The “Wickedly Talented Adele Dazeem” Edition

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined for a special episode by the most glamorous of RatSec co-hosts emeritus, Shane Harris, to hand out some Academy Awards for events in national security over the past year.

The nominees include:

For “Best Make-Up” (i.e., what was the year’s most memorable apology?):

• The Biden administration’s confession that its balloon bombardment was a bust • ; • Kevin McCarthy’s ongoing Mar-a-Lago mea culpa • ; • Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resignation over her positively wilting • economic plan • .

For “Best Score” (i.e., who came away as the year’s most unexpected winner?):

• Western Europe, whose uncharacteristic balminess • helped it weather the winter without Russian energy imports; • The F-22, which got its first kill • (of a Chinese spy balloon) even as the U.S. military debates whether to discontinue it • ; • China, whose late role in the Saudi-Iran rapprochement • allowed it to seize much of the credit.

For “Best Supporting Actor” (non-state actor, that is) (i.e., which non-governmental figure had the most oversized role on the national security stage this year?):

Comic book villain • Elon Musk; Manic pixie jury foreperson • Emily Kohrs; • Tucker Carlson, the only man who has gotten less credible since he stopped wearing a bowtie • .

For “Best Actor” (i.e., which world leader left their mark on the world stage this past year?):

• Volodymyr Zelensky, the man who stayed • ; • Vladimir Putin, who seems intent on doubling down • on his failing gambit in Ukraine; • Xi Jinping, who locked down his control of the Chinese Communist Party • —but perhaps not the Chinese people • .

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