The Steady State Sentinel

The Florida congressional candidate on military service, democratic institutions, national security, and why Congress needs to reclaim its constitutional role. Episode Summary: In this candidate edition of The Steady State Sentinel, host Bree Fram sits down with James Martin, Democratic nominee for Congress in Florida’s 21st District and a Coast Guard officer whose career has taken him from comman...

What bureaucracy, satire, sanctions, and superyachts reveal about intelligence, Russian power, and Western institutions. Episode Summary Former CIA officer, journalist, author, and Russian oligarch yacht tracker Alex Finley joins John Sipher for a wide-ranging conversation about intelligence, Russian influence, kleptocracy, and the strange places a career in national security can lead. Finley expl...

A sheriff, a former immigration official, and an immigration policy director examine what happens when aggressive immigration enforcement collides with policing, constitutional rights, and community trust. In the third installment of The Steady State Sentinel ’s series on immigration, hosts Peter Mina and Lauren Anderson examine what happens when immigration enforcement collides with the Constitut...

A legal-status hospice care provider detained for 143 days tells her story — the conditions inside, the demand for obscure "magical paperwork," and why she and her husband are now fighting to change the law. Hosts Lauren Anderson and Peter Mina sit down with Donna Hughes-Brown, a British-born lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years, and her husband Jim Brow...

A distinguished professor and decorated intelligence officer on 25 years of balancing academia and espionage, the value of scientific credentials in the field, and why diversity makes the CIA stronger. Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Dr. Les Paldy, a distinguished service Professor Emeritus at Stony Brook University who spent 25 years balancing two identities: university pr...

A former Army lieutenant colonel and Lincoln Project executive on why he's running for Congress, the "weight of leadership," and why the costs, chaos, and corruption of this administration are hitting home in Missouri. Host John Sipher sits down with Fred Wellman, a West Point graduate, former Army Lieutenant Colonel, and current Democratic candidate for Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. Well...

Veteran journalist Jeff Stein on the chilling effect of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suits, the purge of the intelligence community, and why he's "cautious" about the future. Host Jim Lawler sits down with Jeff Stein, the founding editor-in-chief of Spy Talk and a veteran journalist who has covered the intelligence community for over 40 years — and who earlier this year b...

A former U.S. Ambassador and Los Angeles Deputy Mayor on why local leaders are democracy's front line, how cities can resist authoritarianism, and what you can do to help. Host Lauren Anderson sits down with Ambassador Nina Hachigian, founder and CEO of the Alliance for Local Leaders International, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and connecting mayors and governors globally to solve shared cha...

A former CIA officer on China’s espionage successes, America’s IP losses, and the growing threat to the U.S. economy. Host John Sipher sits down with his former CIA colleague Glenn Chafetz, now Director of the 2430 Group, a nonprofit focused on state-sponsored espionage against the economy. Chafetz explains how technology has transformed espionage — from the days of clandestine meetings in parking...

A former CIA analyst and NSC director on the weaponization of the DNI, the decapitation of the NSC, and why dissent is no longer tolerated. Host Bree Fram, a retired Space Force colonel, sits down with Julia Curlee, a former CIA analyst with 25 years of experience who served as an National Security Council (NSC) director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a presidential daily intell...

A 22-year veteran of the CIA and Iran specialist on why the regime survives, the MOU disaster, the lessons of Iraq, and the history and humanity of Iranians. Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Mark Fowler, a decorated case officer and one of the most experienced Iran operations officers of his generation. Fowler explains what makes Iran such a uniquely demanding target — not b...

A former acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security on the damage being done to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and why he "never bets against America." Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Bruce Held, who served as Chief of Station on three continents, Special Assistant to two National Security Council principals, Director of DO...

A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel on height requirements that excluded 44% of women, the first maternity flight suit, and why "truth isn't afraid of transparency." In her debut as a co-host of the Steady State Sentinel, retired Space Force Colonel Bree Fram joins Lauren Anderson to interview retired Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Ruttenber, a senior pilot with over 3,000 flight hours. Their conve...

