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In this episode, Kelly Brownell speaks with Jerold Mande, CEO of Nourish Science, adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, and former Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety at the USDA. They discuss the alarming state of children's health in America, the challenges of combating poor nutrition, and the influence of the food industry on public policy. The conversation explores the parallels between the tobacco and food industries and proposes new strategies for ensuring children reach adulthood in good health. Mande emphasizes the need for radical changes in food policy and the role of public health in making these changes. Transcript So, you co-founded this organization along with Jerome Adams, Bill Frist and Thomas Grumbly, as we said, to ensure every child breaches age 18 at a healthy weight and in good metabolic health. That's a pretty tall order given the state of the health of youth today in America. But let's start by you telling us what inspired this mission and what does it look like to achieve this in today's food environment? I was trained in public health and also in nutrition and in my career, which has been largely in service of the public and government, I've been trying to advance those issues. And unfortunately over the arc of my career from when I started to now, particularly in nutrition and public health, it's just gotten so much worse. Indeed today Americans have the shortest lifespans by far. We're not just last among the wealthy countries, but we're a standard deviation last. But probably most alarming of all is how sick our children are. Children should not have a chronic disease. Yet in America maybe a third do. I did some work on tobacco at one point, at FDA. That was an enormous success. It was the leading cause of death. Children smoked at a higher rate, much like child chronic disease today. About a third of kids smoked. And we took that issue on, and today it's less than 2%. And so that shows that government can solve these problems. And since we did our tobacco work in the early '90s, I've changed my focus to nutrition and public health and trying to fix that. But we've still made so little progress. Give us a sense of how far from that goal we are. So, if the goal is to make every child reaching 18 at a healthy weight and in good metabolic health, what percentage of children reaching age 18 today might look like that? It's probably around a half or more, but we're not quite sure. We don't have good statistics. One of the challenges we face in nutrition is, unfortunately, the food industry or other industries lobby against funding research and data collection. And so, we're handicapped in that way. But we do know from the studies that CDC and others have done that about 20% of our children have obesity about a similar number have Type 2 diabetes or the precursors, pre-diabetes. You and I started off calling it adult-onset diabetes and they had to change that name to a Type 2 because it's becoming so common in kids. And then another disease, fatty liver disease, really unthinkable in kids. Something that the typical pediatrician would just never see. And yet in the last decade, children are the fastest growing group. I think we don't know an exact number, but today, at least a third, maybe as many as half of our children have a chronic disease. Particularly a food cause chronic disease, or the precursors that show they're on the way. I remember probably going back about 20 years, people started saying that we were seeing the first generation of American children that would lead shorter lives than our parents did. And what a terrible legacy to leave our children. Absolutely. And that's why we set that overarching goal of ensuring every child reaches age 18 in good metabolic health. And the reason we set that is in my experience in government, there's a phrase we all use - what gets measured gets done. And when I worked at FDA, when I worked at USDA, what caught my attention is that there is a mission statement. There's a goal of what we're trying to achieve. And it's ensuring access to healthy options and information, like a food label. Now the problem with that, first of all, it's failed. But the problem with that is the bureaucrats that I oversaw would go into a supermarket, see a produce section, a protein section, the food labels, which I worked on, and say we've done our job. They would check those boxes and say, we've done it. And yet we haven't. And if we ensured that every child reaches age 18 at a healthy weight and good metabolic health, if the bureaucrats say how are we doing on that? They would have to conclude we're failing, and they'd have to try something else. And that's what we need to do. We need to try radically different, new strategies because what we've been doing for decades has failed. You mentioned the food industry a moment ago. Let's talk about that in a little more detail. You made the argument that food companies have substituted profits for health in how they design their products. Explain that a little bit more, if you will. And tell us how the shift has occurred and what do you think the public health cost has been? Yes, so the way I like to think of it, and your listeners should think of it, is there's a North star for food design. And from a consumer standpoint, I think there are four points on the star: taste, cost, convenience, and health. That's what they expect and want from their food. Now the challenge is the marketplace. Because that consumer, you and I, when we go to the grocery store and get home on taste, cost, and convenience, if we want within an hour, we can know whether the food we purchased met our standard there. Or what our expectations were. Not always for health. There's just no way to know in a day, a week, a month, even in a year or more. We don't know if the food we're eating is improving and maintaining our health, right? There should be a definition of food. Food should be what we eat to thrive. That really should be the goal. I borrowed that from NASA, the space agency. When I would meet with them, they said, ' Jerry, it's important. Right? It's not enough that people just survive on the food they eat in space. They really need to thrive.' And that's what WE need to do. And that's really what food does, right? And yet we have food, not only don't we thrive, but we get sick. And the reason for that is, as I was saying, the marketplace works on taste, cost and convenience. So, companies make sure their products meet consumer expectation for those three. But the problem is on the fourth point on the star: on health. Because we can't tell in even years whether it's meeting our expectation. That sort of cries out. You're at a policy school. Those are the places where government needs to step in and act and make sure that the marketplace is providing. That feedback through government. But the industry is politically strong and has prevented that. And so that has left the fourth point of the star open for their interpretation. And my belief is that they've put in place a prop. So, they're making decisions in the design of the product. They're taste, they gotta get taste right. They gotta get cost and convenience right. But rather than worrying what does it do to your health? They just, say let's do a profit. And that's resulted in this whole category of food called ultra-processed food (UPF). I actually believe in the future, whether it's a hundred years or a thousand years. If humanity's gonna thrive we need manmade food we can thrive on. But we don't have that. And we don't invest in the science. We need to. But today, ultra-processed food is manmade food designed on taste, cost, convenience, and then how do we make the most money possible. Now, let me give you one other analogy, if I could. If we were CEOs of an automobile company, the mission is to provide vehicles where people can get safely from A to point B. It's the same as food we can thrive on. That is the mission. The problem is that when the food companies design food today, they've presented to the CEO, and everyone gets excited. They're seeing the numbers, the charts, the data that shows that this food is going to meet, taste, cost, convenience. It's going to make us all this money. But the CEO should be asking this following question: if people eat this as we intend, will they thrive? At the very least they won't get sick, right? Because the law requires they can't get sick. And if the Midmanagers were honest, they'd say here's the good news boss. We have such political power we've been able to influence the Congress and the regulatory agencies. That they're not going to do anything about it. Taste, cost, convenience, and profits will work just fine. Couldn't you make the argument that for a CEO to embrace that kind of attitude you talked about would be corporate malpractice almost? That, if they want to maximize profits then they want people to like the food as much as possible. That means engineering it in ways that make people overeat it, hijacking the reward pathways in the brain, and all that kind of thing. Why in the world would a CEO care about whether people thrive? Because it's the law. The law requires we have these safety features in cars and the companies have to design it that way. And there's more immediate feedback with the car too, in terms of if you crashed right away. Because it didn't work, you'd see that. But here's the thing. Harvey Wiley.He's the founder of the food safety programs that I led at FDA and USDA. He was a chemist from academia. Came to USDA in the late 1800s. It was a time of great change in food in America. At that point, almost all of families grew their own food on a farm. And someone had to decide who's going to grow our food. It's a family conversation that needed to take place. Increasingly, Americans were moving into the cities at that time, and a brand-new industry had sprung up to feed people in cities. It was a processed food industry. And in order to provide shelf stable foods that can offer taste, cost, convenience, this new processed food industry turned to another new industry, a chemical industry. Now, it's hard to believe this, but there was a point in time that just wasn't an industry. So these two big new industries had sprung up- processed food and chemicals. And Harvey Wiley had a hypothesis that the chemicals they were using to make these processed foods were making us sick. Indeed, food poisoning back then was one of the 10 leading causes of death. And so, Harvey Wiley went to Teddy Roosevelt. He'd been trying for years within the bureaucracy and not making progress. But when Teddy Roosevelt came in, he finally had the person who listened to him. Back then, USDA was right across from the Washington Monument to the White House. He'd walk right over there into the White House and met with Teddy Roosevelt and said, ' this food industry is making us sick. We should do something about it.' And Teddy Roosevelt agreed. And they wrote the laws. And so I think what your listeners need to understand is that when you look at the job that FDA and USDA is doing, their food safety programs were created to make sure our food doesn't make us sick. Acutely sick. Not heart disease or cancer, 30, 40 years down the road, but acutely sick. No. I think that's absolutely the point. That's what Wiley was most concerned about at the time. But that's not the law they wrote. The law doesn't say acutely ill. And I'll give you this example. Your listeners may be familiar with something called GRAS - Generally Recognized as Safe. It's a big problem today. Industry co-opted the system and no longer gets approval for their food additives. And so, you have this Generally Recognized as Safe system, and you have these chemicals and people are worried about them. In the history of GRAS. Only one chemical has FDA decided we need to get that off the market because it's unsafe. That's partially hydrogenated oils or trans-fat. Does trans-fat cause acute illness? It doesn't. It causes a chronic disease. And the evidence is clear. The agency has known that it has the responsibility for both acute and chronic illness. But you're right, the industry has taken advantage of this sort of chronic illness space to say that that really isn't what you should be doing. But having worked at those agencies, I don't think they see it that way. They just feel like here's the bottom line on it. The industry uses its political power in Congress. And it shapes the agency's budget. So, let's take FDA. FDA has a billion dollars with a 'b' for food safety. For the acute food safety, you're talking about. It has less than 25 million for the chronic disease. There are about 1400 deaths a year in America due to the acute illnesses caused by our food that FDA and USDA are trying to prevent. The chronic illnesses that we know are caused by our food cause 1600 maybe a day. More than that of the acute every day. Now the agency should be spending at least half its time, if not more, worrying about those chronic illness. Why doesn't it? Because the industry used their political power in Congress to put the billion dollars for the acute illness. That's because if you get acutely ill, that's a liability concern for them. Jerry let's talk about the political influence in just a little more detail, because you're in a unique position to tell us about this because you've seen it from the inside. One mechanism through which industry might influence the political process is lobbyists. They hire lobbyists. Lobbyists get to the Congress. People make decisions based on contributions and things like that. Are there other ways the food industry affects the political process in addition to that. For example, what about the revolving door issue people talk about where industry people come into the administrative branch of government, not legislative branch, and then return to industry. And are there other ways that the political influence of the industry has made itself felt? I think first and foremost it is the lobbyists, those who work with Congress, in effect. Particularly the funding levels, and the authority that the agencies have to do that job. I think it's overwhelmingly that. I think second, is the influence the industry has. So let me back up to that a sec. As a result of that, we spend very little on nutrition research, for example. It's 4% of the NIH budget even though we have these large institutes, cancer, heart, diabetes, everyone knows about. They're trying to come up with the cures who spend the other almost 50 billion at NIH. And so, what happens? You and I have both been at universities where there are nutrition programs and what we see is it's very hard to not accept any industry money to do the research because there isn't the federal money. Now, the key thing, it's not an accident. It's part of the plan. And so, I think that the research that we rely on to do regulation is heavily influenced by industry. And it's broad. I've served, you have, others, on the national academies and the programs. When I've been on the inside of those committees, there are always industry retired scientists on those committees. And they have undue influence. I've seen it. Their political power is so vast. The revolving door, that is a little of both ways. I think the government learns from the revolving door as well. But you're right, some people leave government and try to undo that. Now, I've chosen to work in academia when I'm not in government. But I think that does play a role, but I don't think it plays the largest role. I think the thing that people should be worried about is how much influence it has in Congress and how that affects the agency's budgets. And that way I feel that agencies are corrupted it, but it's not because they're corrupted directly by the industry. I think it's indirectly through congress. I'd like to get your opinion on something that's always relevant but is time sensitive now. And it's dietary guidelines for America. And the reason I'm saying it's time sensitive is because the current administration will be releasing dietary guidelines for America pretty soon. And there's lots of discussion about what those might look like. How can they help guide food policy and industry practices to support healthier children and families? It's one of the bigger levers the government has. The biggest is a program SNAP or food stamps. But beyond that, the dietary guidelines set the rules for government spending and food. So, I think often the way the dietary guidelines are portrayed isn't quite accurate. People think of it in terms of the once (food) Pyramid now the My Plate that's there. That's the public facing icon for the dietary guidelines. But really a very small part. The dietary guidelines are meant to help shape federal policy, not so much public perception. It's there. It's used in education in our schools - the (My) Plate, previously the (Food) Pyramid. But the main thing is it should shape what's served in government feeding programs. So principally that should be SNAP. It's not. But it does affect the WIC program- Women, Infants and Children, the school meals program, all of the military spending on food. Indeed, all spending by the government on food are set, governed by, or directed by the dietary guidelines. Now some of them are self-executing. Once the dietary guidelines change the government changes its behavior. But the biggest ones are not. They require rulemaking and in particular, today, one of the most impactful is our kids' meals in schools. So, whatever it says in these dietary guidelines, and there's reason to be alarmed in some of the press reports, it doesn't automatically change what's in school meals. The Department of Agriculture would have to write a rule and say that the dietary guidelines have changed and now we want to update. That usually takes an administration later. It's very rare one administration could both change the dietary guidelines and get through the rulemaking process. So, people can feel a little reassured by that. So, how do you feel about the way things seem to be taking shape right now? This whole MAHA movement Make America Healthy Again. What is it? To me what it is we've reached this tipping point we talked about earlier. The how sick we are, and people are saying, 'enough. Our food shouldn't make us sick at middle age. I shouldn't have to be spending so much time with my doctor. But particularly, it shouldn't be hard to raise my kids to 18 without getting sick. We really need to fix that and try to deal with that.' But I think that the MAHA movement is mostly that. But RFK and some of the people around them have increasingly claimed that it means some very specific things that are anti-science. That's been led by the policies around vaccine that are clearly anti-science. Nutrition is more and more interesting. Initially they started out in the exact right place. I think you and I could agree the things they were saying they need to focus on: kids, the need to get ultra-processed food out of our diets, were all the right things. In fact, you look at the first report that RFK and his team put out back in May this year after the President put out an Executive Order. Mostly the right things on this. They again, focus on kids, ultra-processed food was mentioned 40 times in the report as the root cause for the very first time. And this can't be undone. You had the White House saying that the root cause of our food-caused chronic disease crisis is the food industry. That's in a report that won't change. But a lot has changed since then. They came out with a second report where the word ultra-processed food showed up only once. What do you think happened? I know what happened because I've worked in that setting. The industry quietly went to the White House, the top political staff in the White House, and they said, you need to change the report when you come out with the recommendations. And so, the first report, I think, was written by MAHA, RFK Jr. and his lieutenants. The second report was written by the White House staff with the lobbyists of the food industry. That's what happened. What you end up with is their version of it. So, what does the industry want? We have a good picture from the first Trump administration. They did the last dietary guidelines and the Secretary of Agriculture, then Sonny Perdue, his mantra to his staff, people reported to me, was the industries- you know, keep the status quo. That is what the industry wants is they really don't want the dietary guidelines to change because then they have to reformulate their products. And they're used to living with what we have and they're just comfortable with that. For a big company to reformulate a product is a multi-year effort and cost billions of dollars and it's just not what they want to have to do. Particularly if it's going to change from administration to administration. And that is not a world they want to live in. From the first and second MAHA report where they wanted to go back to the status quo away from all the radical ideas. It'll be interesting to see what happens with dietary guidelines because we've seen reports that RFK Jr. and his people want to make shifts in policies. Saying that they want to go back to the Pyramid somehow. There's a cartoon on TV, South Park, I thought it was produced to be funny. But they talked about what we need to do is we need to flip the Pyramid upside down and we need to go back to the old Pyramid and make saturated fat the sort of the core of the diet. I thought it meant to be a joke but apparently that's become a belief of some people in the MAHA movement. RFK. And so, they want to add saturated fat back to our diets. They want to get rid of plant oils from our diets. There is a lot of areas of nutrition where the science isn't settled. But that's one where it is, indeed. Again, you go back only 1950s, 1960s, you look today, heart disease, heart attacks, they're down 90%. Most of that had to do with the drugs and getting rid of smoking. But a substantial contribution was made by nutrition. Lowering saturated fat in our diets and replacing it with plant oils that they're now called seed oils. If they take that step and the dietary guidelines come out next month and say that saturated fat is now good for us it is going to be just enormously disruptive. I don't think companies are going to change that much. They'll wait it out because they'll ask themselves the question, what's it going to be in two years? Because that's how long it takes them to get a product to market. Jerry, let me ask you this. You painted this picture where every once in a while, there'll be a glimmer of hope. Along comes MAHA. They're critical of the food industry and say that the diet's making us sick and therefore we should focus on different things like ultra-processed foods. In report number one, it's mentioned 40 times. Report number two comes out and it's mentioned only once for the political reasons you said. Are there any signs that lead you to be hopeful that this sort of history doesn't just keep repeating itself? Where people have good ideas, there's science that suggests you go down one road, but the food industry says, no, we're going to go down another and government obeys. Are there any signs out there that lead you to be more hopeful for the future? There are signs to be hopeful for the future. And number one, we talked earlier, is the success we had regulating tobacco. And I know you've done an outstanding job over the years drawing the parallels between what happened in tobacco and food. And there are good reasons to do that. Not the least of which is that in the 1980s, the tobacco companies bought all the big food companies and imparted on them a lot of their lessons, expertise, and playbook about how to do these things. And so that there is a tight link there. And we did succeed. We took youth smoking, which was around a 30 percent, a third, when we began work on this in the early 1990s when I was at FDA. And today it's less than 2%. It's one area with the United States leads the world in terms of what we've achieved in public health. And there's a great benefit that's going to come to that over the next generation as all of those deaths are prevented that we're not quite seeing yet. But we will. And that's regardless of what happens with vaping, which is a whole different story about nicotine. But this idea success and tobacco. The food industry has a tobacco playbook about how to addict so many people and make so much money and use their political power. We have a playbook of how to win the public health fight. So, tell us about that. What you're saying is music to my ears and I'm a big believer in exactly what you're saying. So, what is it? What does that playbook look like and what did we learn from the tobacco experience that you think could apply into the food area? There are a couple of areas. One is going to be leadership and we'll have to come back to that. Because the reason we succeeded in tobacco was the good fortune of having a David Kessler at FDA and Al Gore as Vice President. Nothing was, became more important to them than winning this fight against a big tobacco. Al Gore because his sister died at a young age of smoking. And David Kessler became convinced that this was the most important thing for public health that he could do. And keep in mind, when he came to FDA, it was the furthest thing from his mind. So, one of it is getting these kinds of leaders. Did does RFK Jr. and Marty McCarey match up to Al Gore? And we'll see. But the early signs aren't that great. But we'll see. There's still plenty of time for them to do this and get it right. The other thing is having a good strategy and policy about how to do it. And here, with tobacco, it was a complete stretch, right? There was no where did the FDA get authority over tobacco? And indeed, we eventually needed the Congress to reaffirm that authority to have the success we did. As we talked earlier, there's no question FDA was created to make sure processed food and the additives and processed food don't make us sick. So, it is the core reason the agency exists is to make sure that if there's a thing called ultra-processed food, man-made food, that is fine, but we have to thrive when we eat it. We certainly can't be made sick when we eat it. Now, David Kessler, I mentioned, he's put forward a petition, a citizens' petition to FDA. Careful work by him, he put months of effort into this, and he wrote basically a detailed roadmap for RFK and his team to use if they want to regulate ultra-processed stuff food. And I think we've gotten some, initially good feedback from the MAHA RFK people that they're interested in this petition and may take action on it. So, the basic thrust of the Kessler petition from my understanding is that we need to reconsider what's considered Generally Recognized as Safe. And that these ultra-processed foods may not be considered safe any longer because they produce all this disease down the road. And if MAHA responds positively initially to the concept, that's great. And maybe that'll have legs, and something will actually happen. But is there any reason to believe the industry won't just come in and quash this like they have other things? This idea of starting with a petition in the agency, beginning an investigation and using its authority is the blueprint we used with tobacco. There was a petition we responded, we said, gee, you raised some good points. There are other things we put forward. And so, what we hope to see here with the Kessler petition is that the FDA would put out what's called an advanced notice of a proposed rulemaking with the petition. This moves it from just being a petition to something the agency is saying, we're taking this seriously. We're putting it on the record ourselves and we want industry and others now to start weighing in. Now here's the thing, you have this category of ultra-processed food that because of the North Star I talked about before, because the industry, the marketplace has failed and gives them no incentive to make sure that we thrive, that keeps us from getting sick. They've just forgotten about that and put in place profits instead. The question is how do you get at ultra-processed food? What's the way to do it? How do you start holding the industry accountable? Now what RFK and the MAHA people started with was synthetic color additives. That wasn't what I would pick but, it wasn't a terrible choice. Because if you talk to Carlos Monteiro who coined the phrase ultra-processed food, and you ask him, what is an ultra-processed food, many people say it's this industrial creation. You can't find the ingredients in your kitchen. He agrees with all that, but he thinks the thing that really sets ultra-processed food, the harmful food, is the cosmetics that make them edible when they otherwise won't I've seen inside the plants where they make the old fashioned minimally processed food versus today's ultra-processed. In the minimally processed plants, I recognize the ingredients as food. In today's plants, you don't recognize anything. There are powders, there's sludges, there's nothing that you would really recognize as food going into it. And to make that edible, they use the cosmetics and colors as a key piece of that. But here's the problem. It doesn't matter if the color is synthetic or natural. And a fruit loop made with natural colors is just as bad for you as one made with synthetics. And indeed, it's been alarming that the agency has fast tracked these natural colors and as replacements because, cyanide is natural. We don't want to use that. And the whole approach has been off and it like how is this going to get us there? How is this focus on color additives going to get us there. And it won't. Yeah, I agree. I agree with your interpretation of that. But the thing with Kessler you got part of it right but the main thing he did is say you don't have to really define ultra-processed food, which is another industry ploy to delay action. Let's focus on the thing that's making us sick today. And that's the refined carbohydrates. The refined grains in food. That's what's most closely linked to the obesity, the diabetes we're seeing today. Now in the 1980s, the FDA granted, let's set aside sugar and white flour, for example, but they approved a whole slew of additives that the companies came forward with to see what we can add to the white flour and sugar to make it shelf stable, to meet all the taste, cost, and convenience considerations we have. And profit-making considerations we have. Back then, heart disease was the driving health problem. And so, it was easy to overlook why you didn't think that the these additives were really harmful. That then you could conclude whether Generally Recognized as Safe, which is what the agency did back then. What Kessler is saying is that what he's laid out in his petition is self-executing. It's not something that the agency grants that this is GRAS or not GRAS. They were just saying things that have historical safe use that scientists generally recognize it as safe. It's not something the agency decides. It's the universe of all of us scientists generally accept. And it's true in the '80s when we didn't face the obesity and diabetes epidemic, people didn't really focus on the refined carbohydrates. But if you look at today's food environment. And I hope you agree with this, that what is the leading driver in the food environment about what is it about ultra-processed food that's making us so sick? It's these refined grains and the way they're used in our food. And so, if the agency takes up the Kessler petition and starts acting on it, they don't have to change the designation. Maybe at some point they have to say some of these additives are no longer GRAS. But what Kessler's saying is by default, they're no longer GRAS because if you ask the scientists today, can we have this level of refined grains? And they'd say, no, that's just not Generally Recognized as Safe. So, he's pointing out that status, they no longer hold that status. And if the agency would recognize that publicly and the burden shifts where Wiley really always meant it to be, on the industry to prove that there are foods or things that we would thrive on, but that wouldn't make us sick. And so that's the key point that you go back to when you said, and you're exactly right that if you let the industry use their political power to just ignore health altogether and substitute profits, then you're right. Their sort of fiduciary responsibility is just to maximize profits and they can ignore health. If you say you can maximize profits, of course you're a capitalist business, but one of the tests you have to clear is you have to prove to us that people can thrive when they eat that. Thrive as the standard, might require some congressional amplification because it's not in the statute. But what is in the statute is the food can't make you sick. If scientists would generally recognize, would say, if you eat this diet as they intend, if you eat this snack food, there's these ready to heat meals as they intend, you're going to get diabetes and obesity. If scientists generally believe that, then you can't sell that. That's just against the law and the agency needs them to enforce the law. Bio:   Jerold Mande is CEO of Nourish Science; Adjunct Professor of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University. Professor Mande has a wealth of expertise and experience in national public health and food policy. He served in senior policymaking positions for three presidents at USDA, FDA, and OSHA helping lead landmark public health initiatives. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama as USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. In 2011, he moved to USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, where he spent six years working to improve the health outcomes of the nation's $100 billion investment in 15 nutrition programs. During President Clinton's administration, Mr. Mande was Senior Advisor to the FDA commissioner where he helped shape national policy on nutrition, food safety, and tobacco. He also served on the White House staff as a health policy advisor and was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Health at the Department of Labor. During the George H.W. Bush administration he led the graphic design of the iconic Nutrition Facts label at FDA, for which he received the Presidential Design Award. Mr. Mande began his career as a legislative assistant for Al Gore in the U.S. House and Senate, managing Gore's health and environment agenda, and helping Gore write the nation's organ donation and transplantation laws.  Mande earned a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in nutritional science from the University of Connecticut. Prior to his current academic appointments, he served on the faculty at the Tufts, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and Yale School of Medicine.

