to the South. Transcript is here. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YLDj6JM6jK0BGLHo8RwvJ0adTM24CSEQ2qsjC38D5-Q/edit?usp=sharing] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawyers-guns-money/id1332780055] * Android [https://subscribeonandroid.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Youtube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVtqgIRZRPmkAlVStEZfPqRJBfpxiKIQ&si=n81CS_B5uRwKKh_Z] * Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/lawyers-guns-money-608162] * Podcast Index [https://podcastindex.org/podcast/961005] * Subscribe by E-mail [https://subscribebyemail.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Audible [https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K57B3RH?qid=1633990345&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VYY47BX10FABQ5ENAGMG] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/07plahOlbTxlOQP4clDRxK] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/39a5de1e-be11-4b60-8ab4-23bbe6d52c54/lawyers-guns-money] Photo Credit: By Policy Exchange – https://www.flickr.com/photos/policyexchange/19631517244/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64192687 The post LGM Podcast: Canada’s Upcoming Election [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/04/lgm-podcast-canadas-upcoming-election] appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com].

[https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/The_Soviet_Union_1990_CPA_6266_stamp_Soviet_Intelligence_Agents._Kim_Philby.jpg]https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/The_Soviet_Union_1990_CPA_6266_stamp_Soviet_Intelligence_Agents._Kim_Philby.jpg Last week friend-of-the-blog Charles Dainoff and myself had the opportunity to speak with Gail Helt [https://bsky.app/profile/gailhelt.bsky.social] of King University [http://www.oking.me/index-416.html] In addition to being the director of the security and intelligence program at King, Gail is a retired CIA employee and as such has a particular perspective about the genre. We worked vaguely from this list [https://www.vulture.com/article/best-spy-movies-ranked.html] but were selective in our approach. Films we discuss at some length: * Manchurian Candidate * Confessions of a Nazi Spy * Hunt for Red October * Our Man in Havana * Tailor of Panama * Spy Game * Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy * Zero Dark Thirty Transcript is here. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/12j4rl4P9cZPf9BMbkeHw7lo2le89sDMg5d0NYTWMRfA/edit?usp=sharing] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawyers-guns-money/id1332780055] * Android [https://subscribeonandroid.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Youtube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrVtqgIRZRPmkAlVStEZfPqRJBfpxiKIQ&si=n81CS_B5uRwKKh_Z] * Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/lawyers-guns-money-608162] * Podcast Index [https://podcastindex.org/podcast/961005] * Subscribe by E-mail [https://subscribebyemail.com/www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/feed/podcast] * Audible [https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08K57B3RH?qid=1633990345&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VYY47BX10FABQ5ENAGMG] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/07plahOlbTxlOQP4clDRxK] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/39a5de1e-be11-4b60-8ab4-23bbe6d52c54/lawyers-guns-money] The post LGM Podcast: Spy Movies [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/04/lgm-podcast-spy-movies] appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money [https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com].