Fault Lines

Fault Lines welcomes Dr. Lenora Gant, NSI Advisory Board member and Distinguished Fellow and former Senior National Intelligence Officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. How does a diverse workforce increase America’s national security? What role do historically black colleges and universities play in preparing the next generation of national security leaders?&...

President Biden announced increased sanctions on Russia for their involvement in the SolarWinds hack and a withdrawal date for American troops in Afghanistan. Les, Loren, Jamil, and returning guest Rob Walker discuss whether the Biden administration is pushing back hard enough against Russia and leaving Afghanistan too soon. Will sanctions change Putin’s calculus? Does President Bid...

Fault Lines welcomes Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the book Isolationism: A History of America's Efforts to Shield Itself from the World .  What are the driving factors of American Isolationism throughout history? What lessons should President Biden learn from previous presidents? What is American Exceptionalism? Dr. Kupchan and host Les, ans...

The Biden administration is participating in indirect talks with Iran about the JCPOA and there are conversations swirling on the Hill about revising the 2001 AUMF.  Les, Jodi, Jamil, and Mike discuss how to get to a better deal with Iran and whether all the talk about the AUMF is for naught. Is it possible to get a good deal with Iran? What did "maximum pressure" achieve? Is there any chance...

Fault Lines welcomes Admiral James Stavridis, author of the book 2034: A Novel of the Next World War and contributing author of a white paper with the American Edge Project on National Security Policy. Should we expect a war with China? How do fiction and foreign policy work together? Where do emerging technologies play a role in all of this? Admiral Stavridis and host Lester M...

Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan recently held a meeting with their Chinese Counterparts in Alaska and the pandemic has been ravaging the globe for more than a year. Les, Loren, Jamil, and first time guest Rob Walker discuss what can we expect coming out of the Anchorage Summit and how the world looks different post-pandemic. How is the Biden administration trying to approach the relatio...

Fault Lines welcomes Andrew Natsios and Andy Card co-editors of Transforming Our World: President George H.W. Bush and American Foreign Policy .  What made President George H.W. Bush uniquely able to take on the challenges of the end of the Cold War?  Was there an underlying ideology driving President Bush’s foreign policy?  Can President Biden learn any lessons from the challe...

President Biden issued an executive order focused on enhancing the security of America’s supply chains and India purchased anti-aircraft weapons from Russia which may cause issues at the upcoming meeting of the Quad. Les, Jodi, Jamil, and Loren discuss how much the government should insert itself in the private sector in the name of national security and the status of the relationship between...

Fault Lines welcomes David Gordon, former Director of policy planning at the US State Department and co-author of Making U.S. Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class .  How different is "putting Americans first" to "America First"? Is American participation in the TPP impossible? Is domestic-foreign policy fusion advisable given polarization?  David and host Lester Munson, answer...

Fault Lines welcomes Nicole Perlroth, Cybersecurity report for the New York Times and author of This is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race .  How has the market for 0-days impacted our national security? How do you communicate the technological threat to a non-technical audience? Why isn't the US deterring cyberattacks effectively?  Nicole and host Lester Munson,...

The Biden Administration is open to reentering the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Jamil, Les, Loren, and Mike discuss what is necessary to actually prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and then pivot to Australia’s law which caused a standoff with Facebook. Should America ease sanctions to negotiate a new deal with Iran? Is Iran already too far down the nuclear path? Is Au...

Fault Lines welcomes Morgan Vina, former Chief of Staff to Ambassador Nikki Haley in her role as Permanent Representative to the United Nations. What can the Biden administration learn from President Trump’s failures and successes in Africa? How should we view the worsening violence in Ethiopia? Is Sudan a success story or is it too early to tell? Morgan and host Lester Munson, answer th...

President Biden may be new to the job but the foreign policy challenges haven’t slowed down. Les, Jamil, Jodi, and Michael discuss President Biden’s first foreign policy speech and how the ideals he laid out in it will be applied to the coup in Myanmar and protests in Russia. Is Biden really laying out a new foreign policy vision? Will his team be decisive or dithering? How sho...

Fault Lines welcomes multiple NSI authors for conversations about their recent publications. First, Les talks with NSI Visiting Fellow Matthew Ferraro about his backgrounder entitled  Decoding Deepfakes . After that, NSI has a conversation with NSI Visiting Fellow Vince Vitkowsky and Rachida Mecheri on their Law and Policy Paper entitled  Responding to China at the United Natio...

Fault Lines welcomes former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Bob Corker. What should a post-Trump GOP look like? Should the Senate vote to convict former President Trump? How should the Biden Administration think about Iran? All these questions and more on this very special episode of Fault Lines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

The Biden Administration is in full swing but what does that mean for foreign policy? Les, Jamil, Loren, and first time guest Amira Valliani talk about Making U.S. Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class and Biden’s first hundred days. Is a foreign policy focused on the middle class only about economics? Why isn’t Congress leading on foreign policy issues? What do the f...

Fault Lines welcomes David Adesnik , Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and John Hannah , Senior Counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to discuss  From Trump to Biden  a report which details the successes and failures of the Trump Administration and guidance for over 25 different areas of national security and foreign po...

This week, Congress contemplates how to respond to the attack on January 6th. Les, Loren, Jamil, and Jodi discuss how the legislative branch should move forward and news out of China that you may have missed. How should Congress deal with members who supported the riots? With time winding down on the Trump Administration, is impeachment moving fast enough? How is China capitali...

A mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of the electoral college vote. Les, Jamil, Loren, and returning guest Michael Gottlieb pick through the rubble and discuss the implications. How can America rebuild after this crisis? How does it impact our standing in the world? How will our adversaries use this against us? A...

Fault Lines welcomes back Jim Danoy, former Defense Intelligence Executive, NSI Visiting Fellow, and author of a recent NSI Law and Policy Paper entitled  Stopping the Spread: Pandemics, Warning, and the IC . What role should the IC have in warning about the next pandemic? Is the Department of Health and Human Services part of the IC? Can we afford to expand the mission of...

All eyes are on the NDAA because of President Trump’s veto but is the discussion focused on the right issues? Fault Lines welcomes Alex Gallo, Lindsay Rodman, and Moshe Schwartz, contributors to the recent NSI and Duco report  The U.S. Defense Industrial Base: Can it Compete in the Next Century?  Does China’s economic threat change the approach to its military threat?...

Fault Lines welcomes Megan Jaffer, a Founding Member of the Amazing Women of the Intelligence Community (AWIC) and host of the Iron Butterfly Podcast which just completed its first season. Who was the Iron Butterfly? What can we learn from the stories of 15 senior women in the Intelligence Community? What can we expect from the second season of Iron Butterfly? Megan and host Le...

The year is winding down but in Washington that means it’s time to argue about the NDAA and the legacy of the outgoing President. This week, Jamil, Loren, Les, and returning guest Michael Gottlieb discuss whether the NDAA will make it across the finish line and whether President Trump had any foreign policy wins during his four years. How did the NDAA become one of the only must pass bil...

Fault Lines welcomes Megan Brown, NSI Senior Fellow and author of a forthcoming NSI Law and Policy Paper on U.S. involvement in setting global technical standards for 5G and other future technologies. What are technical standards and why are they important? Is hawkishness against China bad for innovation? What can policymakers do to promote private sector participation in standards...

President-Elect Joe Biden begun to name his senior foreign policy staff to various Cabinet and White House positions. Les, Jamil, Jodi, and first time Guest Michael Gottlieb former Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to President Obama discuss Biden’s picks and how they might take on the rapidly evolving situation in Iran. What do these selections say about Biden’s Foreign Policy? Wh...