Shield of the Republic is a foreign policy and national security focused podcast hosted by Eric Edelman and Eliot Cohen. Launched in 2021, Shield is weekly show that offers analysis on global conflict, defense policy, and international relations. We frequently feature prominent journalists, historians, and policy figures to help break down the latest developments domestically and abroad.
We’re available on Substack, YouTube, and most major podcast providers. You can also follow us @ShieldPod on Twitter and Instagram. Paid Substack subscribers gain access to mailbag episodes, exclusive book reviews, quick takes, and much more.
Eric Edelman retired as a career minister from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2009, after having served in senior positions at the Departments of State and Defense as well as the White House. As the undersecretary of defense for policy from 2005 to 2009, he oversaw strategy development as the Defense Department’s senior policy official. Edelman served as U.S. ambassador to the Republics of Finland and Turkey in the Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations and was principal deputy assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney for national security affairs. Edelman has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and several Department of State Superior Honor Awards. In January of 2011 he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French government.
Eliot Cohen is professor emeritus of strategic studies at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) where he taught from 1990 to 2024 and served as the school’s ninth dean. He received his BA and PhD degrees from Harvard and taught there and at the U.S. Naval War College before coming to SAIS. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve, was a director in the Defense Department’s policy planning staff, and led the US Air Force’s multivolume study of the First Gulf War. From 2007 to 2009 he was counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleeza Rice’s senior adviser. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and is the author or co-author of nine books, including the forthcoming The Strategist: How to Think About War & Politics (Princeton University Press, 2026).
