The PDB Situation Report | July 18th, 2026: America Is Crushing Iran's Coastal Defenses & Russia's Nuclear Threat

**Gordon Chang** (0:00)
Introducing Meta Glasses. You have questions, they've got answers.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (0:05)
Hey Meta, what's the capital of Peru?

**Gordon Chang** (0:08)
Lima. How do you say, where's the restroom in Spanish?
Dónde está el baño?

**SPEAKER_3** (0:14)
Hey Meta, is a hot dog a sandwich? Technically, no. Spiritually, yes.

**Mike Baker** (0:20)
Hey Meta, what should I do with my life?

**SPEAKER_3** (0:23)
That's one of life's biggest questions. What do you think?

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (0:27)
Ask anything with the new Meta Glasses. Now playing on Netflix, The Hawk.

**Gordon Chang** (0:33)
From the mind of Will Ferrell. Oh mama, I'm back.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (0:37)
Comes a new original series.

**Gordon Chang** (0:39)
Get ready. Get ready.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:41)
That's it.

**Gordon Chang** (0:41)
Did I stutter? With an iconic pro golfer. Lonnie. Lonnie.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:45)
Hawkeye.

**Gordon Chang** (0:46)
Takes one last swing of greatness.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:48)
You are a big shot golfer.

**Gordon Chang** (0:49)
I still am a big shot golfer. No one.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:52)
Dad, I'm the Hawk now.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (0:53)
Will stand in his way.

**Mike Baker** (0:56)
That's how it's done.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (0:57)
The Hawk now playing only on Netflix.

**Mike Baker** (1:07)
Welcome to The PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the war with Iran is back in full swing. How about that? With US aircraft once again hitting Iranian targets across the country. The target packages include three small islands and coastal defenses that the regime uses to hold the Strait of Hormuz captive. Former US. Air Force fighter pilot Ryan Bodenheimer joined us to give his analysis on the campaign. He was actually known as Max Afterburner. Later in the show, as Russia's battlefield position continues to deteriorate, questions are once again being asked about whether Vladimir Putin might resort to tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Author Gordon Chang will stop by to get his insight. But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight.
Just weeks after Washington and Tehran signed that Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending the fighting, that didn't go very well. The war is back on. US forces have resumed an intensive air campaign against Iranian military targets. Much of the focus initially was on the Strait of Hormuz, where American aircraft have been striking radar sites, missile batteries, naval facilities and the strategic islands that Iran uses to project power and threaten one of the world's most important maritime waterways.
Joining me now is Ryan Bodenheimer, also known as Max Afterburner. He's a good friend of the show, a former US. Air Force fighter pilot, serving with the US. Air Force Thunderbirds, I know you've heard about them, and flying F-15E Strike Eagles.
I'm told that those are very, very fast. Yeah, that's what I know about jets. They're fast. You can check out his YouTube channel at Max Afterburner USA. He's a great friend of the show, a man about talent.
Ryan, thank you very much for coming back on the Situation Report.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (2:59)
Mike, always a pleasure, man. We don't have much to talk about this time, though. It's just-

**Mike Baker** (3:03)
We do not. It's a very quiet world that we live in. So, I thought we'd just check in, say hello, make sure the families are good, and then we'll just call it quits.

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (3:12)
Yeah, sounds about right. Nothing geopolitically intense happening at all.

**Mike Baker** (3:16)
There is? No, that's what I say. It's nice to live in a world where everyone's getting along. Let me ask you the first question, which is a little bit off the beaten path.
What's up with the low flyovers of beaches?

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (3:32)
Hey, man, I think that was awesome. I got to say, I think that was one of the coolest flyovers I've ever seen. The thing that people might not know, like there's fighter pilots that are trained to fly like that. So the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, that's the bread and butter. Flying low. I mean, these are low. These are really low. But personally, I think these teams that are actually trained to do it, there's a difference in that than, you know, some yahoos in other squadrons that might not be trained to do it. So I think that's the thing to think about is remember what your training is and if you're trained to go that low, inspire some people, make a viral video, you know, that's the bread and butter of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels.

**Mike Baker** (4:10)
Yeah. Now, is that, does that imply that it was an approved pass or what do you think?

**Ryan Bodenheimer** (4:17)
I think it's more of a, you know, ask forgiveness not permission type thing when it comes to the Blue Angels especially. I mean, they're incredibly talented. We've seen this before. This isn't the first time this has happened with the Blue Angels in particular.