This week the Bombshell crew preps for the eclipse from opposite corners of the world to ask why we haven't all perished in the Fire and the Fury (alternate title for our next romance novel). Along with North Korea we talk India-China donnybrooks, military 'options' in Venezuela, and are somehow not overwhelmed by all the mayhem emanating from the White House. We go once more with feeling in Afghanistan, ask what Bannon's departure will mean for foreign policy, and debate the Chiefs subtweets on Charlottesville. Loren heads off to Porto, Radha chases the totality, and Erin enjoys the second order effects of good cocktails.

Reading:

• Robert Windrem and Corky Siemaszko, ”North Korea Crisis: How Events Have Unfolded Under Trump,” NBC
• Robert Kelly, “Attacking North Korea Would Be a War of Choice,” National Interest
• Robert A. Manning and James Przystup, “Stop the South China Sea Charade,” Foreign Policy
• Nicola Smith, “India-China border brawl: Superpowers throw stones at each other as tensions heighten,” The Telegraph
• Ben Westcott, “Indian video mocks Xi Jinping after Chinese state media posts 'racist' clip,” CNN
• Declan Walsh, Raphael Minder, Eric Schmitt and Rukmini Callimachi, “Spain, a Leader in Foiling Attacks, Falls Victim to One Anyway,” New York Times
• Dan Deluce, “Inside Trumps' Tortured Search for a Winning Afghanistan Strategy,” Foreign Policy
• Andrew Exum, “Why the Military Chiefs are Condemning White Supremacy,” The Atlantic
• Terrence McCoy, “The road to hate: For six young men, Charlottesville is only the beginning,” The Washington Post
• Alan Sepinwall, “‘Halt And Catch Fire’ Takes Another Leap In Its Final Season Premiere,” Uproxx

This week on Bombshell, we each dial in from parts-unknown to compare our drinking habits to the Queen of England. We also discuss new North Korean sanctions, whether anyone sent flowers to the new Pakistani Prime Minister, and what on earth is happening in Venezuela. White House mayhem is dialed to eleven and we dissect leaks, tweets, and the new sheriff in town. Finally Loren and Radha confess their love of spoilers because they’re obviously insane control freaks.

Episode Reading:

• "Divers work to recover U.S. military aircraft off Australia after crash that presumably killed 3 Marines," by Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Brian Murphy, The Washington Post.
• "A Tweet is a Direct Order", by Phil Carter, Slate.
• "Venezuela's Ousted Attorney General Retreats on a Motorbike," Nicholas Casey, The New York Times.
• "Trump Says U.S. 'Losing' Afghan War in Tense Meeting with Generals," Carol Lee and Courtney Kube, NBC News.
• The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, by Michael Duncan (PublicAffairs, 2017).