25-year CIA case officer and author Jim Lawler on the ten qualities of a top recruiter, the A.Q. Khan takedown, the Hanssen case, and why speaking truth to power matters more than ever. In this episode, host Lauren Anderson turns the tables on co-host Jim Lawler, a 25-year veteran of the CIA's clandestine service and the officer who led the takedown of the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network, an o...

The acclaimed military historian explains why conflict in Iran, Ukraine and the erosion of alliances point to a deeper crisis in American strategy and details the critical nature of the 2026 midterm elections. In the latest episode of the Steady State Sentinel, Phillips O'Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and one of the sharpest contemporary writers on war and...

Service, gut checks, the power of humanity in law enforcement, and why she said “yes” to The Steady State. In a format shift, host Peter Mina turns the microphone over to co-host Lauren C. Anderson to explore her origin story — from a childhood visit to the FBI where a tour guide told her girls can't be agents because “...they paint their fingernails," to serving as a senior executive in the FBI a...

A former U.S. Army officer, diplomat, and ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe on oath, duty, service beyond party, the collapse of institutional guardrails, and why rebuilding trust will take decades. Host Jim Lawler, a former senior CIA operations officer, sits down with Ambassador Charles A. Ray, a rare polymath who served 20 years in the U.S. Army (including two combat tours in Vietnam) followe...

Two former federal prosecutors on what the job is supposed to represent at its best, why Bob Mueller was the model, and the prosecutor’s unique duty to serve and protect the system itself. What does it mean to be a federal prosecutor when the client is the United States and the measure of success is not simply winning, but doing justice and doing it the right way? In the latest Steady State Sentin...

A former CIA chief of staff and White House Situation Room senior director warns that politicized intelligence can weaken national security by chilling truth telling, hollowing out institutions, and discouraging young talent from entering public service. Former senior CIA operations officer Jim Lawler sits down with Larry Pfeiffer, former senior director of the White House Situation Room and chief...

The fight to repair public service, Congress, and democratic accountability In this episode of The Steady State Sentinel, John Sipher speaks with veteran intelligence and counterterrorism official Russ Travers about the state of American democracy, the national security system, and his forthcoming book, Common Sense Take Two . Travers reflects on his 45-year career across the intelligence communit...

This special joint episode of the Steady State Sentinel and Mission Implausible brings together two podcasts focused on separating fact from manipulation, defending democratic institutions, and understanding real-world national security threats. Hosted by former CIA officers John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea, Mission Implausible examines the line between conspiracy theory and actual conspiracy, making...

A top pollster and an award-winning journalist break down who is self‑censoring, why Gen Z sees democracy differently, and whether the U.S. can reverse its authoritarian slide. Host Lauren C. Anderson, former senior FBI executive, sits down with pollster Stefan Hankin of Lincoln Park Strategies and journalist Joel Anderson of The Ringer and Slate ) to unpack a national poll released in March 2026....

A veteran LA Times correspondent on Trump’s assault on the press, the White House Correspondents' Dinner security scare, and the fight for truth in a fractured media era. In the latest episode of the Sentinel podcast, former CIA Operations Officer Margaret Henoch interviews Bob Drogin, a 38-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times. Drogin describes what he assesses as the Trump administration’s unpre...

A deep dive into FISA, modern surveillance authorities, and the growing tension between intelligence collection and civil liberties in the digital age. Former CIA Senior Officer Jim Petrila joins Peter Mina to break down the evolution of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the controversies surrounding Section 702, and the growing tension between national security surveillance and ci...

The Spoils System Returns, the Foreign Service Professional Association Is Crushed, and Why the Next President Will Be Handicapped In the latest episode of the Sentinel, Peter Mina interviews Ambassador Eric Rubin, a 38‑year Foreign Service veteran, former president of American Foreign Service Association and current Steady State board member. Rubin describes how the Trump administration has disma...