What the Hell Is Going On

Latest Episodes:

WTH Extra! One Year Since October 7, It’s Not Just A War On Israel. Dany and Marc Discuss Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

One year ago today, Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre of Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust. In this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss Dany’s article in the WTH Substack, WTH 10/7: It's not just a war on Israel. In the year that followed October 7, 2023, Jews have been the subjects of antisemitic attacks around the world. Iran and its proxies have opened up a seven front war on the Jewish state. And Western leaders have routinely failed to address the problems exposed after October 7, at home and abroad. The time for action was yesterday. But it is never too late to speak out against hate and reject tribalism at home, and the time is now to stop Iran and support American allies abroad.

Read Dany’s article in the WTH Substack here.

WTH: Gen. Frank McKenzie Explains the Importance of American Strength in the Middle East Oct 03, 2024

Show notes

General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie was the Commander of United States Central Command when the U.S. took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. What can we learn from Gen. McKenzie’s time as CENTCOM Commander? It’s simple: America’s enemies respect our strength. And when we fail to punish bad actors, stand by our allies, or uphold our commitments, our enemies – from Iran to Russia to China – are emboldened. In our conversation with Gen. McKenzie, we discuss his new book, lessons from his service under multiple administrations, and the decision making leading up to America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie the former Commander of United States Central Command. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the University of South Florida’s Global National Security Institute, the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Cybersecurity, and as a Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security at the Middle East Institute. He is the author of The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century (Naval Institute Press, 2024).

Read the transcript here.

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WTH Extra! Dany Meets The President of Iran! Marc and Dany Discuss Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss Dany’s article in the WTH Substack, #WTH Meet the President of Iran. Amid the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah leadership, munitions, and anything a Hezbolahi has ever touched, Dany went to New York to meet with the president of Hezbollah’s financier and personal trainer, Iran. Sitting in a room with an odd group of Iranian regime fanboys and some serious people, Dany noticed something interesting: The claims coming from Iran’s president sound an awful lot like what we often hear on college campuses, read in major American news outlets, and see pushed by Western Middle East “experts.” What has happened to the world that Iran can play the victim and not be laughed off the stage? You know the answer to that.

Read Dany’s piece in What the Hell is Going On? here.

Bonus: Learn more about secondary explosions in Lebanon here.

WTH Extra! Trump Disavowed Project 2025. But Harris Still Owns Her Project 2019. Dany and Marc Discuss Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss Marc’s column in the Washington Post, Trump disavowed Project 2025. But Harris still owns her Project 2019. Donald Trump has regularly disavowed the Heritage Foundation’s wish list of proposals in its Project 2025, but Kamala Harris has failed to properly explain her shifts away from the far-left policies she campaigned on in 2019 – call it her “Project 2019.” Voters deserve to know why Harris has changed her policy positions so dramatically, and which of her 2019 positions she is actually abandoning.

Read Marc’s column in the Washington Post here.

Subscribe to our Substack here.

WTH is Going On with Exploding Pagers in Lebanon? Marc Polymeropoulos Explains Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

With one page, Israel was able to take thousands of Hezbollah operatives off the battlefield. When Hezbollah feared its modern communications network had been compromised, the Lebanese terrorist organization decided to dole out old-school pagers and two-way radios, hoping they would be more secure. In an operation more reminiscent of James Bond than reality, Israeli intelligence managed to infiltrate Hezbollah’s supply line and implant explosives throughout Hezbollah’s new “secure” communications network. The result? A crippled adversary, boosted Israeli morale, and all with historically low civilian casualties.

Marc Polymeropoulos is a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Polymeropoulos worked for twenty-six years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before retiring in July 2019 at the Senior Intelligence Service level. He was one of the CIA’s most highly decorated operations officers. He is the author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA (HarperCollins, 2021).

Read the transcript here.

WTH is Happening With Campus Protests This Fall? FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff on the Threats to Free Speech Sep 19, 2024

Show notes

Free speech is under attack on America’s college campuses. 2023 was already set to be the worst year for de-platforming – speakers being canceled or shut down because of their views – even before October 7 unleashed waves of antisemitic protests that worked to silence anyone attempting to support the Jewish state. Absent serious reform that protects all voices in our academic institutions, this school year will blow last year out of the water. What can schools do to protect free speech on campus? How are students taking matters into their own hands by rejecting self-censorship? And what are the best and worst schools for freedom of speech?

Greg Lukianoff is an attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He is a regular author on free speech issues and was executive producer of the documentaries Can We Take a Joke? (2015) and Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story (2020). Lukianoff earned his undergraduate degree from American University and his law degree from Stanford.

Read the transcript here.

Read FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings here.

WTH is Going On With the Election After the Debate? Josh Kraushaar Explains Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

More thoughts on that debate, and we cover the fascinating question of the Jewish vote, which traditionally leans heavily Democratic. Following a year of Biden administration equivocation over antisemitic, anti-Zionist, and anti-American protests, Jewish voters in swing states may swing the election in Trump’s favor – if he can focus on policy over cat-related conspiracy theories. How is the debate fallout impacting the election? Will Harris be able to maintain the Democratic Party’s Jewish contingency? And how are fringe voices shifting the messaging of both parties?

Josh Kraushaar is the editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider and a political analyst for Fox News Radio. He was previously a senior political correspondent at Axios, editor-in-chief of the Hotline, and a co-author at the Almanac of American Politics.

Read the transcript here.

WTH Extra! About That Debate… Dany and Marc Explain Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss the disaster that was the first and likely only debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris came into the debate well prepped, articulate, and managed to dodge the few attempts to make her explain her flip-flopping on a litany of far-left policies. Trump, meanwhile, succumbed to his worst temptations, failing to take advantage of opportunities to knock Harris’s record. Worst of all, the moderators showed a clear and unabashed bias for Harris all night long.

WTH Is Going To Happen in November? Karl Rove Explains Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

Summer is over and the election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is right around the corner, with early voting starting this month in some states. Today, the election is in effect a tossup with highly possible paths to victory for both candidates. But this election is either’s to lose, with Trump struggling to stay on message and Harris unwilling or unable to speak alone and off script with the American people. What are Harris and Trump’s chances come November? Will the GOP keep the House and re-take Senate? What would a Harris administration mean for America?

Karl Rove is a Wall Street Journal columnist and a Fox News contributor. He is the former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush and is known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns. Rove is the author of The Triumph of William McKinley (Simon & Schuster, 2016) and Courage and Consequence (Threshold Editions, 2010).

Read the transcript here.

WTH: Ukraine Takes the War to Putin. General Jack Keane Explains Ukraine’s Strategy and Path to Victory Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

Ukraine’s cross-border counterattack into Kursk Oblast, Russia, flipped the script on those who thought Ukrainians were losing in a stalemated war. Not only is the operation a brilliant tactical move, forcing the Russians to move troops to defend their own territory, but the invasion of Kursk also gives Ukraine leverage in any future negotiations. However the war is not won yet, and it is now up to the Biden administration to finally put an end to disastrous policies and restrictions on Ukraine that have only prolonged the fighting.

General Jack Keane is a retired 4-star general and the former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. He is also the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, a Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst, and a member of the Secretary of Defense Policy Board. General Keane has previously advised four Defense Secretaries and was a member of the 2018 and 2022 Congressional Commission on the National Defense Strategy.

Read the transcript here.

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