From August 27, 2024: On today's episode, Sherri Goodman, the Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security and the first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) joins Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien to talk about Sherri's new book, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security.”They discuss Sherri's career in climate security, beginning at the Senate Armed Services Committee before “climate security” entered the lexicon. From there, they trace Sherri's career educating a generation of military leaders about the nexus between climate change and national security and coining the phrase “threat multiplier,” helping to usher in a paradigm shift at the Pentagon. Sherri addresses skeptics wary of a perceived tradeoff between military readiness and greening the military, as well as others who warn against “securitizing” climate change. Finally, they look ahead, as Sherri lays out her four main pillars of climate action (mitigation and adaptation) and institutional reform (awareness and alliance building).To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of our Trade series, Nick and Goldy talk with Thea Lee, former Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor, to challenge the core assumption behind decades of U.S. trade policy: That trade is about efficiency, not power. Lee explains how past trade deals were written to protect capital while ignoring worker exploitation abroad—a model that suppressed wages overseas and undercut American workers at home. She also makes the case that worker-centered trade isn't hypothetical anymore by pointing to the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), where labor rights were finally enforced with the same seriousness as intellectual property, resulting in real wage gains and democratic union elections in Mexico. This conversation lays out the choice clearly: Trade can strengthen middle classes, democracy, and supply chain resilience, or it can deepen inequality and instability. This episode makes the argument for choosing the first option on purpose, not by accident. Thea Lee is an economist and longtime advocate of pro-worker trade policy who most recently served as Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor,  where she focused on global labor protections, including enforcing labor rights under trade agreements and combating forced and child labor worldwide. Todd Tucker is a political scientist, author, and the Director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute and Roosevelt Forward, where he leads work on how national and global institutions shape economic transformation. He's the author of Judge Knot: Politics and Development in International Investment Law. Social Media: @theameilee.bsky.social @TheaMeiLee @toddntucker.com @toddntucker Further reading:  The New US Trade Agenda: Institutionalizing Middle-Out Economics in Foreign Commercial Policy Judge Knot: Politics and Development in International Investment Law Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

