National Security This Week

For his final episode, host Jon Olson talks with Tom Hanson, Diplomat-in-Residence at the Alworth School at the University of Minnesota - Duluth, about the state of global affairs at the end of 2023. Hanson was also the show's very first guest in January 2020. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Jennifer Wistrand, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, about Central Asia and the Caucasus region. 

 This week, host Jon Olson welcomes Dr. Constanze Stelzenmueller from the Brookings Institution. They discuss EU and NATO security policy, the trans-Atlantic partnerships, and Germany’s evolving security policies. 

Host Jon Olson's guests are noted authors JJ Harrigan, David Bruns, and David McCloskey. They discuss the intersection of national security thriller novels and actual national security challenges and opportunities. JJ Harrigan is former state department Foreign Service Officer and was a political science professor, David Bruns served in submarines and is co-author with Jon Olson for their national...

Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Jeff Mankoff from the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, DC. They discuss Central Asia, with a focus on the role Kazakhstan plays in the region. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Devry Boughner Vorwerk, CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies about the nexus of food security and national security. 

This week's guest is Christopher Townsend, President of the Navy League of the United States. He and Host Jon Olson discuss the maritime services and American national security interests in the maritime arena. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Yuki Tatsumi from the Stimson Center about Japan’s defense policy and both challenges and opportunities for Japan in the Indo-Pacific region. 

 This week, host Jon Olson talks with Esfandyar Batmanghelidj and Temur Umarov about the strategic significance of the Central Asian Republics. 

This week live from the 13th Annual Cyber Security Summit in Bloomington, Minnesota, host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Sylvain Leblanc and Dr. Sean Costigan about cyber operations and national security. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Elisabeth Braw of the American Enterprise Institute about Sweden’s bid to join the NATO Alliance, among other topics with a world in turmoil. 

 Host Jon Olson and Carleton College Political Science Professor Greg Marfleet discuss the current situation in the Middle East. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Marina Miron from King’s College London about human augmentation and the potential impacts in the national security arena. 

This week, host Jon Olson's guest is Erin Sikorsky, Director of the Center for Climate and Security, and they discuss the nexus of climate change and American national security interests. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Vasileios Karagiannopoulos about cyber security, the role of cyber in the defense of Ukraine, and a phenomenon called “Hacktivism.” 

 Host Jon Olson and Professor Rajan Menon discuss the critical importance of the Global South, and the rise of a new “non-aligned movement” around the world. 

This week, host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Ryan Berg, who heads the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). They discuss an American Grand Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

 Host Jon Olson and Professor Anthony Lott from the Department of Political Science at the College of St. Olaf discuss current crisis areas around the world. 

Host Jon Olson talks with James Borton, Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) about environmental security in the South China Sea. 

Host Jon Olson and Mark Cozad from the RAND Corporation discuss two major studies RAND completed on the People’s Liberation Army, and on China’s foreign policy calculations inside the Great Power Competition framework.

 Host Jon Olson and Steve Andreasen from the Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis and civil war in Ethiopia. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Michael Kimmage from Catholic University about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what to make of current Russian political leadership. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist John Rash about journalism and national security.

 Host Jon Olson talks with retired US Army General Joseph Votel, who commanded both US Special Operations Command and US Central Command. He now leads Business Executives for National Security (BENS). They discuss a variety of national security challenges and opportunities, including how BENS helps drive better national security decision-making and defense acquisition efforts. 

 Host Jon Olson talks with Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the economic think tank Bourse and Bazaar Foundation, about Iran and broader relations across the Middle East and Central Asia.