Sirens welcomes the tremendous Dr. Mara Karlin as a guest to first determine which current buzzwords we'd ban but more importantly to assess this moment of US and allied relationships: what allies should be planning, how US chaos shakes up more than just NATO meetings, and signals to watch.  For dumpster fires, we talk through what's new and what's unfortunate de ja vu as the Trump Administration pressures the Iranian regime amid increasingly violent protest crackdowns, as well as what the transition at the GAO means for oversight (yes, we do the sexy topics!).  Finally: what delights and baffles you about the Jane Austen-verse?

Happy 2026 to all friends of Sirens! Loren, Radha, and Erin are truly astonished at the pace of news in their mid-winters nap and gab for an extended drill to cover new Hatch Act procedures, protests in Iran, the thwarted terrorist attack on NYE, the drastic decrease in financial crime fines in 2026, and Netanyahu's visit (also, Andy and Anderson's NYE, of course). While Venezuela could be an entire episode series unto itself, we augment with another dumpster fire: what exactly the daycare funding fraud allegations mean in Minnesota and how they may impact the entire theory of change of federalism. For Warning Signs, we offer what we're looking for and at ain 2026, and suggest some resolutions for American institutions in 2026.