In an era of profound geopolitical upheaval and sharpening rivalries, this session will examine the critical juncture at which Türkiye and Europe stand. In his address to the IIEA, His Excellency Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, will set out Türkiye's vision for a reinvigorated strategic partnership with the European Union. He will address the future of enlargement, defense and security cooperation, trade, and energy security as well as the wider regional challenges that define the European and global landscape. The discussion will underscore Türkiye's pivotal role as a strategic partner and the urgent need for Europe and Türkiye to forge a common strategic horizon grounded in stability, resilience, and shared interests. Speaker bio: Hakan Fidan has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs since the presidential elections in May 2023. Prior to his current role, Minister Fidan held critical positions in the state administration in foreign policy and security domains. He served as the President of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, Deputy Undersecretary responsible for foreign policy and security issues at the Prime Ministry, Board Member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Undersecretary/Director of the National Intelligence Organization, and Special Representative of the President. Having graduated from the Turkish Military Academy and the Land Forces Language School, Minister Fidan pursued a significant part of his academic studies during his service in the Turkish Armed Forces. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland University College and master's and doctoral degrees from the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University. Following his service in the Turkish Armed Forces, Minister Fidan lectured in the field of international relations at Hacettepe University and Bilkent University.

"The climate crisis has roots in fossil fuels, but at the same time, fossil fuels fund this Russian invasion to Ukraine. So it means this is a fossil fuel war. If we will actually fight against our overall actually dependency on fossil fuels in the same way we will fight against climate change." Svitlana Krakovska on Electric Ladies Podcast The climate emergency is a security threat, and a “threat multiplier,” as former Defense Undersecretary Sherri Goodman has written. Looking at security in the same way as it has been is no longer working. The old view leaves us very vulnerable. Some of the greatest challenges to human security have unexpected connections to climate change. Are world leaders are truly prepared to meet this moment? Listen to this live recording of this “Fireside Chat on Climate Security” at The Earth Day Women's Summit at Earthx2025 moderated by Electric Ladies Podcast's Joan Michelson that uncovers the issues at the intersection of climate change, security and sustainability. You'll hear from Svitlana Krakovska, a top climate scientist from Ukraine Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of Earth Charter International Secretariat & Center for Education for Sustainable Development Joan Michelson, Executive Producer of The Earth Day Women's Summit and host of Electric Ladies Podcast. “We are looking at business and economy and make bigger decisions without looking at it through a lens that sees the interconnectedness of all these social and environmental challenges. [We have] to expand our planetary consciousness and deepen our ethical responsibility with the wellbeing of humans across cultures and nations.”   Mirian Vilela on Electric Ladies Podcast   You'll also like: Food, Fashion & Ag vs. Climate Change – from The Earth Day Women's Summit 2025, with top scientists and innovators in these fields What's The Role Of Business Today In Addressing The Climate Crisis? - from The Earth Day Women's Summit 2025, with top business leaders Rewriting The Climate Conversation – from The Earth Day Women's Summit 2025, with top communicators, including a Hollywood producer and conservative voice Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, on climate change as a security threat. Joan Michelson's Forbes article on How Climate Change Is Reshaping Global Security And The Military. Joan Michelson's Forbes article on A New Security Mindset: From Women On The Frontlines. Read more of Joan's Forbes articles here. More from Electric Ladies Podcast!  JUST LAUNCHED: Join our global community at electric-ladies.mykajabi.com! For a limited time, be a member of the Electric Ladies Founders' Circle at an exclusive special rate.  Elevate your career with expert coaching and ESG advisory with Electric Ladies Podcast. Unlock new opportunities, gain confidence, and achieve your career goals with the right guidance. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, articles, events and career advice – and special coaching offers. Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and Spotify and leaving us a review!  Don't forget to follow us on our socials Twitter: @joanmichelson LinkedIn: Electric Ladies Podcast with Joan Michelson Twitter: @joanmichelson Facebook: Green Connections Radio

Economist Brent Neiman recently returned to UChicago from his position as Deputy Undersecretary for International Finance at The US Treasury, only to find his research being used (and misused) in the Trump administration's sweeping new tariff policy. In this episode, Neiman walks us through what the original study actually showed, how it got misinterpreted, and why today's tariff regime marks one of the most consequential trade shifts in decades.

“While the word ‘climate' may be politically charged for some, the need for affordable, reliable, and secure energy is something we can all agree on. Americans are calling for action, and as Members of Congress it's our responsibility to deliver. If we want long-term solutions that address both our constituents' concerns and growing climate risks, we must work together to strengthen our energy and climate security with urgency.” Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan to Electric Ladies Podcast  This week, Congress is set to debate legislation that could reshape the United States' energy landscape. At stake is more than $700 million in climate action and clean energy investments from the Inflation Reduction Act that was intended to benefit the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What will the impact be if that funding is withdrawn. Listen to Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and co-chair of the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, a rare example of cooperation on Capitol Hill. She's also co-chair of the Women in STEM Caucus, which is also bipartisan. She shares insights into how to build bipartisanship, address the climate crisis and energy needs – as well as the threat that political polarization poses to keeping communities and critical infrastructure safe from extreme weather events. You'll hear about: How Pennsylvania's political landscape shapes the path of climate legislation What the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus is doing to advance the clean energy transition How extreme weather events can open the door to bipartisan climate action Why Congresswoman Houlahan's leadership with the Women in STEM Caucus matters Plus, insightful career advice  “Recognize that whatever you choose to do right now is not the end decision for the rest of your life. When you look backwards it's going to make sense, but when you look forward, it's going to be a crooked line. It's not going to be a straight line to somewhere, so do not to be too hard on yourself, do not try to seek perfection.” Chrissy Houlahan on Electric Ladies Podcast You'll also like: Most Americans Want Climate Action, Study Says. How To Bridge The Political Divide, ELP Host Joan Michelson's article that includes Congresswoman Houlahan. Women Rewriting The Climate Conversation, a panel from The Earth Day Women's Summit moderated by Joan Michelson Hilary Doe, Michigan's Chief Growth Office on how the state is turning IRA Credits into Growth Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, on how New York is leading the way to the clean energy future. Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, on why climate change is an issue of national security. Joan Michelson's Forbes article on Fossil Fuels, War And Climate: Women On The Frontlines Call For A New Security Mindset Read more of Joan's Forbes articles here. More from Electric Ladies Podcast!  JUST LAUNCHED: Join our global community at electric-ladies.mykajabi.com! For a limited time, be a member of the Electric Ladies Founders' Circle at an exclusive special rate.  Elevate your career with expert coaching and ESG advisory with Electric Ladies Podcast. Unlock new opportunities, gain confidence, and achieve your career goals with the right guidance. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, articles, events and career advice – and special coaching offers. Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and Spotify and leaving us a review! Don't forget to follow us on our socials Twitter: @joanmichelson LinkedIn: Electric Ladies Podcast with Joan Michelson Twitter: @joanmichelson Facebook: Green Connections Radio

“We did lots of infrastructure investments over the last handful of years to make sure our communities are in the best possible place they can be. And we complemented federal investment with workforce investment to ensure Michiganders are getting access to those kinds of roles, some of which didn't even exist previously. [This ensures] that Michigan communities could benefit from learning to be solar installers and get access to new economic income streams.” Hilary Doe on Electric Ladies Podcast The Justice Department is suing Michigan over its climate initiatives under the Clean Air Act. Michigan has the fastest-growing clean energy job sector in the U.S., with over 120,000 clean energy jobs. In addition, a recent study ranked Michigan at limited risk from climate change-related events, so it may attract millions of Americans who may relocate to escape extreme climate events. Listen to Hilary Doe, Michigan's first Chief Growth Officer (and the first in the country) on Electric Ladies Podcast with Joan Michelson. She describes how Michigan rapidly leveraged the Inflation Reduction Act to increase their climate resilience, economic growth and innovation. Now, Michigan is rated as one of the best places to live, work, raise a family and start a business. You'll hear about: Michigan's efforts to position itself as a climate-resilient and clean energy hub. The state's fast growing startup ecosystem and innovation centers, particularly in clean tech and mobility. The impact of climate change on businesses and the trend of "climate migration" to Michigan and the Midwest. Strategies for retaining and attracting talent, including new programs like "Make My Home". Plus, insightful career advice.  “Many folks start to experience frustration because they have built such a wealth of expertise and have so much to offer, but they might feel just stuck. In my experience, when I've been able to jump off that ladder and pursue something, a different context, a different platform, that lets me get unstuck. It's risky, but sometimes it just unlocks so much passion in an individual that to do exactly what you're meant to do and share all your gifts and be more successful than maybe you could have been in the other context.” Hilary Doe on Electric Ladies Podcast You'll also like: Tensie Whelan, Founding Director of NYU Stern on why sustainable business is good business.  Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, on how New York is leading the way to the clean energy future. Jennifer Granholm, 16th U.S. Secretary of Energy, gives three reasons why clean energy is here to stay. Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, on why climate change is an issue of national security. Joan Michelson's Forbes article on Communicating Creatively On Climate To Save Lives. Read more of Joan's Forbes articles here. More from Electric Ladies Podcast! JUST LAUNCHED: Join our global community at electric-ladies.mykajabi.com! For a limited time, be a member of the Electric Ladies Founders' Circle at an exclusive special rate.  Elevate your career with expert coaching and ESG advisory with Electric Ladies Podcast. Unlock new opportunities, gain confidence, and achieve your career goals with the right guidance.  Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, articles, events and career advice – and special coaching offers. Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and Spotify and leaving us a review! Don't forget to follow us on our socials Twitter: @joanmichelson LinkedIn: Electric Ladies Podcast with Joan Michelson Twitter: @joanmichelson Facebook: Green Connections Radio

On today's program: Lt. General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, FRC's Executive Vice President and former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, analyzes President Trump and Vice President Vance's Oval Office meeting with President Zelensky and

Episode 117 examines the intersection of climate change, national security, and irregular warfare, with a particular focus on how environmental changes are reshaping global security challenges from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. Our guests begin by exploring pivotal moments in the evolution of environmental security and its impact on national defense policy. They then discuss how climate-related changes affect military operations and strategic partnerships, particularly in the Pacific region. The conversation continues with an analysis of how both state and non-state actors leverage environmental crises in irregular warfare tactics. They conclude by offering policy recommendations for addressing climate security challenges and building resilient international partnerships. Sherri Goodman is a Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and Polar Institute. As the former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security, she coined the term "threat multiplier" to describe climate change's impact on national security. She has served on numerous advisory boards and is the author of "Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security." Ambassador John Hennessey-Niland is a Professor of Practice at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. As the former U.S. Ambassador to Palau, he brings extensive experience in Pacific region affairs. His previous roles include serving as the foreign policy advisor to the Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, and he has held various diplomatic positions across Europe and the Pacific, providing him with unique insights into the intersection of environmental security and irregular warfare.

