Ideas

Ep.14: Natasha Bertrand of The Atlantic; Space Force moves ahead; Future of the Iran deal? and more.

Welcome to our podcast about the news, strategy, tech, and business trends defining the future of national security.

Science & Tech

Kremlin Hackers Take Aim at the Swiss Lab That’s Working the Skripal Poisoning Case

The group that attacked Ukraine's power grid is phishing a chemical-weapons lab critical to the Skripal case.

Policy

How Russia Persecutes Its Dissidents Using US Courts

Russia’s requests to Interpol for Red Notices—the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant—against Kremlin opponents are being met with increasing deference by the Department of Homeland Security.

Threats

Mattis: No Pentagon Policy Changes Since Trump-Putin Helsinki Summit

The defense secretary also said that his department’s policies on Iran remain the same despite tougher Trump administration rhetoric.

Threats

Pentagon Creates ‘Do Not Buy’ List of Russian, Chinese Software

Increasingly alarmed at foreign hacking, DOD and intelligence officials are racing to educate the military and defense contractors.

Ideas

The US and Russia Have Plenty of Areas for Cooperation. Let’s Get to Work.

We might start by taking Putin’s suggestion to create a bi-national advisory council to help guide engagement.

Ideas

Russia Can’t Control What Happens in Syria

As the civil war morphs, Putin is trying to position himself as the indispensable power. But a dangerous confrontation between Israel and Iran is escalating.

Science & Tech

This Stealthy Drone May Be The Future of Russian Fighter Jets

Russian industry sources called this heavy armed stealth drone a prototype for their sixth-generation aircraft.

Ideas

Faster, Transient, Endless: How America Must Adapt to Today's Great-Power Competition

Three years of Army War College research have revealed the surprising contours of post-primacy security — and the single animating principle that must guide U.S. strategy.

Science & Tech

Russia May Put Androids in Orbit Next Year, State Media Says

The mission would be the latest for FEDOR, created for rescue work — and more recently given the ability to shoot guns.

Ideas

Here's How the Russian Military Is Organizing to Develop AI

Harking back to Soviet big science, a 10-point plan calls for new organizations and focus areas, from job training to a giant new R&D campus.

Policy

US Spy Chief: ‘I Don’t Know What Happened’ in Helsinki

Director of National Intelligence Coats got another surprise Thursday: Putin is coming to town.

Ideas

Pompeo’s Choice: Denounce the McFaul Handover, or Lose the World’s Trust

The world is watching to see if he has the courage and the political savvy to truly be a leader in his Department, in this administration, and around the globe.

Ideas

The Helsinki Move That Could Save the INF Treaty

Putin offered suggestions for strategic stability. The U.S. should respond with proposals to revive verification.

Threats

After Secret Trump Meeting, Russia Offers to Resume Military Relations

Did Trump offer to normalize relations? It would be complicated — and Congress gets a vote.

Ideas

Trump Says Russia Isn’t Still Targeting the U.S.—But He’s Wrong

Putin’s government is waging information warfare against America, but the president is ignoring his intelligence advisers as they sound the alarm.

Ideas

There’s No Defending Trump Anymore

The spectacle in Helsinki is over. Now it’s time for Congress—and the American people—to act.

Ideas

Anti-Trump Hysteria Isn’t Helping

The president’s performance in Helsinki wasn’t defensible—but neither was it treasonous.

Ideas

Trump’s Meeting With Putin Draws Alarm at Home and Abroad

The president’s remarks casting doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 election drew rebukes both implicit and explicit from those close to, and within, his own administration.

Ideas

The End of All Illusions

Trump said nothing new in Helsinki—but his remarks clarified and distilled into a single frame his appalling disregard for an assault on America.