Sycophants and yes-men

Even with his luxury jet grounded, Trump and his administration have flown the United States into a strategic black hole. On this episode of After America, Allan Behm joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the demise of an Iran agreement that never really lived, the latest NATO summit, the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, and the evolution of the Australian government’s diplomacy in the Pacific Island region. This episode was recorded live on Monday 13 July. Guest: Allan Behm, Special Advisor, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis (https://bsky.app/profile/emmashortis....) Show notes: Shorter America: On China; SCOTUS Season; Book reviews (https://thepoint.com.au/new/260710-sh...) by Emma Shortis, The Point (July 2026) Mr Albanese goes to the Pacific (again) (https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/2607...) by Allan Behm, The Point (July 2026) PALMed off: The story of modern slavery in Australia (https://thepoint.com.au/new/260108-pa...) , Follow the Money, the Australia Institute (January 2026) How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us...) by Tyler Pager and Anatoly Kurmanaev, The New York Times (July 2026) Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Subscribe to After America on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast...) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/788c8ne...) , Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/after...)  or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Support After America & the research powerful interests fear: https://theaus.in/3QRFNjB See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.