Herman Pirchner is the president of the American Foreign Policy Council, which was founded back in 1982 in Washington to provide some well thought out perspectives on foreign policy questions. In 1982, Herman was the president of the American Foreign Policy Council, and today more than forty years later he remains as the president of this important and distinguished group. Herman has held other significant positions as well, senior Senate staff, and as director of the national security team advising former presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The AFPC, the American Foreign Policy Council, also publishes a great deal of material from is senior fellows and senior management in the form of monographs and books and shorter papers for briefings. Herman has hosted hundreds of delegations from foreign countries to come to the United States to meet senior American political leaders. And likewise, he has sent these senior American political leaders to foreign countries to meet with their peers. He did this for quite a few years in China, and likewise in Russia, and has done it for the last 10 years in Ukraine, a country with which he is very familiar, and to which he has traveled often. Herman has also written a good deal. Two of his books particularly pertain to the topic. One was a work in 2004, which shows the kind of prescience that Herman exercises or possesses, Reviving Greater Russia: The Future of Russia's Borders with Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine. He is also the author of Post Putin: Succession, Stability, and Russia's Future, which is also available in Russian and Ukrainian. Stephen Bryen has also held senior Senate staff positions, including for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and he has excelled in both the private sector and the government sector. For many years he was one of the senior civilian employees at the Department of Defense, a position in which he gained the highest award given by the Department of Defense to civilians, not once but twice. I am speaking of the Distinguished Service Medal. Dr. Bryen is particularly expert on technology and strategy, and as such has been contributing to other Westminster shows on China, Japan, Taiwan, as well as on Russia and Ukraine. I should also mention that he was the executive director of a grassroots political organization, the head of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, and in the Pentagon he served as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Trade Security Policy. Dr. Bryen is also a frequent contributor on foreign policy matters in his own column, which appears usually a couple of times weekly, in which he gives his sometimes unique perspective on the burning questions of the day, including Russia and Ukraine, so we are delighted he is also back here with us to further debate the future of Ukraine.

The impact of climate change on the world around us is there for everyone to see—from stronger and more frequent storms to the loss of Arctic Sea ice.  But Sherri Goodman says the threat isn't just to crops or the polar bears, but to American national security. Sherri Goodman, Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and Polar Institute, and Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security, is credited with educating a generation of US military and government officials about the nexus between climate change and national security, using her famous coinage, “threat multiplier,” to fundamentally reshape the national discourse on the topic. Sherri serves as Vice Chair of the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board and on the EXIM Bank's Council on Climate. A former first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) and staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Goodman has founded, led, or advised nearly a dozen research organizations on environmental and energy matters, national security, and public policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode, Sherri Goodman, the Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security and the first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) joins Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien to talk about Sherri's new book, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security.”They discuss Sherri's career in climate security, beginning at the Senate Armed Services Committee before “climate security” entered the lexicon. From there, they trace Sherri's career educating a generation of military leaders about the nexus between climate change and national security and coining the phrase “threat multiplier,” helping to usher in a paradigm shift at the Pentagon. Sherri addresses skeptics wary of a perceived tradeoff between military readiness and greening the military, as well as others who warn against “securitizing” climate change. Finally, they look ahead, as Sherri lays out her four main pillars of climate action (mitigation and adaptation) and institutional reform (awareness and alliance building).To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/c/trumptrials.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Honorable Thea Lee, Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs (ILAB) at the U.S. Department of Labor, joins Madam Policy hosts Dee Martin and Ihna Mangundayao to talk about her important work influencing policy through economics and promoting workers' rights globally. As a leader at the forefront of both domestic and foreign policy, Deputy Undersecretary Lee explains how economics and economic research inform her work in policy, from the seafood industry to child labor prevention, and the importance of putting workers' rights front and center when creating workplace evaluation protocols. Want to hear the story of how Thea debated a Nobel Laureate during the NAFTA negotiations? Strategies to end forced labor and social auditing under authoritarian regimes? Then tune in!

Former Navy U.S. Seal and founder of the private military company Blackwater Erik Prince says that “We are fighting wars the wrong way.” Stephen Bryen is known as the “Yoda” of the Arms Trade. Time Magazine comments, “He knows every sinkhole in the regulatory swamp. Ignore him at your peril." He is also a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense and founder of the Defense Technology Security Administration. This week, we are discussing Erik's new paper “Too Big to Win: How the Military and Industrial Complex and the Neocons Keep America Losing.” One of the central questions posed by Prince – How has America transitioned from a post-Cold War era of dominance to its current state of disarray? Follow us: Website: https://www.thebillwaltonshow.com   

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms. Welcome to the Tacos and Tech Podcast, where we interview innovative builders and leaders.   This week I am THRILLED to bring back our one-on-one interview format with the Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Derrick Brent.  Derrick joined me in conversation while attending the AUTM conference in San Diego. We immediately bonded over innovation ecosystem building and music. Listen in to our conversation to understand why now it's all hands on deck for the U.S. to lead in innovation especially in intellectual property.   Subscribe and share this podcast to enable us to tell great stories about great people.

There is an event later today, if you are looking to start a business. It is focusing on entrepreneurship for members of the military or their spouses. Joining that summit will be the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To learn more, Federal News Network's Eric White talked with Derrick Brent, Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Deputy Director at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There is an event later today, if you are looking to start a business. It is focusing on entrepreneurship for members of the military or their spouses. Joining that summit will be the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To learn more, Federal News Network's Eric White talked with Derrick Brent, Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Deputy Director at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About the Speaker: Jim Carter is a Senior Fellow with the America First Policy Institute's Center for American Prosperity. Previously, as Director, he oversaw the Center's operations, including research and policy development impacting economic growth, tax and budget policy, regulation, trade, and labor productivity. For nearly a decade, Jim was Vice President of Government Affairs at Emerson, a diversified global manufacturing and technology company based in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to managing Emerson's global, federal, and state government affairs, Mr. Carter's lobbying portfolio included tax policy, international trade, and management of the company's political action committee. Before joining Emerson, Mr. Carter served in the Bush and Clinton Administrations, as a senior staff member on the Senate Budget Committee, and as a policy advisor to former Senators John Ashcroft, Sam Brownback, and Connie Mack. Jim has served as a Deputy Undersecretary at the Department of Labor, a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury, and Associate Director of the National Economic Council at the White House. While at the Treasury Department, he received the Secretary of the Treasury's “Exceptional Service Award” and a separate award for his work on behalf of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Mr. Carter has been published more than 200 times on fiscal policy, economics, and other public policy matters for leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller, and USA Today. He is a frequent speaker, including as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University and as a lecturer in the Public Management program at Johns Hopkins University. Jim is a 2014 recipient of Johns Hopkins University's “Excellence in Teaching” award. He also appeared in season three of House of Cards, playing a U.S. senator. Jim recently served on the board of directors for both the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the National Capital Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. He is a former president of the Business-Government Relations Council, a non-profit organization that seeks to increase governmental awareness of the role of business in national affairs. He holds degrees from George Mason University and Truman State University.

Christine Linke Young, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health and Veterans Affairs, on the ACAJoelle Gamble, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, and Kirabo Jackson, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, on the Consumer Price IndexBen Miller, Deputy Undersecretary at the Department of Education, on student loan debtAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Lieutenant General (Ret.) William “Jerry” Boykin led warriors at all levels in the US Army through some of the most dangerous and complex missions over 36 years. He was one of the original members of the U.S. Army's commando unit and led the Army's Green Berets and the Special Warfare Center and School. Later, he was the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and now is the Executive Vice President of the Family Research Council in Washington. I personally served with him in the Army and have witnessed his unusual level of courage, both on the battlefield and in the public arena. His faith has been an inspiration to me for decades, and even in the face of threats on his life, he does not back down and is not intimidated. You'll hear:What it was like to join the Army during one of its most challenging periods in historyMiracles he witnessed on the battlefield, including 45 commandos walking out of a ball of fire aliveOur stories about the honor of talking to Soldiers in Mogadishu about their faithWhat it was like to become a terrorist targetWhat he's doing now to help shape the soul of our country being torn apart at the seamsOrder Boykin's books:Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and FreedomThe Warrior Soul: Five Powerful Principles to Make You a Stronger Man of GodMan to Man: Rediscovering Masculinity in a Challenging WorldStrong and Courageous: A Call to Biblical ManhoodLeave a review of this podcast on your favorite platform; it helps us get these stories out to more people who need to hear them! To give specific feedback directly to us on what you like about the podcast and what you don't, fill out this 5-minute survey.Don't let fear win. Get your FREE copy of the Unbeatable Army Survival Guide HERE.

Deputy Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, Gloria Montano Greene

The U.S. Department of Defense has over 100,000 engineers working on some of the most innovative and critical technology projects in the world. In fact Dr. David Honey, Deputy Undersecretary for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), calls it a "STEM-powered enterprise."Within the Department, the USD(R&E) serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), leads research across 14 critical technology areas, develops partnerships with select universities on advanced projects, oversees research initiatives by collaborative entities, and plays the important role as advisor to the rest of the Department on matters related to science, technology, engineering and more.We had the unique privilege to sit down with Dr. Honey to explore this work and how it ties back to STEM education in so many critical ways. Educators, be prepared to hear some fascinating opportunities for your students, as well as gain access to resources you can use in your own classrooms and labs.3 Big Takeaways from this episode:If you're in STEM, you're pretty much future-proof: STEM workers are becoming more critical every day. From maintaining our current technology base to designing tech of the future, the U.S. needs more STEM-focused students. Educators and parents: continue to provide hands-on opportunities for students to pursue their interest in STEM areas.These three characteristics make for an ideal engineer at the Department of Defense: Commitment to lifelong learning (learn, grow and keep your skills sharp); desire to be creative (vision what the future could look like, and get to work on it); tie yourself to a mission that is bigger than you (like mankind's race to the moon, good engineers are driven by a purpose outside themselves).There isn't any area of STEM that isn't relevant to the work of the Department of Defense: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math - each plays a critical role in the DoD's work, especially through the 14 critical technology areas, which include biotechnology, quantum science, trusted AI and autonomy, hypersonic, integrated sensing and cyber, and more (see link below for full list).Resources Mentioned in this EpisodeLearn more about the USD(R&E): https://www.cto.mil/Read more about the 14 critical technology areasDiscover the UARCs and their research focusFind STEM Education resources for educators and studentsInnovation Pathways at USD(R&E)Connect with USD(R&E) online:Twitter  |  LinkedInConnect with DoD STEM online:Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Facebook  |  InstagramInstagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

[00:30] From Madison to Mussolini? (34 minutes) Donald Trump has stated that when he regains the presidency, he will fire some unelected Deep State bureaucrats and actually oversee the alphabet agencies within the executive branch. The response from Morning Joe is typical of the regime media as a whole: Host Joe Scarborough and historian Michael Beschloss called the plan “fascist,” “un-American” and going “from Madison to Mussolini.” As president, Barack Obama weaponized the federal government and used executive actions to get around Congress without facing any media backlash—but Trump is Mussolini for wanting to rein in the all-powerful, out-of-control administrative state. [33:50] News of the Work: SEP (5 minutes) [38:50] The Bible: Our Guidebook for Living (16 minutes) The Bible is God's instruction book to teach mankind how to live. Studying and implementing God's Word in our lives is the only way to true happiness and success.

Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety, Sandra Eskin.

Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin.

