Byline with Ben Dennis

Can the United States win the war with Iran without putting American troops on the ground? Retired Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland joins Ben Dennis to examine what a successful U.S. strategy would actually require — and whether Washington has clearly defined what victory looks like. MacFarland, who commanded the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, discusses the limits of air power, pressure o...

AI leaders are openly warning about what could go wrong as increasingly powerful models are developed and deployed. So how worried should the rest of us actually be? Katie Harbath says: “panic responsibly.” Harbath spent a decade at Facebook working at the intersection of technology, elections and democracy. She is now CEO of Anchor Change and the author of the forthcoming book Disrupting Politics...

After losing his 16-month-old son, Riley, during the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, Dr. Darin Detwiler devoted his career to food safety. He explains what today’s recalls reveal about our food supply, how convenience can increase risk, what consumers can do—and why preventing the next outbreak cannot rest on shoppers alone. And, as always, I have questions of my own.

President Trump is testing how far executive power can reach. But could the precedents he establishes outlast his presidency? Bowdoin College professor Andrew Rudalevige explains what a future Democratic president could do with that authority, why Congress has struggled to serve as a check and whether the founders’ system can still restrain the White House. His proposed solution begins not with th...

AI can solve a math problem, rewrite an essay and return an answer in seconds. But can it help students learn without removing the challenge learning requires? In the latest episode of Byline with Ben Dennis , Ben Dennis speaks with Dr. Jonathan Strecker—head of school at Valley School of Ligonier and author of Emergence —about what happens when artificial intelligence enters the classroom. The co...

The former CENTCOM commander on an Iran war not going as expected, strained U.S. missile defenses and the risk of a wider conflict.

Generative AI is moving deeper into political communication, journalism and the systems distributing information online. The immediate question is no longer simply whether a deepfake can be identified. It is how synthetic content changes trust once it circulates alongside reporting, commentary and propaganda. Ben Dennis speaks with University of Cambridge psychology professor Sander van der Linden...

What if your representatives could see how people back home want them to vote—before they cast a vote in Congress? The nonprofit Digital Democracy Project is testing that idea. Its platform allows registered voters to weigh in on pending legislation through their phones, then compares the results with lawmakers’ actual votes. The organization says it uses identification and voter-registration reco...

Artificial intelligence is transforming how people discover information and changing the way journalists work. At the same time, audiences have more choices than ever for where they get their news. This week on Byline , Ben Dennis sits down with Syracuse University professor Emily Sydnor to examine what that means for journalism. They discuss how AI is reshaping reporting and news consumption, the...

Who gets to decide when America’s most historic public spaces should change? Washington, D.C., has always evolved. Presidents and first ladies have influenced its landscape, new memorials have reshaped the National Mall, and security needs have changed how the public experiences some of the country’s most recognizable places. Now, projects proposed or advanced during President Donald Trump’s secon...

The 2026 midterms are still months away, but the political fight for 2028 may already be taking shape. Will voters cast their ballots based on affordability, foreign policy, cultural issues, or frustration with Washington? Are Democrats building a message beyond opposition to President Trump? And what does the future of the Republican Party look like once Trump is no longer on the ballot? Politica...

AI is changing how people find information, make decisions, and interact with technology. But what happens when it gets something wrong? Law professor and former Google trust and safety expert Jess Miers joins me to discuss AI liability, chatbot lawsuits, free speech, and the legal questions courts are being forced to answer in real time.

Artificial intelligence is no longer theoretical. It’s already shaping how we search for information, communicate with coworkers, consume news, and increasingly how society functions behind the scenes. But as AI systems become more embedded into everyday life, a larger question is emerging: Who decides the rules? In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis , Ben sits down with legal scholar and form...

Is there such a thing as a fair election? This week on Byline, Penn State mathematics professor Andrea Boito joins me to unpack the hidden math behind democracy — from ranked-choice voting and the Electoral College to apportionment, strategic voting, and why mathematicians say a perfectly “fair” voting system may actually be impossible. We dive into the formulas and theories that shape how leaders...

You open your phone. Within seconds, you’re scrolling—posts, videos, headlines, all arranged in a way that feels almost intuitive. But why that post? Why that video? Why that story—right now? In this episode, Ben Dennis speaks with Katie Harbath, former Facebook public policy director and CEO of Anchor Change, about how those decisions are made—and how quickly they’re changing. Because what shows...

The missiles have flown. The ceasefire looks fragile. What happens if this conflict doesn’t stay overseas? How long could this fighting last? What happens to gas prices if it drags on? And what does it mean for Americans here at home? In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis , I sit down with retired U.S. Army Major General John Ferrari to go beyond the headlines and break down what’s actually ha...

What does it actually take to protect the President of the United States? In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis, I sit down with Jeff James — a former Secret Service agent who spent more than two decades on protective detail — to discuss what it actually takes to protect the President of the United States. From the day-to-day volume of threats, to protecting foreign leaders, to how intelligenc...

Before the public ever hears about a U.S. strike, decisions have already been made inside the Pentagon. But the bigger question is: What happens next? As tensions rise with Iran, most coverage focuses on what just occurred — missiles launched, statements issued, retaliation promised. Inside the Defense Department, though, officials are already assessing risk, modeling escalation, and preparing for...

Who do you trust — and why? Is trust built on facts? On tone? On whether someone reinforces what you already believe? This week on Byline , I talk with Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to Dr. Jill Biden, about how trust is built, protected, and sometimes tested inside the White House. We unpack how messaging decisions are made, how influence travels from Washington to everyday Americans, and...

Politics feels louder. Angrier. More exhausting. In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis, I sit down with political communication expert Peter Loge to unpack why outrage motivates voters, why affordability dominates elections, and how leadership rhetoric can either calm a nation or escalate distrust. We discuss:• Why anger drives political incentives• The racist AI depiction of the Obamas and le...

⚠️ This is a featured segment from Monday’s full episode of Byline with Ben Dennis . For full context and the complete conversation, watch or listen to the entire interview. In this excerpt, we examine the impact of racist political imagery — including depictions of former President Obama — and the broader question of leadership and responsibility in American politics. Do presidents set the tone f...

Is it AI? Is it legit? Those are questions many of us ask while scrolling TikTok and Instagram—often after a video has already been shared thousands of times. In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis , I talk with Tracee Stanford of the News Literacy Project , who works with educators nationwide to help students learn what information can be trusted—and how to verify it for themselves. We recorde...

Dive into the complexities of press freedom with Ben Dennis and legal expert Anna Diakun, an attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Discover the challenges citizens and journalists face today, and the impact of social media algorithms on free speech. The conversation covers a range of topics; delving into the First Amendment, the role of influencers, government...

Join Ben Dennis for a conversation with Jesse Rodriguez, Vice President of Editorial and Booking at MS NOW, examining how news organizations are adapting to changes in how audiences consume information—and how editorial decisions shape what viewers ultimately see. Rodriguez reflects on how his early newsroom experience in Miami informed his transition to network news, and how MS NOW is approaching...

One U.S. Capitol Police Officer beaten during the January 6th riots recalls the moments a mob attacked him and his colleagues while protecting Congress. Five years later Winston Pingeon tells Ben how he looks toward a future without political violence, his journey finding peace and how he hopes people don't rewrite history. Byline with Ben Dennis goes beyond the headlines to explore why they m...