The Unredacted Podcast

This is a "behind the scenes" interview with Geoffrey Fowler , the creator and first editor of the CIA's World Intelligence Review (WIRe). Geoff sat for the "From Tragedy to Transformation" interview series nearly a year ago. His contributions were instrumental to telling the Analytic Transformation story. However, his career experiences stood on their own and we felt deserved the full Unredacted...

Brian Drake invites you to attend a special live recording of The Unredacted Podcast on 6 October. The Unredacted Podcast has partnered with AFCEA and Carahsoft to record a live event to cap-off the conversation. The primary question we are asking is, "Did it matter?" After all the change was installed, did we see a change in the Intelligence Community? Did those changes contribute to an improveme...

We give our interviewees some time and space to talk about the challenges they foresee in intelligence. What are the most pressing problems? How can we think about solutions? How will technologies like artificial intelligence change the intelligence business? Is there a future for open source intelligence? Are there opportunities to affect change for the better? What will it take? If you have a qu...

While Dr. Fingar has written several books on the topic, we ask our interviewees to share their lessons from this time of tremendous change. We talk about everything from leadership lessons, to how to assemble a highly effective team, the promise and perils of technology, and how to affect change under the worst of conditions. All of these gems of knowledge have been assembled here for current and...

After many long-fought battles, the Analytic Transformation Program is closed. This week, we summarize the achievements of the program. You will hear from folks who ran the most and least successful programs in the portfolio and how they think about their time in Analytic Transformation. If you have a question or a suggestion for a future episode, please email us at: questions@unredactedpodcast.co...

In this episode, we dive deep into two of the most controversial programs in the Analytic Transformation portfolio. The Summer Hard Problem Program (SHARP) and the Rapid Analytic Support and Expeditionary Response (RASER) training program. Both were designed in Washington DC, but operated in the far-flung corners of the world. While each bore their fair share of criticism, they also hoisted-up man...

The flagship program of Analytic Transformation: A-Space. A special enclave reserved for intelligence analysts to share information freely and collaborate on products. Who could argue with the value of that? Well . . . as it turns out . . . a lot of people. In this episode, we hear from many voices involved in conceptualizing, deploying, and running the A-Space program. Now known as i-Space, and o...

Today, blogging is considered passe. We forget blogs were the precursor technology to all of the social media platforms deployed on the Internet. In the Intelligence Community (IC) in 2005, blogging was viewed as nearly subversive. The Intelink Blogging platform created a space for change agents to communicate directly to their peers, discover research on key intelligence questions, test analytic...

Wikipedia defines Intellipedia as "an online system for collaborative data sharing used by the United States Intelligence Community." This description belies the immense amount of pain, suffering, and the many mission victories behind the deployment of the most successful information sharing platform in intelligence history. In this episode, we hear from the people who built, used, and protected I...

The Need-to-Know culture gives way to the Responsibility-to-Provide future. Analytic Transformation takes on the discovery of what customers want, what intelligence products have been produced, and who knows something about everything all the time. In this episode, we hear about three programs: the Analysis Resource Catalogue, the Library of National Intelligence, and the National Intelligence Pri...

With the team built and the contours of a plan, the Analytic Transformation Team took their show on the road. What better place to unveil the full slate of programs than Chicago? Armed with some marketing material, Tom Fingar and Michael Wertheimer host an event open to the public to iron-out the most pressing issues facing the community and solicit answers. Facing resistance from highly respected...

With the wind at his back, Tom Fingar is tapped to build the Office of Analysis in the Director of National Intelligence. He needed a team of reform-minded individuals representing a wide swath of Intelligence Community (IC) interests. With only a vague idea of what they were going to do and not knowing if they could even do it, they joined forces to transform the IC. These are the inside stories...

There is always a gap between how Hollywood depicts the intelligence business and reality. After 9/11, it was shockingly clear how little investment had been funneled to the Intelligence Community (IC) since the end of the Cold War. Siloed, fragmented, understaffed, and technically behind, there was a lot of catching up to do. We recount the stories of new and experienced IC professionals who bega...

Angry and scared, the American public demands the Intelligence Community be reformed. While the creation of an independent orchestrator of national intelligence had been discussed for years, there was widespread resistance; even after the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on 9/11. Nevertheless, Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act establishing the Office of the Director...

Every generation has a touchstone historical tragedy. For some it was the Kennedy assassination. For others it is the Challenger disaster. If you were born before 2001, you probably have been asked. “Where were you on 9/11?” It was a singular event which reshaped a nation and thrust America into the twenty-year Global War on Terrorism. This episode reminds us of the events of that day and introduc...

The Unredacted Podcast is proud to present a special series, “From Tragedy to Transformation: Intelligence Reform After 9/11”. A small group of Intelligence Community professionals, never having known one another and some never having worked in government, joined in common cause to reform intelligence in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. We interviewed over 20 people who were a part of that movement....

National security expert Trish Martinelli reveals why defense innovation isn't management theory—it's a combat skill. On this special SOF Week episode, Lindy Kyzer and Brian Drake sit down with the founder of The Difference LLC to explore her learnings from many years in Army leadership, DoD strategy, and why serious practitioners in the defense community approach innovation like a combat problem....

This week, Lindy Kyzer and Brian Drake are remotely recording The Unredacted Podcast in beautiful Tampa for SOF Week . Lindy and Brian talk about what the Department of War’s largest annual conference offers, provide some color commentary on the “unique” marketing techniques they witnessed, and what attendees can expect from the numerous technical demonstrations from the defense industry. In that...

What is the "gray zone" and who is trying to understand it? Lindy Kyzer and Brian Drake give it a shot and they also get some help from national security expert and former Intelligence Officer Timothy "Tito" Torres . Brian interviews Tito on his personal and political exploration of U.S. foreign policy and how it intersects with the America First policy of the Trump Administration. Tito tells us a...

Intelligence operations at the airport? Brian Drake and guest host Tyrome Smith explore what the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Intelligence Directorate actually does—and why it matters for U.S. national defense. Brian interviews the former Director of Intelligence for the TSA, Mary Quinn . Mary shares what this quiet, unseen intelligence operation does for the TSA and protect the...

What does the President actually need to know? This week Lindy Kyzer and Brian Drake explore this topic, catch-up after their respective Spring Breaks and discuss developments in the Iran conflict, specifically the cognitive warfare environment. They also exchange ideas about what constitutes a secret and how you maintain trust in critical conversations. The high-wire test of those skills is no be...

In this episode of The Unredacted Podcast, we delve into the critical role of journalism in the domain of US national defense and intelligence. Hosts Lindy Kyzer and Brian Drake explore the challenges faced by government communicators in balancing transparency with secrecy, especially in today’s complex new media landscape. Lindy shares her experiences as a Public Affairs Officer amid shifting pub...

This week on The Unredacted Podcast, Brian and Lindy wax poetic about mentors and the leadership lessons they have learned. They explore what leadership means when you are responsible for the security of the nation. And who better to school us about what to expect when you're in the "big chair" than Stacey Dixon, the former Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence. On this episode, Stac...

In this episode of The Unredacted Podcast, Lindy and Brian explore the definition of the "warfighter" and examine the complex interplay between civilian policies and US national defense priorities. Featuring Jesse Levin , the Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum , the discussion delves into privately funded, innovative business models and methods to advance international security...

In this episode, Lindy and Brian test the limits of free speech in national security. What is the way forward when America's constitutional protections threaten to undermine the fabric of its democracy? Given that neither Brian nor Lindy are experts, they interview someone who is; Jane Kirtley . Professor Kirtley is the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the Hubbard School of Journalism an...