When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

This week we trek out to the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis for a geek field trip of epic proportions (three words: Jack Ryan’s couch). We drink some rum and Claude Berube’s scotch, and ring up former Under Secretary of the Navy Janine Davidson to talk about service secretaries, readiness, and why there is no Santa Claus. Then we dive into the Iranian elections, Syrian proxy war(s), our many desires for special counsels and other investigations, good skin care, and the defense budget. Finally, a short tour of the best of Navy pop culture. Sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

Episode Reading

• U.S. Naval Academy Museum
• Janine Davidson, Emerson Brooking, and Benjamin J. Fernandes, Mending the Unequal Dialogue, Council on Foreign Relations
• Ben Hubbard and Thomas Erdbrink, “In Saudi Arabia, Trump Reaches Out to Sunni Nations at Iran’s Expense,” New York Times
• Joshua Keating, “What’s at Stake in Friday’s Iranian Election,” Slate
• Jane Chong, Quinta Jurecic, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, and Benjamin Wittes, “Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel,” Lawfare
• Ryan Lizza, “Why Sally Yates Stood Up to Trump,” The New Yorker
• Todd Harrison, “What to Expect in the FY 2018 Defense Budget,” CSIS
• Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould, “Trump budget to cut Foreign Military Financing, with loan option looming,” Military Times
• Dorian Merina, “When Active-Duty Service Members Struggle To Feed Their Families,” National Public Radio

Image: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Geiger, adapted