National Security This Week

Host Jon Olson talks with retired FBI Special Agent E.K. Wilson, who led the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating young Americans who joined the al-Shabab terrorist group and their supporters. This episode originally aired on July 14th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Todd Lefko, a business leader who has been doing business in Russia for 32 years, about Russian politics and the Russian economy. This episode originally aired on July 7th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with John Patterson, who serves with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and they discuss humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as an element of American national security. This episode originally aired on June 30th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Art delaCruz, who leads the military veteran-centric disaster relief non-profit Team Rubicon. This episode originally aired on June 23rd 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Heather Conley, a senior leader at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about European security challenges. This episode originally aired on June 16th 2021.

Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Summer Forester from Carleton College about her research into the role women play in conflict zones. This episode originally aired on June 9th 2021

Host Jon Olson interviews Rear Admiral Mike Studeman, Director of Intelligence for the US Indo-Pacific Command.  This episode originally aired on June 2nd 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Charly Salonius-Pasternak with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs about Finnish, EU, and NATO defense policies. This episode originally aired on May 26th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with retired US Navy Captain Steve “Baron” Beck von Peccoz about US Navy carrier aviation and the Pacific Theater. This episode originally aired on May 19th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Mark Bell from the University of Minnesota about nuclear deterrence and new nuclear challenges.  This episode originally aired on May 12th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Jeff Ondich, who chairs the Department of Computer Science at Carleton College, about the nexus of cyber and national security. This episode originally aired on May 5th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson and retired US Navy Captain Will Clarke discuss military logistics and the global supply chain. This episode originally aired on April 28th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Tun Myint from the Carleton College Department of Political Science about the current situation in Myanmar. This episode originally aired on April 21st 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Mark Canning, a retired Foreign Service Officer with the State Department. They tap into his deep experience with the Korean peninsula and discuss both North and South Korea. This episode originally aired on April 14th 2021

This week, host Jon Olson talks with University of Minnesota Professor Michael Goldman. They discuss the international financial institutions that led to the development of the modern global economy, as well as changes to these institutions in the current era. This episode originally aired on April 7th 2021. 

Host Jon Olson talks with Lea Gabrielle, a former US Special Envoy who led the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, about US government efforts to defeat foreign propaganda by nation states and non-state actors alike. This originally aired on March 31st 2021 

Host Jon Olson talks with retired Navy Commander turned author Rick Campbell.  After his naval career, Campbell has found success as a military thriller author, penning such notable novels as The Trident Deception, Empire Rising, Ice Station Nautilus, Blackmail, Treason, and his latest release, Deep Strike. This originally aired on March 24th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Professor Alfred Montero about the political, economic, and security situation in Central and South America, and consider what the Biden Administration might pursue regarding American foreign policy in the region. This episode orginally aired on March 17th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Greg Marfleet, who holds the Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science chair at Carleton College. They discuss the first 50 days of the Biden Administration’s national security and foreign policy decision-making. This episode originally aired on March 10th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Captain Brad Gawboy, US Navy (Retired), and Mr. David Bruns. Both men served aboard US Navy nuclear-powered submarines and they discussed the role of submarines in support of American national security. This episode originally aired on March 3rd 2021.

Host Jon Olson talks with Lois Quam , President of Pathfinder International, about the role of health care for women in stabilizing societies in the developing world.  This episode originally aired on Feb. 24th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Bill James, President of the Minnesota Council of the Navy League of the United States. They discuss the role of the Navy League in supporting America’s four sea services—the US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard, and the US-flagged Merchant Marine. This episode originally aired on Feb. 17th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Minnesota’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Thom Petersen, about agriculture exports, international markets, and economic impacts on Minnesota. This episode originally aired on Feb. 10th 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Brigadier General Tim Kennedy, US Army (Ret.), who served as a senior officer in the Minnesota National Guard. They discuss how the National Guard is led, organized, and trained, and what missions service members perform both at home and abroad. This episode originally aired on Feb. 3rd 2021

Host Jon Olson talks with Bethany May, a former US Army Battalion Intelligence Officer with the 5th Special Forces Group who was deployed into northern Syria during the height of the counterinsurgency fight against the Islamic State. This originally aired on Jan. 27th 2021