CNA Talks: A National Security Podcast

This episode explores Semper AI. This large language model was developed to help augment marine operational thinking, without stripping away their experience, judgement or tacit knowledge. Further Reading CNA Talks: Morse Code Success Stories CNA: Center of AI and Autonomy

This episode covers recent CNA research on the impact of Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs on law enforcement operations. Guest Biographies Thomas Christoff is an expert on criminology, law, and justice. Christoff has extensive experiencing working with local and state law enforcement agencies, providing technical assistance in all facets of police operations. Heleana Melendez is an expert i...

This episode covers past and potential military cooperation between the People's Republic of China and Russia. Guest Biographies Elizabeth Wishnick  is an expert on Sino-Russian relations, People's Republic of China and Russian security policy, Asian security, polar strategy, and resource security. Dmitry Gorenburg is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, the Russian military, R...

This episode explores how Russia uses shadow fleet tactics to avoid Western sanctions, and the complexities of countering these tactics under maritime law. Guest Biographies Cornell Overfield is a specialist in the relationship between maritime law and foreign policy. At CNA, he has worked on projects covering Arctic security and economic activity, improved engagement with allies and partners, and...

The directors of the National Mass Violence Center join the show to discuss their work helping communities prepare for and recover from mass violence incidents. Guest Biographies Dr. Alyssa A Rheingold , Director of Response, Recovery, and Resilience at the National Mass Violence Center. Dr. Angela Moreland Director of the Improving Community Preparedness Division at the National Mass Violence Cen...

This episode covers Oregon's wildfire season and how a CNA tool provides a new resource for state emergency managers. Guest Biographies John Kearse III is a senior research specialist in CNA's Center for Emergency Management Operations. He has supported more than 10 critical incident analyzes, ranging from wildfires and floods to active shooters. Shaun Williams  is an expert in geographic informat...

This episode explores how Ukraine is using unmanned systems to disrupt Russian logistics on the Crimean Peninsula, and how this campaign is impacting the Russia-Ukraine war.  Guest Biographies Dmitry Gorenburg is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, the Russian military, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. Samuel Bendett's research focuses on Russian defen...

Joshua Tallis joins the show to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, his time as CNA's Scientific Analyst to the Chief of Naval Operations, and CNA's new Ally and Partner Security Affairs Program. Guest Biographies Joshua Tallis  is the director of CNA's Ally and Partner Security Affairs program, where he oversees research on foreign government strategies, operations, and capabilities to support US natio...

This episode examines how emergency managers can reap the benefits of AI tools while avoiding some of their pitfalls, like hallucinations. Guest Biographies Jamie Biglow is a Project Manager with CNA's Center for  Emergency Management Operations . She'll be speaking at the 2026 National Homeland Security Conference. Gregor Goodman is CNA's chief AI officer, acting as the end-to-end technology inte...

Over the past decade, China sought to deepen its ties with the Pacific Islands. This includes an effort to expand its footprint in the region's media landscape. Guest Biographies Heidi Holz  is a Senior Research Scientist in CNA's  China Studies Program . Her research focuses on People's Republic of China (PRC) strategic communications, propaganda, disinformation, and other global influence effort...

This episode examines various depictions of emergency management in Hollywood movies and asks what the consequences are of inaccurate portrayals.  Guest Biographies Heather Marshall is a Senior Research Specialist with CNA's Center for Emergency Management Operations. Sydney Stewart is an expert in emergency management and homeland security, specializing in large-scale incident planning and respon...

This episode examines the effort to revitalize America's shipping and shipbuilding capacity in the context of the current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. Guest Biographies Bill Komiss is an expert in economic analysis of operational energy and infrastructure. He specializes in statistical modeling of military construction projects and facility life cycles, as well as structural modeling of energy...

With the inauguration of Péter Magyar, Hungary has a new prime minster for the first time in 16 years. This episode explores what this means for the nation and for Europe. Guest Biographies Julian G. Waller is an expert in Russian political-military affairs, elite strategic decision-making, adversary systems of governance, and civil-military relations outside the West. He is also a scholar of the...

