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This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien to hash through the week's big national security news, including: “Bad Vlad’s Sad Grab Has Leningrad a Tad Mad.” Russian President Vladimir Putin seems intent on escalating the conflict in Ukraine, as he’s mobilized thousands of civilian conscripts and is on the verge of incorporating separatist parts of the co...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott went guestless to discuss the week’s big national security news, including: “Ne Me Quitte Pas.” The nearby island nation of Haiti is hitting new levels of instability, as paired economic and political crises have given way to open gang warfare in broad swathes of the country. While the events have some calling for external intervention, others have expressed majo...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott sat down with Lawfare deputy foreign policy editor and RatSec rookie Dana Stuster, to talk through the week’s big national security news, including: “Chechens Coming Home to Roost.” Ukraine’s surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv has proven to be a massive success, leading Russian troops to surrender seized territory as they beat a retreat. At the same time, suppo...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by co-host emeriti Ben Wittes and Shane Harris for a very special anniversary edition of Rational Security that pits their national security hot takes up against each other. Which of the following takes will the team find to be "too hot," which "undercooked," and which "just right"? Americans (and especially progressives) will regret reviving the pros...

On this anniversary-eve edition, Alan, Quinta, and Scott reunited to hash through this week’s big national security stories, including: “The Other Other Nuclear Option.” Hostilities in Ukraine are getting perilously close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, with each side accusing the other of recklessly pursuing military in its vicinity. The IAEA is sending in a team to help secure the site. But w...

This week, a Quinta-less Alan and Scott were joined by host emeritus Benjamin Wittes to talk through the week's big national security stories, including: “Sometimes the Best Defense is a New Offensive.” With apparent U.S. support, Ukraine is bringing the fight to Crimea and other Russian-held areas —and perhaps to the streets of Moscow itself, where a well-known Russian nationalist’s car and daugh...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by their fellow Lawfare senior editor Molly Reynolds to talk through a week of big national security news stories, including: “Regrets? I’ve had a few.” One year has passed since the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan, which triggered the collapse of the U.S.-backed government and the return to power of the Taliban. What have we learned from this expe...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by special guest Ravi Agrawal, editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine, to hash through the week's big national security news, including: “Canned Strategy.” The war in Ukraine and tensions over Taiwan have led the Biden administration to further revise its long overdue National Security Strategy , which it now intends to release in the fall. W...

This week, Alan, Quinta, Scott, and favorite guest Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett got together to discuss the week's big national security news, including: “Another One Bites the Dust.” This past weekend, an American drone strike successfully killed yet another major terrorist leader —this time al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri—in downtown Kabul, while apparently avoiding any civilia...

This week, most of Alan, Quinta, Scott, and co-host emeritus Ben Wittes got together to discuss the week's big national security news, including:  “It’s Over, but Don’t Leave Before the Mid-Credits Sequence.” The Jan. 6 committee held its final primetime hearing this past Thursday, focused on Trump’s inaction in ending the riot on Jan. 6. But it’s suggested more may be coming. What has t...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott got together for another early morning session to hash through the week's big national security news, including:  “Stuck in the Middle (East) with You.” As President Biden ends his trip to the Middle East having re-engaged the Gulf countries and recommitted to preventing Iran from securing a nuclear weapon—including by force, if necessary—Russian P...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were reunited to hash through the week's national security news, including:  “A Thousand and One Arabian Flights.” President Biden is conducting his first official visit to the Middle East this week with the stated goal of building ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, beginning with more direct airline routes. Why this sudden high-profile engageme...

This week, Quinta and Scott were joined by  Lawfare 's new Managing Editor, Tyler McBrien, to hash through the week's national security news, including:  “(John) Dean for a Day.” Surprise testimony by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson has shed unprecedented light on Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6th and reinvigorated discussions of possible criminal charges, among other co...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by star New York Times   reporter Katie Benner to talk through some of the week's biggest national security news stories, including:  “The Masked Ringer.” We’re about half way through the Jan. 6 committee’s public hearings—and, despite originally planning a weeks-long pause, the committee is now holding a snap hearing with a surpri...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott flew solo to discuss the week's big national security news, including:  “Just Dropped in to See What Condition This Extradition is In.” The U.K. government has signed off on the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange , putting him one step closer to trial in the United States. Are claims that his extradition threatens press freedoms fact or hyperbol...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett to talk through some the week's big national security news, including:  “First Act Break.” We are one week into the Jan. 6 committee’s public hearings . What have we learned that we didn’t know already? And how effective are they proving to be? “Not Since the Sultans of Swing.” A dire situation is once a...

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by Lawfare senior editor and congressional expert Molly Reynolds to hash through the week's big national security news stories, including:  “Disquiet on the Eastern Front.” While Russia has been beaten back in most of the rest of the country, its efforts to hold secessionist eastern Ukraine are proving more resilient and producing what some are c...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott flew solo as they talked through the week's big national security news stories, including:  “Our Gun Epidemic.” Last week’s horrifying school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is only the latest high-profile incident in a wave of gun violence that is sweeping the United States. But most experts maintain that there is almost no chance Congress will pursue any serious...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by Rational Security co-host emeritus Shane Harris! Together they talked through the week's big national security news stories, including:  “We Want to Believe.” The House recently held a rare public hearing on what the U.S. government knows about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs–also commonly called Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs. Wha...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by  Allies  host and Lawfare associate editor Bryce Klehm! Together they talked through the week's big national security news stories, including:  "Remember the ‘90s?” Nine months have passed since the Taliban seized power in Kabul, and its promises of a more moderate rule than the harsh theocracy it oversaw in the 1990s are increasingly...

This week, Quinta and Scott were joined by RatSec 1.0 host emeritus Benjamin Wittes to talk through the week's big national security news stories, including:  “Sharing is Caring.” Earlier this week, an unnamed senior U.S. official indicated that the United States is providing targeting information to Ukrainian forces –only to have other officials walk back that assertion almost immediately. W...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by Jeffrey Kosseff, cybersecurity law professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, to hash through some of the week's big national security news, including:  “One Letter Off KGB, Two Letters Away from DGAF.” The Department of Homeland Security has taken heat this week for creating an internal Disinformation Governance Board , which partisan critics have r...

This week, Alan and Scott were joined by Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett and law professor extraordinaire Kate Klonick to hash through some of the week's big national security news, including:  “Time to Musk Up.” Prototypical eccentric billionaire Elon Musk has just finalized a deal to purchase Twitter, bring it private and implement a number of changes he claims are intended to expan...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott talked amongst themselves about some of the week's big national security news stories, including: “What’s in a Name?” Observers of the war in Ukraine are increasingly turning to a  controversial term  to describe the actions of Russian forces: genocide. Why are people suddenly using this word? Is its use appropriate here? “Who’s Afraid of Going Dark?” A&...

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by Lawfare managing editor Jacob Schulz to hash through some of the week's big national security news, including: “Le Pen 15 Club.” As France enters the final run-off round of its presidential election , incumbent Emmanuel Macron is being closely trailed by extreme right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. What explains Le Pen’s political potency? And what woul...