In this episode of Moments in Leadership, host David B. Armstrong spends time with DUSN Victor Minella, otherwise referred to as “Dozen” where they spend time discussing various topics related to leadership from his enlisted time, his officer time, and finally in civilian leadership inside the Department of the Navy. DUSN Minella covers the importance of leadership in making organizations successful and the differences/similarities in leading civilians and military personnel. DUSN Minella emphasizes leaders should seek to understand their personnel as individuals and not merely names on a chart. He also believes the best organizations are those where everyone is held to the same standard, especially on the ethical side.  To make this happen, he stresses the importance of compassion and understanding junior personnel will make mistakes, the important thing is to understand why the mistake happened and ensure the person is still a member of the team.  While every leader is responsible for setting the culture and foundation, the episode also covers the need for ethical leadership to ensure personnel Live Their Oath. DUSN Minella says unethical leaders are one of the quickest ways to erode trust in a command and more broadly, citizens' trust towards the military.  The trust of people is firstly forged from competence and leaders must be able to triage and quickly learn. The transition from military to civilian removes the bonafides of the uniform and rolling up one's sleeves and getting involved helps in gaining trust and showing competence in the job. Losing military identity can be overcome by having job satisfaction, so picking the right job, and not just ‘a job' is vitally important in helping service members make their transition outside the military.  DUSN Minella discusses the role of the Senior Executive Service is to be an executive and not specifically to task but to give guidance when needed and support when warranted. Oftentimes being the ‘easy answer' fails to create teams where initiative becomes a part of the organizational culture. The role of innovation is critical to solving some of the most important issues facing warfighters today. Fostering a culture of mentorship, communication, and innovative ‘maverick' thought allows an organization to be agile and responsive to the needs of these warfighters.  DUSN Minella discusses how being ‘All-In' is essential for maximizing both individual opportunities and improving National Security. The commitment and the Oath means being ‘All-In' for the United States.     Overall, the episode is an insightful discussion about leadership, the importance of mentorship, and the need for leaders to build relationships with their subordinates. Thank you for supporting the project (below) Please consider supporting this project on Supercast: Moments In Leadership Supercast  Want to support the project AND look cool at the gym or when you take your blouse off for a working party? Grab a cool tee shirt here from Mission Essential Gear, where every order supports this project AND donates back to Patrol Base Abbate  Be sure to check out the sponsor of this show Fieldseats.com for virtual reviews of great firearms, optics and gear where at the end of the virtual review, they give theitem away to an attendee. Be sure to use CODE: “LETHALMINDS” for 10% off the registration to a virtual review and check out their Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts @filed_seats  [Terms and Conditions apply] Relevant Resources & Other Mentioned Episodes: [ADD REFERENCES AND USE THE LINKS IN SEPARATE DOCUMENT IN GOOGLE DRIVE TITLED  DUSN's Dozens: Live your Oath Be bold be kind Exercise Urgency Always OverprepareKnow your audience Be Genuine Be a StorytellerBe Brief Be Gone Be uncomfortableBe a Mentor AlwaysValue Enthusiasm Celebrate Opportunity and Success   Marine Corps Training and Education 2030 Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet, Captain U.S. Navy (Ret) (not an affiliate link) What is Moments in Leadership?Moments in Leadership is a podcast where you will hear firsthand about the careers of senior military leaders as they share their unique and individual experiences. Moments in Leadership will immerse you in real-life stories where you will learn about the challenging situations these accomplished leaders faced and discover the lessons they learned early in their careers that were the most influential in developing their overall leadership style.  Conceptualized by a group of friends who served together as young officers in the early to mid-1990s sitting around a firepit telling funny leadership stories, Moments in Leadership is designed to provide some relatable context to the formal leadership training leaders of all ranks and services receive throughout their military careers through the power of storytelling. Why Should You Support this project? I realize all of the leaders who listen to the episodes are at different levels of life, and my goal is to be able to have this project remain free and available to anyone who wants it and your donations help go towards that. Your donations go towards offsetting my costs of producing high-quality episodes. Additionally, since this is a part-time hobby project for me, I'm forced to outsource a good deal of work to others to maintain a regular publishing schedule. Your donations help offset these costs as well.  Check out my Supercast site and see if any level is a good fit for helping:  Connect with Us:Visit the Moments in Leadership website: Follow us on Instagram: Follow us on Twitter: Email us: themiloffice@gmail.com Other Podcasts Interviews with David B. ArmstrongScuttlebutt Podcast EP 38Former Action Guys Podcast EP 161 Former Action Guys Podcast EP 141 Former Action Guys Podcast EP 60 Former Action Guys Podcast EP 54  About the Host:David B. Armstrong, CFA, is President and Co-Founder of Monument Wealth Management, an independent wealth management firm he started in 2008 in Alexandria, Va. David received his BA from the University of South Carolina in Government & International Relations and his MBA at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business in International Finance. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Navy ROTC program and served on Active Duty in the Marine Corps from 1990-1997 as an Artillery Officer and then received a secondary MOS as a Tank Officer. He re-entered the Selected Marine Corps Reserves in 2003 and served in several billets across the Artillery, Tank, and Light Armored Reconnaissance communities. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in late 2018.

I'm always fascinated by people who begin careers in one field, then pivot to something different. It shows our complexity as humans, our flair for creativity, and our uncanny ability to reinvent ourselves constantly. In this next S.O.S. episode, hear from Jared Johnson, who decided after two decades in the Air Force flying fighter airplanes, he would embark on an entirely different path examining one of the biggest issues facing our planet - the future of our food. Namely,  the unsustainable and inhumane process by which nations produce it. Jared Johnson has made a career of translating his leadership and problem-solving skills across multiple domains, from operational project management to international affairs specialist and from executive-level leader to political affairs strategist.   As an executive, Jared is known for his ability to develop a shared vision, foster a culture of trust, and coach colleagues from entry level up to senior-leader level.  He is at his best when breaking down complex ideas into digestible chunks to enable decision-making or align messaging with internal and external stakeholders. Jared cut his teeth in dynamic operations as a fighter pilot and graduated from leading multi-disciplinary organizations of up to 250 team members.  In his role in the office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, he developed a policy in support of a $216B portfolio.  He succeeded by first listening, then carving through the technical fog and political minefields to create practical solutions for over 100 international partners.  Jared executed his vision by connecting dots from the Pentagon to the White House, and from Europe to the Indo-Pacific.  He was privileged to engage with senior governmental leaders around the world in this process.   Since exiting the Air Force, Jared remains committed to a life of service.  By examining the most enduring issues facing society, he turned his attention to the food system and its many intersectional challenges.  His dream is to disrupt the food system to create a more just planet for people and animals. After a couple of decades working in Germany, South Korea, India, and the southern and western United States, Jared is happy to return to Virginia.  He loves to experience live music with his family and especially cherishes when they pick up some of the many instruments around the house to play together! He has volunteered in environmental conservation as a foster parent for the City of Alexandria, shoveling hay with a farm sanctuary and hitting the polls with a non-partisVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com

Innovation it is said, is the enemy of efficiency. The Deputy Undersecretary for USDA's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean, is an innovator. She is investing her energy in making food more accessible to people with limited opportunities and on this week's edition of Food First Michigan you will hear from her about how she is innovating processes and programs to help people get the food they both want and need.

In this episode Rick Dunn, former DARPA General Counsel and pioneer of DoD's Other Transactions (OTs) authority, talks with Bill Greenwalt, a long time Senate Staffer and former Deputy Undersecretary, who was instrumental in the creation of Middle Tier Acquisition, and bolstering the power and potential of OTs, about the intent to create an alternative acquisition system to better deliver the fruits of DoD's R&D activities.  "The leadership, the military services are suffering from an incredible amount of delusional thinking." - Bill GreenwaltThis is a terrific discussion between two long time mission-driven professionals who delivered solutions to the Department.  However, leadership remains committed to an inept "Soviet-style" acquisition system, while restricting the workforce's ability to learn and apply the numerous solutions and Congressionally directed to use.   The business-as-usual crowd vehemently resists the creation of an alternative to the "costs too much, takes to long" system, characterized by waste and poor performance, thus stifling the DoD's ability to deliver thoughtful, intelligent solutions in a timely and appropriate manner.  Among the points touched upon, is that the current system is a relic from the middle of the last century and an outmoded mindset,  insider thinking has become delusional, using speed as metric, looking to what has worked and much more...If you care about supporting the warfighter, delivering solutions for national security, and the intersection of federal R&D and it's effects our nation's future and fate, this podcast should not be missed.  

In February, 2023, the US Department of Agriculture announced plans to streamline and modernize WIC - the Women Infants and Children Program focused on supplemental nutrition. We'll talk about the future of WIC today with Stacy Dean, the Deputy Undersecretary for USDA's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. Interview Summary   So you play a key role in these really important programs. So let's start by describing why modernizing WIC and SNAP - especially regarding the shopping experience is so important.   I'd be happy to. I think we should start with what are these programs just to level set. SNAP used to be known as food stamps and it is our country's largest food assistance program. It helps about 42 million people and 22 million households afford groceries. We provide that benefit through what looks like a credit card or a debit card and we call it electronic benefit transfer or EBT. And WIC, of course, is a program supplemental to SNAP that offers specific foods for pregnant and postpartum women, infants and toddlers. SNAP can be used to purchase any food in the grocery store, whereas WIC is a specific prescription food package. So your question about why is moving to online shopping so important? I think the bottom line is this administration really believes government services must be designed and delivered with a focus on the actual experience and needs of people they serve. The way Americans shop and pay for food has evolved in recent years and we have so many choices now as consumers. We want to make sure that those choices are extended to households who are using SNAP or WIC to pay for food.   Just the vast numbers of people that are touched by these programs is really impressive. Even a small change in the way the program is administered would have a big impact because so many people are affected. Let's talk a little bit more about the shopping experience. I gather there is a tension now to how customers can move to a more digital experience. While that might seem like an easy thing, it's a pretty big deal, isn't it?   That's right. Moving to online shopping, but more importantly online payment, has been a little bit sticky. But, we are so pleased with our retail partners who have helped us make this work. The real issue is does the store have a platform to order food and then a platform to accept payment. A lot of the stores who participate in these programs don't have that available. So, we've been trying to work with them to make sure that they're ready to take payment through electronic means.   That can make a big difference in people's lives. I can imagine convenience, some people not having access to transportation to get to stores, people who are homebound, ill. There are a lot of people that could have this effect the way they shop, isn't that right?   That's absolutely right. We want to make sure that our program participants have choices. You gave some great examples of how they might deploy those choices keeping themselves safer maybe by wanting to pick up the food and not go into the store. That was incredibly important during the pandemic. Another issue is SNAP participants are incredibly thrifty shoppers. The ability to search around for the best price point and the best quality is really important. If you have limited transportation, if it costs you money because you have to take a cab or pay a friend to get to the grocery store, you want to make sure that trip is going to be really worthwhile. Online shopping offers that as a basic enhancement and allows I think our benefit dollars to stretch even further.   You mentioned one barrier to the online shopping and it's just that the systems may not be set up for various food vendors. Are there other barriers online shopping for WIC and mobile payments on SNAP?   SNAP online shopping has been an option. It was originally a small option starting in about 2020 and it has really grown. But WIC is going to be a little bit different because in the WIC programs, states manage the relationships with retailers. Whereas in SNAP, it's USDA that manages that relationship. We've got to work with each of our state and tribal governments who operate WIC. They have to turn around and create those payment relationships with our grocers. So imagine your Kroger or Publix or some other large chain, you've got to work out individual payment relationships with each of the states that you operate in. That will probably flow us down a little bit, but there's incredible enthusiasm for offering this option. I would imagine the first few states will be a little tricky and then hopefully they will sort out how to make this work and we will see it move quickly across the country. Another barrier that is worth pointing out is that there are lots of stores across the country, particularly small, independent-owned businesses who don't have an online shopping platform. We are really trying to do a lot of work to figure out how we make sure we bring them in and that we're supporting them because we don't want large stores with an online footprint crowding out small independent stores.   I can understand the enthusiasm. Has there been discussion of how the food vendors might change the way they do things as a program this large might come online? Let's fast-forward to that time when this program is available. Would you see potentials for the vendors to change the way they market their foods, the way they price their foods, the way they deliver their foods? Do you think anything might change on their end that might affect people's experience?   There are two ideas that come to mind. As I mentioned, the WIC food package is a prescription package. It's designed specifically for the age of the child or whether the mother's pregnant or postpartum. So right now, if a shopper's moving through the store, they've got to move through the whole store and find the individual WIC foods. Wouldn't it be fantastic if you were ordering online and there was just basically a WIC room with everything right there and you wouldn't have to sift through and find items? I think that would add incredible convenience to the program. In SNAP, retailers have the opportunity to offer incentives or discounts on certain foods like fruits and vegetables. You could imagine if the retailer knew through an online forum that a shopper was a SNAP participant, it could really highlight the discounts around healthy foods, which would improve the shopping experience, I think.   That would be so helpful. I could even see potentially some entrepreneuring tech people finding a way to alert shoppers to where things are cheapest, given that there might be multiple places a person could ultimately shop online. If you want to buy food A, this online tech thing might be able to tell you that that food costs this much at this store and that much at that store and that might make the shopping experience even easier. I'm just thinking ahead, but I wonder if something like that might not be possible ultimately.   Well, I'd love that in my own life. I think that would be great to offer to our program participants. I think another enhancement that I would love, we haven't yet embarked on this journey at USDA, but we have this incredible tool called MyPlate that helps translate the dietary guidelines into recipes and shopping lists. All of the advice we offer is targeted to a budget consumer, someone who's buying food with our program benefits. I would really like that to be something that helps people in the shopping aisle or while they're online, right? This sort of interactive example - hey, I want this recipe, where are the food items? And again, it would be pulling those budget conscious choices for our consumers. There's a lot of opportunity for us to improve the shopping experience for our program participants.   The SNAP program has already seen advancements in this online shopping sphere. How successful has that been?   It's really been remarkable. In March, 2020, we had about 35,000 SNAP households shopping online across the whole country. When the pandemic hit, USDA and states knew that they had to accelerate the rolling out of the online shopping pilot. Today, we have about 4 million households are shopping online or about 9% of SNAP purchases overall are happening online. That's a tremendous growth over a short period of time. Of course, there were all kinds of innovations and changes during the pandemic provoked by the emergency and this is one that I think is an incredible enhancement and we want to see grow even more.   Well, that's pretty impressive growth, as you said. Why isn't it higher than 9% though? If this is available, why aren't more using it?   I don't think that's that far out of line with the overall norm for all consumers. Many shoppers still in fact shop at their local grocery store and most of our redemptions are happening at big grocery stores, big box stores. It's probably the case that many participants have that kind of convenient shopping available to them. But for those who don't, online shopping is a tremendous enhancement.   Just a little bit from my own personal experience. When the pandemic came about and I started using delivery services like Instacart for having groceries delivered, when I was able to shop at stores again and started comparing prices to what was available online and what I was paying at the store, it was more online, like five, 10, 15% even in some cases. Is there any way to prevent that problem occurring so that people who do choose to shop online might not have to pay more than people who are going to the actual store? I mean, of course there's the built-in cost of having things delivered, but beyond that, the store was also charging more.   Well, again, I put a lot of faith in our program participants. They are very savvy shoppers and they are living on an incredibly tight budget. I'm pretty sure they're going to be shopping where prices are the best for them. You were comparing maybe your local grocery store to online in your personal experience, but it's also true for some of our program participants, right? They may only have a not particularly well-stocked convenience store in their neighborhood or they may live in a very remote or rural area where there's one store and it's pretty far away. There's just different context to their choice than what you or I might be doing.   Bio Stacy Dean was appointed by President Biden to serve as the Deputy Under Secretary for USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services where she will work to advance the President's agenda on increasing nutrition assistance for struggling families and individuals as well as tackling systemic racism and barriers to opportunity that have denied so many the chance to get ahead. Prior to joining President Biden's Team at USDA, Dean served as the Vice President for Food Assistance Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). She directed CBPP's food assistance team, which published frequent reports on how federal nutrition programs affect families and communities and developed policies to improve them. In addition to her work on federal nutrition programs, Dean directed CBPP efforts to integrate the delivery of health and human services programs at the state and local levels. Before joining CBPP, she worked as a budget analyst at the Office of Management and Budget. Dean earned her B.A. and master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan.  

