The DSR Network

Mossad’s got a killer new boss and the US is buying China-made drones. Jeff Stein and Jeanne Meserve drill down on both. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fiona Hill may have risen to public prominence during Donald Trump's first impeachment but there is much more to her story than just her time in the White House. In her new book "There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century", she describes her journey from a coal-mining town in Northern England to studying in Moscow and ultimately to serving three different Presid...

America's nuclear weapons submarine fleet has the capability to produce something like 40,000 Hiroshimas. But it is just one leg in our nuclear forces. What possible reason, asks our guest Joe Cirincione of the Quincy Institute, for possessing that kind of destructive force? For giving the president sole authority to launch a first strike? We discuss these and other nuclear modernization choices f...

The first report from the commission looking at ways to change the Supreme Court is out and its conclusions are...well, they seem to be thoughtful but unlikely to produce change in the near future. For folks concerned about the politicization of the court, that's a problem. Where do we go from here? We discuss with the Media Editor of SCOTUSblog & host of the "Words Matter" podcast, attorney and j...

Washington Post intelligence reporter Shane Harris discusses odd happenings in the spook world with Jeff Stein, and former Secret Service Special Agent Jonathan Wackrow analyses a new report on tanking morale in the uniformed division with Jeanne Meserve. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad...

President Biden is on the verge of a transformational victory... or is he. We discuss the state of the negotiations around his Build Back Better agenda and how Democrats can get this legislation on the President's desk with political commentator Karen Finney and Kavita Patel, former senior Obama White House official. This is a pivotal time and these negotiations will impact the lives of Americans...

Legendary ‘Condor’ author James Grady discusses James Bond’s evolving cinematic villains with Jeff Stein, and Jeanne Meserve digs into the massive hack of a far-right server with extremist expert Heidi Beirich. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Nichols has become an essential voice for audiences trying to make sense of current trends in American politics. His book "The Death of Expertise" was a landmark volume offering key insights into why our society was faltering. His latest, "Our Own Worst Enemy" continues the journey. For those hoping for a magical solution, a white knight, a top down solution for American political dysfunction,...

Trump China policy architect Peter Navarro was described by one of his colleagues as a "fucking sociopath." Trump China policy included looking the other way from human rights abuses, seeking trademarks for Ivanka's businesses and extreme Tweets. Biden's is evolving as something very very different--mature, multilayered and reflecting the complexity of the evolving relationship between the world's...

The Washington debate over whether and how much to invest in our infrastructure and our people has reached a telling and pivotal moment. We discuss the moment and where it is likely to lead with EJ Dionne of the Washington Post, Norm Ornstein of AEI and Dr. Kavita Patel, former of the Obama White House. Much hangs in the balance here and the real story is not coming out in the media or, often, out...

From Vietnam to Vienna, reported cases of Havana Syndrome are on the rise. Diplomats, intelligence officials and their families are experiencing debilitating symptoms including headaches, dizziness, nausea and memory loss. Dr. James Giordano, Professor of Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center, has been investigating Havana Syndrome since the first cases were reported a...

Most Americans don't give much thought to German politics--and that's a good thing given that when we once did it was because those politics were a disaster. But with the departure of Germany's chancellor of the past 16 years, Angela Merkel, it is time we did. Germany is not only a vital ally but thanks in large part to Merkel's leadership, it is a global leader of significance. What comes next in...

Time after time, COVID has delivered worst case scenarios. So why, now, would we rely on our hope that those scenarios--new variants, failures of leadership, new outbreaks--will not occur? Will the holidays bring people back together? Or will they see a worsening situation? What should our leaders be doing that they're not? What should we be doing to take care of ourselves? We talk with Pulitzer P...

Chinese espionage expert Matthew Brazil and Jeff Stein break down the controversy about Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley’s backchannel contact with his Chinese counterpart, and Jeanne Meserve and transnational crime expert Tom Sanderson discuss the emergence of Talibani Afghanistan as a terrorist state.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privac...

After 9/11, investigators concluded one of the factors that put America at risk was that only 57 percent of nominees for top national security positions had been confirmed by the Congress and were in place. Today, that number is just over 26 percent. Random holds on nominees for indefensibly political reasons are putting this country at risk. The two worst offenders? Senators Cruz and Hawley. We d...

“Into the Forest” by Rebecca Frankel is more than just one of the best books of the year, it is a revealing journey into what makes us human…the good, the bad, the noble and the horrific. It reads like a great novel and contains much of the drama and resonance you would expect from such a work but also is infused with the detail that comes of great journalism.  We speak with the author, former Exe...

In the news recently, reports that General Mark Milley sought to counsel Chinese leaders in way that might avoid accidental conflict have caused controversy. Was Milley doing his duty? Or was he undermining his commander-in-chief? Similarly, it is reported that Vice President Mike Pence sought counsel from former Vice President Dan Quayle about whether he could or should follow through on Presiden...

Extremism expert Kathleen Belew talks with Jeanne Meserve about new factors raising the potential for violence at Sept.18 Capitol protests, while former senior CIA ops official Dan Hoffman tells Jeff Stein that the Kabul collapse has given Al Qaeda and ISIS new life. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more a...

While Congress holds hearings questioning the Secretary of State about the conduct of America's exit from Afghanistan, it probably should also turn its attention to drawing the lessons of the 20 years of warfare, sacrifice and frustration that proceeded that exit. What might those lessons be? And what might come next for the Biden foreign policy team? We discuss with Kori Schake of the American En...

The midnight decision of the Supreme Court that basically allowed a technicality to sweep aside the constitutional right to an abortion that has been a fact of American life for half a century bodes very ill for the future of that institution and for the country. When Justice Brett Kavanaugh is the philosophical center of the court, you know we have entered a dark chapter in our history. The major...

In a riveting new memoir, former senior CIA officer Doug London celebrates a career in espionage, but in a lengthy conversation with host Jeff Stein, he offer candid, even brutal observations on how 20 years of counterterrorism warped the agency’s priorities and managers. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn m...

Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman knew when he went into the Trump White House to work on the National Security Council that he may be asked to do things that were "awful but lawful." As a serving army officer in those cases he would be obligated to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. But he also knew there was a line that he would not cross. He would not follow an unlawful order, he would no...

COVID. Wildfires in the west. Hurricanes in the Gulf and storms in the East. A women's right to choose under siege. A corrupted justice system. Economic inequality. Racial division. Democracy in the ICU. Any one of these crises would be a challenge for a generation. We face them all at once. The result is something like "the 2000 yard stare," the sign of a battle worn soldier unable to fight. But...

Author Craig Whitlock talks with Jeff Stein about US intelligence’s place in 20 years of lies and deception in Afghanistan, and Jeanne Meserve interviews Coast Guard Commandant Karl Schultz about a terror alert for the 9/11 anniversary. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

A lot of books have been written about Donald Trump and the Trump years president. Few have evoked the almost surreal atmosphere of those years as well as "I Alone Can Fix It," the history of the last year of the administration from Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker. We sit down with Carol Leonnig to discuss the book and what it has led her to conclude about the former pres...