This episode covers Balance, a learning game that helps law enforcement supervisors protect the emotional well-being of their officers. Guest Biographies Brittany Cunningham is an expert in scientific research and analysis and has more than a decade of experience designing, implementing and managing rigorous research studies and evaluations at the local, state and national level.  Geoff Smith is a...

This episode explores CNA's Arsenal of Policy wargame, which is designed to explore opportunities to strengthen, improve, and expand the US defense industrial base (DIB).  Guest Biographies Sarah Fusco is a specialist in international and non-traditional security threats. Her work focuses on emergent security challenges such as increasing partner capabilities in maritime security and domain awaren...

Experts discuss how AI tools can address challenges in the field of criminal justice and how these tools can be used ethically. Guest Biographies Vivian Elliot is the Director of CNA's Center for Justice Research and Innovation . She is an expert in criminal justice and emergency preparedness. She specializes in law enforcement organizational reform; after-action analysis; training and technical a...

Iran has a new Supreme Leader for the first time in almost 37 years, Mojtaba Khamenei. This episode explores his background, education, and ideology. Guest Biographies Michael Connell is an expert in Persian-Gulf security-related issues, the armed forces of Iran, U.S.-GCC security cooperation, and adversary cyber policy and strategy. He has served as CNA's Field Analyst to Naval Forces Central Com...

This episode examines how the ubiquitous presence of drones in the Ukraine War has shaped the conflict. Guest Biographies Samuel Bendett (@sambendett) is an advisor with CNA's Russia Studies Program . His research focuses on Russian defense and technology developments; uncrewed, robotic and autonomous military systems; artificial intelligence; and Russian military capabilities.

As we enter the fifth year of war in Ukraine, experts from CNA's Russia Studies program sit down to discuss what the war has revealed about the Russian way of war. Guest Biographies Dmitry Gorenburg  is a Senior Research Scientist in CNA's  Russia Studies Program . He is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, the Russian military, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and i...

This episode covers the most recent wave of protests in Iran, what they mean for the government's stability, and how US regional allies are responding.  Guest Biographies Michael Connell is an expert in Persian-Gulf security-related issues, the armed forces of Iran, U.S.-GCC security cooperation, and adversary cyber policy and strategy. He has served as CNA's Field Analyst to Naval Forces Central...

The Oreshnik Comes to Belarus Belarus has become the latest stage for Russia's military ambitions, hosting the powerful Oreshnik missile system. We discuss the specifics of this missile system, and what this deployment means for NATO. Guest Biographies Decker Eveleth is an Associate Research Analyst with CNA's  Countering Threats and Challenges Program . He specializes in open-source analysis.  Ga...

CNA is committed to using the latest technology to help us deliver for our sponsors. In this episode, we discuss how we are integrating our LLM, Morse Code, into our research process. Guest Biographies Dr. Jonathan Schroden is the Chief Research Officer within the Office of the President at the CNA Corporation. In this role, he oversees CNA's Research Office, including the life cycle of research q...

This episode discusses the benefits of drone as first responder (DFR) programs for police departments and public safety offices. Guest Biographies Officer J. "Matt" Rowland is a 20-year veteran of the Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) located in Fort Wayne, IN. He was a founding member of the FWPD Air Support Unit (ASU) in 2017. He spent 15 years in the Operations division and served 6 years dur...

Experts discuss the Fourth Plenum of the 20th CCP Central Committee, where nine senior military officials were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party. Guest Biographies Michael Donmoyer is a Research Analyst with CNA's China Studies Program . Eduaro Jaramillo is an Associate Research Analyst with CNA's China Studies Program .   Further Reading CNA InDepth: Military Purges at China's Fourth Plen...

This episode examines a new CNA model that can help government officials optimally deploy unmanned systems, and how it overlaps with our existing tools. Guest Biographies Arpita Verma  is an expert in optimization, modeling, and simulation in CNA's  Data Science for Production Program . John Crissman  is an expert in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and natural language processi...