Seg 1 – An Inside Look at Jimmy Carter – with Senior Political Analyst Tim DonnerSeg 2 – Whitewashing Presidential History – with Senior Political Analyst Tim DonnerSeg 3 – A New Nuclear Arms Race? – with former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Comptroller Dave PattersonSeg 4 – Talking Liberty – Baldwin Gets a Win – with Constitutional Attorney Scott D. Cosenza

In this month's episode of the American Blue Economy Podcast, host Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, PhD, US Navy (ret) explores the many benefits of biotechnology to the American Blue Economy, Drawing from his recent article in Real Clear Science, 7 Technologies Revolutionizing Our Understanding of the Ocean | RealClearScience, he is assisted by 4 of his former colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These exceptional experts include: Dr. Kelly Goodwin, ‘Omics lead for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Dr. Luke Thompson, Associate Research Professor with NOAA's Northern Gulf Institute at Mississippi State University and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorologic Laboratory; Dr. Jeanette Davis, a Marine Microbiologist, bestselling author, and Policy Advisor to the Deputy Undersecretary at NOAA; and Dr. Krista Nichols, Genetics and Evolution Program Manager at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center and NOAA's Omics Working Group Vice Chair. Be ready to be marveled by the magnificent field of marine microbiology in the American Blue Economy!

In this VA benefits themed episode, SMA Jack Tilley welcomes to the show Cheryl Rawls, the Veterans Benefit Administration's Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement, for a great conversation on benefits for vets within the American Rescue Plan, women vet issues and the VA's Solid Start program. During this episode, you'll hear Cheryl's passion for making sure all vets have a great transition, starting with the need to enjoy the many VA benefits earned through service. And, yes, as always, SMA Tilley shares a couple of great stories during the episode! Thank you for listening, joining the community and making this Your Next Mission! For more information, please visit YourNextMission.org. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yournextmission/message

I've heard it said that, “If serving is below you, then leadership is beyond you.” Remember the words of Mark 10:45 which remind us that the greatest leader to ever walk the face of the earth, being Jesus, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Our Built Different Guest today is truly a man after God's own heart who has a love and devotion for sacrificing his life for the service of others. General William Boykin is a true American Hero having accumulated one of the most decorated military careers spending 36 years in the army, 13 of which were spent in the Delta Force, and the last 4 years having served as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. General Boykin truly has a heart for shaping strong leaders and warriors both on and off the battlefield. Yes, he's been a part of and lead several high-profile missions such as the Iran Hostage Rescue attempt and even the Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu, Somalia, but this man has a heart for building champions for Christ. Spiritually speaking, we are in a fight every single day, but the question we must ask ourselves is, “How are we preparing or training for our trials?” In and throughout this episode I'm reminded of the words of John Maxwell which say, “True Leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leader.” Don't live this life chasing success as success will only leave a fingerprint on creation… Instead choose to live this life consistently pursuing significance which will leave a footprint on the soul. Just ask yourself every day, who have I served? Who have I encouraged? and who I have empowered today? Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap. Judge each day by the seeds you have planted.

THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES: Matthew 5:10-1210 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.Luke 14:31-3331 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.Hebrews 11:32-3432 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.THE NEWS & COMMENT:The General's book on religious prosecution of Christians: Heroic Faith: Hope Amid Global PersecutionThe Family Policy Institute where LTG (Ret.) Boykin is Executive Vice-PresidentLt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin serves as Family Research Council's Executive Vice President.He was one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force. He was privileged to ultimately command these elite warriors in combat operations. Later, William Boykin commanded all the Army's Green Berets as well as the Special Warfare Center and School.In all, Lt. Gen. Boykin spent 36 years in the army, serving his last four years as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is an ordained minister with a passion for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encouraging Christians to become warriors in God's Kingdom.William and his wife Ashley enjoy spending time with their five children and growing number of grandchildren.

Retired three-star general Jerry Boykin was the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (2002-07) during the President George W. Bush administration. Boykin's decorated 36-year military career included 13 years as a commando in Delta Force, the United States Army's elite special operations, counter-terrorism unit. Book: Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom by General Boykin https://www.christianbook.com/surrender-soldiers-journey-crossroads-faith-freedom/jerry-boykin/9780446583220/pd/583220 General Jerry Boykin is one of the original members of the Delta Force and has spent the majority of his career in Special Forces. His work in this area of the military placed him in many battles--some of them legendary. He was commander of the Delta Force team portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down. Respond today. We hope you enjoyed this message. Thanks for joining us! Share this today! Now, more than ever, we must anchor ourselves in the Word of God; it will provide us with a firm foundation in an uncertain culture. Rick reminds us to seek God in prayer, to open our Bibles to fill our hearts with His truth, and to look up to remind ourselves that God is with us. Get the Anchored in the Word Bible reading plan: https://pastorrickbrown.com/reading-plan/ As we continue to stand for truth in these unprecedented times, make sure you subscribe to this channel and follow us on all our platforms to always stay up to date with our latest content! LIVESTREAM Watch Pastor Rick Brown on Saturdays @ 4pm PST on https://pastorrickbrown.com BIBLE READING Get the Anchored in the Word Bible reading plan at https://pastorrickbrown.com/reading-plan/ Pastor Rick Brown, founder and leader of Kingdom-X. Leadership consulting for churches and organizations: https://kingdom-x.org Founder of Free Ventura: https://freeventura.org Founder and Former Senior Pastor of of Watersprings church and school, Idaho Falls, ID Rick Brown | Co-Senior Pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel,Newbury Park, CA Founder of Seek First Bible teaching ministry: https://pastorrickbrown.com SEEK FIRST WITH RICK BROWN PODCAST: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ryzHPLzLRxeUJqNNhGTOP Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy82ZWFhMmQwMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAUQrrcFahcKEwiw-OPgt-r2AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ Apple Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/growing-in-gods-word/id1317430575?mt=2 WATCH: Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/pastorRickBrown Teachings: https://pastorrickbrown.com/teachings/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCIdahofalls Bible Teaching: https://pastorrickbrown.com/teachings/ GIVING: We appreciate your support of Seek First Ministry. Seek First Ministry is a 501(c)(3). All donations are tax-deductible. Donations can be made from the donation page at https://pastorrickbrown.com/giving/, or, if you would like to donate by mail: Seek First PO BOX 5813, Twin Falls, ID 83303-5813.

According to the USDA, Livestock producers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Program will soon have extra assistance. Producers will receive emergency relief payments for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021 through the Farm Service Agency's new Emergency Livestock Relief Program. Gloria Montaño-Greene, Deputy Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation...

GUESTS: Dave Patterson, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Comptroller; Tim Donner – long time Host of Liberty Nation Radio; National Columnist Sarah Cowgill; "Uprising" Podcast host and Constitutional Lawyer Scott D. Cosenza

We introduce the second season of Heat of the Moment, a podcast that, like And Now The Hard Part, tells stories from the front lines of one of the world's biggest challenges: the climate crisis.The United States military is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels in the world. What is less known is that when it comes to the climate crisis, the U.S. military is also a place for innovation and strategic thinking.And that's thanks in no small part to our guest -- Sherri Goodman, who is considered to be the godmother of Climate Security. Goodman is currently a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and Senior Strategist at the Center for Climate and Security. Previously she served as the first ever U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. On this episode of Heat of the Moment, she discusses why the U.S. military is helping to solve the climate crisis.We want to hear from you! To fill out our 2021 listener survey, go to survey.fan/foreignpolicy.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The United States military is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels in the world. What is less known is that when it comes to the climate crisis, the U.S. military is also a place for innovation and strategic thinking.And that's thanks in no small part to our guest today -- Sherri Goodman, who is considered to be the godmother of Climate Security. Goodman is currently a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and Senior Strategist at the Center for Climate and Security. Previously she served as the first ever U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. She discusses why the U.S. military is helping to solve the climate crisis.We want to hear from you! To fill out our 2021 listener survey, go to survey.fan/foreignpolicy.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The impacts of COVID-19 have shown policymakers that we need to invest in infrastructure and shore up existing systems to ensure that they can withstand changing conditions over time, says Alice Hill, former special assistant to President Barack Obama and current senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Resilience, in this week's New Security Broadcast. “As we go forward, we need to have resilient systems. But we haven't done that yet, we're unprepared.” Hill sat down with Sherri Goodman, Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, to her new book, The Fight for Climate After COVID-19, and how the response to COVID-19 can inform approaches to building climate resilience.  “Even as we see the ferocity of events increase, we are seeing that our systems just have not accounted for the future risk, and that is what we need,” says Hill. Investing in preparedness is cost-effective in the long term, she says. Every dollar spent on preventative measures now can save from 6 to 13 dollars in repairing future damages. “If we can discipline ourselves to invest now in resilience, we will save money, save lives, save livelihoods.”  In addition to building resilience and preparing for long-term changes, Hill says that policymakers and experts must also focus on reducing emissions and cutting pollution. “There's the mitigation—cutting harmful pollution. And there's the adaptation and resilience—preparing for the impacts. Those two communities have been historically separated,” says Hill. In particular, experts in these communities must work together to ensure that adaptation and mitigation measures receive equal attention in the developing world. “When these events hit the developing world, it can cause a family just to spiral into poverty very quickly,” says Hill. “We need to make deep investments to help these countries understand their risks and warn their populations in advance.”  Hill and Goodman conclude their conversation by encouraging everyone to engage in understanding and responding to climate change. There is a much greater focus on the issue now, says Hill. “One of the things that I find—that has been a wonderful surprise for me—is how exciting it is to be engaged in this field. And feeling as if there are things that I can contribute to, and that I can join with others to build, that will have greater results,” she says. “I just want to encourage people to engage and then, as we engage, we can help build the political will that's necessary for all of us to understand our risks, and then make choices that will keep us safer.” 

On this edition of the show, long-time national security expert Sherri Goodman, coiner of the term “threat multiplier” talks about the nexus between national security and climate change. Senior Fellow (Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, Goodman is a former first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) and staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. You won't want to miss this episode!Hear the latest "EcoRight Speaks!" and make sure to follow/subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!!

