The Just Security Podcast

Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Huq discuss the powers and authorities that state and local governments can use to fight back against authoritarianism and serve as a check against federal overreach. Related Articles: “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series , Sept. 21, 2026 Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Z. Huq, Introduction to “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Serie...

Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima of the International Crisis Group join host Viola Gienger to discuss the most important developments from the 2026 United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week. Related Articles: As Leaders Gather at the U.N. General Assembly, Competition May Outdo Cooperation by Richard Gowan, Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima, Sept. 17, 2026 Reading the Signals of China’s U.N...

Host David Aaron joins Adam Hickey to discuss an unusual announcement from the Department of Justice on the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Section 951. Show Note: Office of Public Affairs | Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents | United States Department of Justice

Co-hosts Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman are joined by Daniel Fried and Nicholas Rasmussen to discuss how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the United States’ responses to it have shaped U.S. national security, foreign policy, and alliances. Show Note (related articles):  9/11 Then and Now: How it Shapes Us 25 Years On   A Quarter Century After 9/11: Lessons Learned and Lost   The L...

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by Tom Dannenbaum, Margaret Donovan, and Todd Huntley to discuss whether the United States has violated the law of armed conflict in its conduct of the Iran war. They discuss what evidence would be required to make that determination and what to watch for as the war continues.  Show Notes: Collection: Iran, Israel and the United States at War (2025-2026 Operations) (con...

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to discuss how the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has escalated and evolved in the year since the strikes began. The conversation examines the administration’s legal justifications for the strikes, the potential fo...

Host Dani Schulkin is joined by Steve Vladeck and Jess Dawgert to discuss the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. They explain what the court is, why it sat unused for thirty years, and what its first case means for due process and the immigration system. Show Note (related articles and links):  https://www.justsecurity.org/148285/the-alien-terrorist-removal-courts-first-case...

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by guests Rebecca Hamilton and Alex Whiting, experts with deep experience in the practice and study of international criminal law, to discuss the recent vote by states to remove Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, effective immediately, for sexual misconduct against a junior staff member. They discuss what this investigation – and its defense –...

A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investigations are an integral source of information that enables the American public to evaluate the decisions of their elected officials. Yet today the press is facing new or newly acute challenges arising...

Over the past year, U.S. anti-corruption policy has undergone significant shifts — from changes in FCPA enforcement to sanctions rollbacks and institutional drawdowns — raising questions about America’s global role. At the same time, anti-corruption movements are gaining momentum worldwide. Dani Schulkin speaks with Richard Nephew and Bruce Swartz about what these trends mean for enforcement, inte...

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to examine the escalating U.S. campaign of killings of suspected drug traffickers at sea under “Operation Southern Spear” following the January 2026 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The conversation explores the U.S. military operations in Venezuela and the intensifying campaign of lethal...

Should the FBI be allowed to access the content of Americans’ communications–emails, texts and phone calls–without obtaining a judicial warrant? That’s a key question facing Congress, with a looming deadline of April 30th. The question is wrapped up in the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, which will sunset at the end of this month. I had the opportun...

Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary election brought a major political shift. After 16 years in power, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party lost to opposition leader Peter Magyar, whose coalition now holds a strong parliamentary majority. The result marks a new chapter in Hungary’s politics after years of debate about democratic accountability, media independence, and relations within the Europ...

The North African country of Sudan marks a grim anniversary this week: the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting a civil war for three years, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 14 million people have been forced to flee the fighting, often multiple times, and 4.4 million have fled to other countries, mostly to Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, bu...

Trump's threats to forcibly take control of Greenland brought to the headlines the alarming notion of the United States seeking new territories, from a European ally. But the United States already faces pressing issues of territorial control and governance. In this podcast, we share the perspectives of two leaders who work on democracy, equity, and self-determination issues in current U.S. te...

Prior to the U.S. attacks that dislodged president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, American forces have for weeks been blockading U.S.-sanctioned ships carrying Venezuelan oil. In mid-December, the United States began boarding, and seizing, tankers in the so‑called “shadow fleet” that move sanctioned oil across the globe, starting with stateless vessels. In a dramatic turn, this week the U.S. Coast G...

The Combating Global Corruption Act marks a new chapter in how the U.S. approaches corruption abroad. For the first time, the State Department must publicly rank foreign governments based on their anti-corruption efforts–evaluations that may carry real consequences for foreign aid, diplomacy, and sanctions. Yet the rollout comes at a moment of contradiction. As the United States positions itself t...

The Trump administration has continued its campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers at sea. To date, 83 people have reportedly been killed in 21 strikes. The strikes have met increasing scrutiny both inside the United States and abroad, with some close U.S. allies reportedly suspending intelligence sharing over concerns of the illegality of the campaign, and recently surfaced...

Across the world, we’re witnessing a transformation in how corruption operates. It’s not just about individual bribery or isolated misconduct. In many places, powerful actors are reshaping state institutions themselves— weakening oversight, insulating allies from consequences, and redirecting public power toward private gain. This deeper structural transformation is often called state capture , an...

On Nov. 13, the Trump administration took the unprecedented step of adding four groups in Europe to the U.S. government’s list of specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs). The administration also stated its intent to add each of these entities to the State Department’s list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), claiming that all four are affiliated with “Antifa.” The developm...

International law professors Chiara Giorgetti, Milena Sterio, and Rebecca Hamilton join Just Security ’s Managing Editor, Megan Corrarino, to discuss takeaways from the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA)’s Oct. 23-25 International Law Weekend.  In this special episode co-produced with ABILA’s International Law Chats podcast, which Giorgetti and Sterio co-host along with A...

Since early September, President Donald Trump has ordered a series of U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea the administration claims are linked to drug trafficking groups, leaving 32 people dead. One recent strike left two survivors, briefly detained by the U.S. military, and now reportedly repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador. The latest strike was reported by the Trump administra...

Since early September, President Trump has ordered the U.S. military to conduct multiple lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in at least 21 deaths.  What do we actually know about the people killed and the vessels targeted? What legal justification is the administration putting forward for the killings— and is it viable? Is there anything to stop t...

Leading scholar on domestic violent extremism and prevention strategies, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, joins Just Security Senior Fellow Tom Joscelyn to discuss her new book, M an Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism . They explore the intersection of gender, radicalization, and violence. Show Note:  Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism (Princeton University Press)...

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 is set to expire at the end of this month on September 30, 2025. The Act removes barriers to companies sharing information about cyber threats, addressing privacy concerns and requires the federal government to share threat information. Many consider CISA one of the foundations of U.S. cybersecurity efforts.    As Congress considers whether...