Guests: Air Force pilot (ret.) and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense comptroller Dave Patterson; Columnist James Fite; author and podcaster Jeff Charles; Constitutional lawyer and host of "The Uprising", Scott Cosenza

Vicki's back in the studio! While she does take time to tell us what she was up to, she's here to talk politics. Deputy council for Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Dan Lennington, joins the show to discuss the legality of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision PR Group, also joins us with to talk falling poll numbers for the Democrats, why they don't care and why they probably should. Then we have a man with some STRONG words for Gen. Mark Milley in the wake of his statement on his phone calls to China - it's Jed Babbin, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense. Plus, Judge Jim Troupis is in the studio talking about the police, concerns over Milley's statements and the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The Christian Outlook – September 4, 1021 Kevin McCullough talks with Jerry Boykin, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Intelligence under President George W. Bush about the hundreds of American and Afghans left behind after the Biden withdrawal and with KT McFarland, Deputy National Security Advisor for President Trump, about the totally different world Afghan youth are waking up to. Dr. Albert Mohler and Douglas Murray, author of The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity, take a look at the hatred of the Founders and long-term effort to damage the United States by the far Left. Douglas Murray, a gay and intellectual conservative, also takes on the transgender issue as well as society's obsession with power while it forgets about forgiveness.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The USDA's got a new mask requirement demanding that slaughterhouse employees mask up while inspectors are in the building - we have Lindsey Fox, owner of Nolechek's Meats, Inc., who has a list of reason that's a bad idea. Then, reporters Jessica McBride and Jim Piwowarczyk, the minds behind Wisconsin Right Now, talk about crime and punishment in Wisconsin, from the death of a 12-year-old boy at the hands of his grandfather to the severe staffing shortages at the Milwaukee County Jail. Next, stream.org author John Zmirak explains why the war in Afghanistan ultimately failed; president of Less Government, Seton Motley, explains how we got this much Big Government; and Jed Babbin, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, explains what's been left behind in Afghanistan and what Biden's government is likely to do next. Plus, Sheriff David Clarke, founder of Rise Up Wisconsin, talks about what happened to Waukesha.

Executive producer Robyn Thirkill Instagram:@Flossies_Farmstead LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-thirkill-701689212/ Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD236: January 6: The Capitol Riot CD235: The Safe Haven of Sanctions Evaders CD228: The Second Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump CD224: Social Media Censorship Domestic Terrorism Policy and Strategy U.S. Department of Homeland Security. August 13, 2021. “National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin”. U.S. National Security Council. June 2021. National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. The White House. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. May 11, 2021. “DHS Creates New Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships and Additional Efforts to Comprehensively Combat Domestic Violent Extremism”. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. September 19, 2019. "Fusion Centers." "John D. Cohen: Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security." No date. U.S. House of Representatives Document Repository. John Cohen LinkedIn profile U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation Agency. No date. "Humanitarian Assistance". Perspectives on the "Domestic War on Terror" Branko Marcetic. July 28, 2021. “The FBI's Domestic 'War on Terror' Is an Authoritarian Power Grab.” Jacobin. Ken Bensinger and Jessica Garrison. July 20, 2021. "Watching the Watchmen." BuzzFeed News. Harsha Panduranga. June 21, 2021. “Why Biden's Strategy for Preventing Domestic Terrorism Could Do More Harm Than Good.” Los Angeles Times. Glenn Greenwald. June 2, 2021. “The New Domestic War on Terror Has Already Begun -- Even Without the New Laws Biden Wants.” Glenn Greenwald Substack. Faiza Patel. February 16, 2021. "We Don't Need More Terrorism Laws After the Capitol Riot. Just Look At Our 9/11 Mistakes." Brennan Center for Justice. January 6 Capitol Riot Aftermath Natalia Gurevich. August 24, 2021. “After Jan. 6 attack, US Capitol Police choose San Francisco for new field office.” KCBS Radio. Barbara Sprunt. July 27, 2021. “Here Are The 9 Lawmakers Investigating The Jan. 6 Capitol Attack.” NPR. Glenn Greenwald. July 8, 2021. "The Capitol Police, Armed With $2 Billion in New Funding, Expanding Operations Outside of D.C." Glenn Greenwald Substack. United States Capitol Police. July 6, 2021. “After the Attack: The Future of the U.S. Capitol Police.” Lexi Lonas. June 30, 2021. "Nearly 70 House lawmakers ask leadership to reimburse National Guard for Jan. 6 response.” The Hill. Jacob Pramuk. May 20, 2021. "House passes $1.9 billion Capitol security bill that faces Senate roadblocks." CNBC. Corporate and Government Partnerships Rachael Levy. August 15, 2021. “Homeland Security Considers Outside Firms to Analyze Social Media After Jan. 6 Failure." Anti-Defamation League. July 26, 2021. “PayPal Partners with ADL to Fight Extremism and Protect Marginalized Communities.” Danny O'Brien and Rainey Reitman. December 14, 2020. “Visa and Mastercard are Trying to Dictate What You Can Watch on Pornhub.” Electronic Frontier Foundation. Gillian Friedman. December 10, 2020. “Mastercard and Visa stop allowing their cards to be used on Pornhub.” New York Times. Shannon Souza. October 12, 2020. “Credit and Debit Card Market Share by Network and Issuer.” The Ascent: A Motley Fool Service. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Christchurch Call. “Anti-Defamation League.” Last edited March 30, 2012. SourceWatch. Valens Global. "Who We Are." Laws H.R. 3237: Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (Capitol Police Funding) Sponsor: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Status: Signed into law, 2021 May 20 House Vote Breakdown Congressional Budget Office Score Law Outline TITLE I: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Emergency funding appropriated... $600 million for the National Guard $500 million for the "Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid" account TITLE II: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Emergency funding appropriated... $25 million for Refugee and Entrant Assistance for Afghans TITLE III: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Emergency funding appropriated... $11.6 million for the House of Representatives for coronavirus related expenses. $ 8 million for the Senate Sergeant at Arms for coronavirus related expenses $346 thousand for the families of late members of Congress Ronald Wright and Alcee Hastings. CAPITOL POLICE Emergency funding appropriated... $37.5 million for "Salaries" account for January 6 related expenses $3.6 million is for retention bonuses $6.9 million for hazard pay $1.4 million for a wellness program for the Capitol Police officers $33 million for "General Expenses" account for January 6 related expenses At least $5 million must be spent on "reimbursable agreements with State and local law enforcement agencies" At least $4.8 million for protective details for Congress $2.6 million for physical protection barriers and other civil disturbance unit equipment $2.5 million to the US Marshalls Service for providing counseling to Capitol Police officers. $800,000 for coronavirus expenses $35.4 million for mutual aid and training $9 million for payments to other local law enforcement partners who responded on January 6 Leaves $25 million for Capitol Police training ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL Emergency funding appropriated... $22 million for coronavirus expenses CAPITOL POLICE BUILDINGS, GROUNDS AND SECURITY Emergency funding appropriated to the Capitol Police and Architect of the Capitol Police... $300 million to repair January 6th damage $281 million for windows, doors, and enhances physical security $17 million for security cameras GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 310: No Permanent Fencing No funds now or in the future can be used to install "permanent, above ground fencing around the perimeter, or any portion thereof, of the United States Capitol Grounds. TITLE IV: BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, MIGRATION AND REFUGEE ASSISTANCE Emergency funding appropriated... $100 million for "humanitarian needs in Afghanistan and to assist Afghan refugees" $500 million for the "United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund" GENERAL PROVISIONS Extension and Modification of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program (See episode CD238) TITLE V: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE Emergency funding appropriated... $1.1 million for reimbursements for protecting Joe Biden between his election and inauguration USA PATRIOT Act Sponsor: James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) Status: Signed into law, 2001 Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). August 24, 2021. “FinCEN's 314(a) Fact Sheet.” United States Department of the Treasury. FinCEN. December 2020. “314(b) Fact Sheet.” United States Department of the Treasury. United States Department of the Treasury. February 10, 2011. "Fact Sheet: Overview of Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act" Douglas N. Greenburg, John Roth, and Katherine A. Sawyer. June 2007. “Special Measures Under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.” Review of Banking and Financial Services Bills S. 1896: Algorithmic Justice and Online Platform Transparency Act Sponsor: Doris Matsui (D-CA) Status: Introduced, May 28, 2021 S. 937: COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act Sponsor: Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Status: Enacted, March 23, 2021 H.Res. 272: Calling for the designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization Sponsor: Lauren Boebert (R-CO) Status: Introduced to the House, March 26, 2021 S. 963: Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act Sponsor: Richard Durbin (D-IL) Status: Sent to the Senate for consideration March 25, 2021 S. 964: Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 Sponsor: Richard Durbin (D-IL) Status: Introduced, March 24, 2021 H.R. 657: District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act Sponsor: Eleanor Norton (D-DC) Status: Introduced, February 1, 2021 S. 130: District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act Sponsor: Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Status: Introduced January 28, 2021 H.R. 350: Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 Sponsor: Brad Schneider (D-IL) Status: Introduced January 19, 2021 H.R. 4192: Confronting the Threat of Domestic Terrorism Act Sponsor: Adam Schiff (D-CA) Status: Died in 116th Congress The Hearings Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the Homeland Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs July 27, 2021 Testimony heard from Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security 37:00 DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: Domestic terrorism is the most lethal and persistent terrorism related threat to the United States today. That is why we are requesting $131 million to support innovative methods to prevent domestic terrorism, while respecting privacy, civil rights and civil liberties. 2:27:00 Sen. Jon Ossoff (GA): According to DHS, FBI data from 2015 to 2019, 65 Americans were tragically killed in domestic terrorist attacks. And I want to put that in context by referring to CDC homicide data over the same period of 2015 to 2019. 94,636 Americans killed by homicide over that same period. 2:27:15 Sen. Jon Ossoff (GA): What leads you to the conclusion that the level of threat from domestic violent extremists and the level of threat posed by potential domestic terrorists has risen to the extent that it justifies this bureaucratic focus and this budgetary focus you've requested, for example, resources to establish a new dedicated domestic terrorism branch within DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis. 2:28:00 DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: What we see is an increasing amount of social media traffic that is based on ideologies of hate, and extremism, false narratives, and an increasing connectivity to violence - intention to commit violent acts. And so that is what causes us to conclude that this is the greatest terrorist related threat that we face in our homeland today. 2:28:15 DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: What we seek to do is more effectively disseminate what we learn about those trends - mindful of rights of privacy and civil rights and civil liberties - disseminate that information to our state, local, tribal, territorial partners on the one hand, and importantly, to equip local communities, to empower them to address the threat in their own neighborhoods. Terrorism and Digital Financing: How Technology is Changing the Threat House Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism July 22, 2021 Testimony was heard from the following Department of Homeland Security officials: Stephanie Dobitsch, Deputy Undersecretary, Office of Intelligence and Analysis Previously served as former Vice President Mike Pence's special adviser for the Middle East and North Africa Jeremy Sheridan, Assistant Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. Secret Service; and John Eisert, Assistant Director, Investigative Programs, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 3:15 Rep. Elise Slotkin (MI): Some of the online platforms and online tech allow easy access for thousands, if not millions of users to donate money through online campaigns. For example, crowdfunding through PayPal, GoFundMe, and Amazon have become popular ways in recent years for extremist groups to raise money. To put this in context, according to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, from about 2005 to 2015, just about every extremist group they tracked featured a PayPal button on their website. Now, even though PayPal and other payment processing platforms became aware of the issue and began to ban extremists from their flat platforms, which is a great first step, these groups have persevered and maintained a strong online presence. 5:00 Rep. Elise Slotkin (MI): But just as nefarious groups have changed their fundraising tactics after crackdowns by payment processors like PayPal, when law enforcement begins following and cracking down on illicit Bitcoin use, terrorist fundraisers advise supporters to use other cryptocurrencies to avoid detection. This was the case of a pro ISIS website that requested its supporters send money via Monero, another cryptocurrency instead of Bitcoin because of its privacy and safety features. 6:00 Rep. Elise Slotkin (MI): But we know we have an uphill battle. Our subcommittee really stands ready to help the department with what you need. If you need changes to legislation, if you need resources, we want to hear more from you, not less. 56:55 Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ): I hear the phrase that it enables the democratization of currency. And every time someone says we're democratizing something, it kind of ends the conversation. That's sort of good. I don't really understand what that means in this context. I think it's an abstraction, whereas ransomware attacks are not an abstraction. They're hurting people, every single day. So I'm not sure if I see it. And I think we do need to expand this conversation to ask that fundamental question, whether the challenges that you are facing - that we are asking you to deal with - in protecting us against all of these social ills, are challenges that are necessary, inescapable and inevitable. And I think we have to ask, what is the good? What is the positive social value of this phenomenon that is also creating all of this harm? And you know, I think when you look at the history of how we built modern economies in the United States and around the world, we started three or 400 years ago with multiple currencies that were unregulated and not controlled by governments and in every modern economy, we built what we have today when government decided no, we're going to have one currency that is issued and regulated by government. And I think I could ask you - we don't have time - how we can better regulate cryptocurrency, but I think if we regulated it, it wouldn't be crypto anymore. And so what would be the point? So I come back to the question, should this be allowed? Thank you. I yield back. Examining the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Part II Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Committee on Rules and Administration March 3, 2021 Hearing on C-SPAN Day II, Part I Hearing on C-SPAN Day II, Part II Testimony was heard from: Robert Salesses, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security at the U.S. Department of Defense Major General William Walker, Commanding General of the DC National Guard Jill Sanborn, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice 06:42 Sen. Gary Peters (MI): But the January 6 attack must mark a turning point. There can be no question that the domestic terrorist threat and concluding violence driven by white supremacy and anti-government groups is the gravest terrorist threat to our homeland security. Moving forward, the FBI, which is tasked with leading our counterterrorism efforts, and the Department of Homeland Security, which ensures that state and local law enforcement understands the threats that American communities face must address this deadly threat with the same focus and resources and analytical rigor that they apply to foreign threats such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. State and Local Responses to Domestic Terrorism: The Attack on the U.S. Capitol and Beyond House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism March 24, 2021 Testimony was heard from: Dana Nessel, Attorney General, Michigan Aaron Ford, Attorney General, Nevada John Chisholm, District Attorney, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin 07:19 Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI): The post 9/11 era of security where the threats come from abroad is over. In the 20 years of the post 9/11 era, they came to an end on January 6th, the new reality is that we have to come to terms with is that it's our extremists here at home, seeking to explain internal divisions that pose the greatest threat. Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy February 25, 2021 Testimony was heard from: Iman Boukadoum, Senior Manager, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Lecia Brooks, Executive Director, Southern Poverty Law Center Daniel Glaser Global Head Jurisdictional Services and Head of Washington, DC Office at K2 Integrity Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Board member at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority Former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury Daniel Rogers Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Global Disinformation Index Daveed Gertenstein-Ross, CEO of Valens Global 03:28 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): In the wake of the attacks of September 11th, we recast the entire federal government and worked feverishly to defund terrorist streams. To effectively disrupt domestic extremist groups, we need to better understand their financing. 23:11 Daniel Glaser: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to talk about how the US government can employ similar tools and strategies against white nationalists and other domestic terrorist groups as it has employed against global jihadist groups over the past two decades. 27:42 Daniel Glaser: Potential measures in Treasury's toolbox include the issuance of guidance to financial institutions on financial type policies, methodologies and red flags, the establishment of public private partnerships, the use of information sharing authorities, and the use of geographic targeting orders. Taken together these measures will strengthen the ability of financial institutions to identify, report and impede the financial activity of domestic extremist groups and will ensure that the US financial system is a hostile environment for these groups. 30:10 Daniel Rogers: These groups leverage the Internet as a primary means of disseminating their toxic ideologies and soliciting funds. One only needs to search Amazon or Etsy for the term q anon to uncover shirts, hats, mugs, books and other paraphernalia that both monetize and further popularize the domestic violent extremist threat. Images from that fateful day last month are rife with sweatshirts that say, Camp Auschwitz that until recently were for sale on websites like Teespring and cafe press. As we speak at least 24 individuals indicted for their role in the January 6 insurrection, including eight members of the proud boys have used crowdfunding site gifts and go to raise nearly a quarter million dollars in donations. And it's not just about the money. This merchandise acts as a sort of team jersey that helps these groups recruit new members and foment further hatred towards their targets. We analyze the digital footprints of 73 groups across 60 websites, and 225 social media accounts and their use of 54 different online fundraising mechanisms, including 47 payment platforms and five different cryptocurrencies, ultimately finding 191 instances of hate groups using online fundraising services to support their activities. The funding mechanisms included both primary platforms like Amazon, intermediary platforms, such as Stripe or Shopify crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, payments facilitators like PayPal, monetized content streaming services, such as YouTube, super chats, and cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. All of these payment mechanisms were linked to websites or social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, telegram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, gab, picshoot and others. The sheer number of companies I just mentioned, is the first clue to the scale and the scope of the problem. 43:25 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Mr. Glaser, you you, though suggested something new that I'd like to give you a maybe 30 seconds, 42 seconds I have left to elaborate on you said you were taught you were hopeful for sanctions like authorities against domestic actors. You did nod to constitutional civil liberties concerns. But give us another 30 seconds on exactly what you mean. And perhaps most importantly, what sort of fourth amendment overlay should accompany such authority? 43:52 Daniel Glaser: Well, thank you, thank you for the question. The fact is, the Treasury Department really does not have a lot of authority to go after purely domestic groups in the way that it goes after global terrorist organizations that simply doesn't have that authority. You could imagine an authority that does allow for the designation of domestic organizations, it would have to take into account that, the constitutional restrictions. When you look when you read the a lot of the court decisions, there's concerns could be addressed in the statute, there's concerns. A lot of the scrutiny is heightened because sanctions are usually accompanied with acid freezes. But you could imagine sanctions that don't involve asset freezes that involve transaction bounds that involve regulatory type of requirements that you see in Section 311 of the Patriot Act. So there's a variety of ways that both the due process standards could be raised from what we see in the global context. 48:21 Rep. French Hill (AZ): On 314 in the Patriot Act, is that a place where we could, in a protected appropriate way make a change that relates to this domestic issue? Or is that, in your view, too challenging? Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: No, I think it's a place where you could definitely make a change. The 314-A process allows an investigator to canvass financial institutions for potential lead information that might otherwise never be uncovered. It's designed to allow disparate pieces of information to be identified, centralized and evaluated. So when law enforcement submits a request to FinCEN, to get information from financial institutions, it has to submit a written certification that each individual or entity about which the information is sought is engaged in or reasonably suspected of engaging in terrorist activity or money laundering. I think that in some cases 314-A, may already be usable, but I think it's worth looking at the 314-A process to see if in this particular context, when you're looking at domestic violent extremism, as opposed to foreign terrorist organizations, there are some tweaks that would provide ability to get leads in this manner. 1:15:04 Iman Boukadoum: What we submit is that the material support for terrorism statute, as we know, there are two of them. There's one with an international Nexus that is required. And there's one that allows for investigating material support for terrorism, domestic terrorism, in particular, as defined in the patriot act with underlying statutes that allows for any crimes that take place within the United States that have no international nexus. And we believe that that second piece of material support for terrorism statute has been neglected and can be nicely used with the domestic terrorism definition as laid out in the Patriot Act. And we hope that statutory framework will be used to actually go after violent white nationalists and others. The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions (Part II) House Committee on Oversight and Reform June 15, 2021 Testimony was heard from: General Charles E. Flynn, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific Lieutenant General Walter E. Piatt, Director of the Army Staff, U.S. Army Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation 2:51:19 Chris Wray: Among the things that we've taken away from this experience are a few. One, as you heard me say in response to an earlier question, we need to develop better human sources, right, because if we can get better human sources, then we can better separate the wheat from the chaff in social media. Two, we need better data analytics. The volume, as you said, the volume of this stuff is, is just massive, and the ability to have the right tools to get through it and sift through it in a way that is, again, separating the wheat from the chaff is key. And then the third point that I would make is we are rapidly having to contend with the issue of encryption. So what I mean by that is, yes, there might be chatter on social media. But then what we have found and this is true in relation to January 6th, in spades, but it was also true over the summer in some of the violence that occurred there. Individuals will switch over to encrypted platforms for the really significant, really revealing communications. And so we've got to figure out a way to get into those communications or we're going to be constantly playing catch up in our effort to separate as I said, the wheat from the chaff on social media. 3:16:54 Chris Wray: As for social media, I think there's, there's it's understandable that there's a lot of confusion on this subject we do not we have very specific policies that Ben at the Department for a long time that govern our ability to use social media and when we have an authorized purpose and proper predication, there's a lot of things we can do on social media. And we do do and we aggressively do but what we can't do, what we can't do on social media is without proper predication, and an authorized purpose, just monitor, just in case on social media. Now, if the policies should be changed to reflect that, that might be one of the important lessons learned coming out of this whole experience. But that's not something that that currently the FBI has the either the authority or certainly the resources frankly, to do. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

Just because Afghanistan and COVID-19 occupy the headlines, it doesn't mean other things have stopped. Julie Kelly, author at American Greatness, has an update the Jan. 6th protest - what's its caused, what's become of it and what's happening next. Then Sen. Ron Johnson joins us to breakdown yesterday's letter to the FDA on the COVID vaccine and give another update on the situation in Afghanistan. Next, Vicki tackles the issue of finding the truth, when everything has been run through a political lens. Joining her Former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, who recently launched an oversight manual to help legislature hold the executive branch accountable. Speaking of holding people accountable, Jed Babbin, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, has some strong words about yesterday's attack at Kabul airport and Biden's speech afterwards. Plus, Ron Greer, from Man In The Mirror Ministries, joins us in the studio to talk about men, society, God, religion, politics...and has some ideas you can steal.

Vicki is back on air, discussing the situation in Afghanistan and the fallout from it in the U.S. Joining her is Dr. Duke Pesta, from UW-Oshkosh and FreedomProject Media/FreedomProject Academy, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin. Plus, Judge Jim Troupis talks about honor and the importance of knowing what is most important to you.

Today we are witnessing a growing threat to our American military. A threat that is capable of doing what no foreign enemy ever could: Fracture the world's greatest armed forces from within, through divisive political indoctrination and controls. That threat is called “wokeness.” At its root, “wokeness” imposes the resentful mindset of an extremist few onto society - in this case the American military. It has infected the Pentagon and its top leaders, and it has been metastasizing for years. Joining me to explore this alarming development is Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin, one of the original combat commanders of the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force. Jerry also commanded all the Army's Green Berets as well as the Special Warfare Center and School and served for four years as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. “Our military should be about readiness, and its mission must be winning the nation's wars,” explains Jerry. “There is nothing more important on the battlefield than cohesion - which wokeness undermines. You win wars because of cohesion, not because of technology.” Also returning to the show is Dr. Michael Waller, Senior Analyst for Strategy at the Center for Security Policy where his areas of concentration are propaganda, political warfare, psychological warfare, and subversion. Among his many keen insights, Mike shares an astonishing fact: “The Defense Department publishes a dictionary of military and associated terms. It's almost 400 pages long. The word victory doesn't appear once, not as a term to define and not even a reference to it. And it doesn't even have a definition for the term enemy.” The military's social experiments have already had a big impact. Retention rates are dropping. Young officers and noncommissioned officers are leaving the military. And the recruiting the right kind of talent is suffering. Listen in to this episode and you'll think again about the risks of imposing “wokeness” on our American military.

On today's show...retired Judge Jim Troupis discusses the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision Friday on irregularities in the 2020 election brought by Jere Fabick. UW - Oshkosh's Dr. Duke Pesta (FreedomProject Media/FreedomProject Academy), explains the connection between Common Core and Critical Race Theory. Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin talks about the Biden Administration inflicting wokeness on the military. Phil Kerphen, president of American Commitment, unpacks Biden's agenda. Seton Motley, president of Less Government, weighs in on the Texas Supreme Court ruling that Facebook can be sued for allowing sex-traffickers to use the platform. And Steve Milloy, the mind behind JunkScience.com, talks John Kerry, Norway and what's become part of the climate situation these days.

In this VA benefits themed episode, SMA Jack Tilley welcomes to the show Cheryl Rawls, the Veterans Benefit Administration's Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement, for a great conversation on benefits for vets within the American Rescue Plan, women vet issues and the VA's Solid Start program. During this episode, you'll hear Cheryl's passion for making sure all vets have a great transition, starting with the need to enjoy the many VA benefits earned through service. And, yes, as always, SMA Tilley shares a couple of great stories during the episode! Thank you for listening, joining the community and making this Your Next Mission! For more information, please visit YourNextMission.org.

“For most of human history, freedom had to be at least suffered for, if not died for, and that raised its value to something almost sacred.” – Sebastian Junger David Craig, editor for RealClearDefense speaks with Sebastian Junger, author of "Restrepo" and "Tribe," about his new book "Freedom." and David Richardson, fmr. Deputy Undersecretary for Homeland Security for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Max Moszkowicz sprak vrijdag tijdens Vechten met Moszkowicz met James Fox over 'The Phenomenon'. 'The Phenomenon' is een documentairefilm gemaakt door ufoloog James Fox naar aanleiding van het vrijgeven van UFO-video's door het Pentagon. Het is zijn derde film over dit onderwerp, na 'I Know What I Saw' uit 2009 en 'Out of the Blue' uit 2003. In de documentairefilm praat hij met onder meer voormalig Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, voormalig Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Intelligence Christopher Mellon, de voormalig gouveneur van de staat New Mexico Bill Richardson, ufoloog Jacques Vallee en journalist Leslie Kean. Filmmaker en publicist Max Moszkowicz interviewt in 'Vechten met Moszkowicz' op geheel eigen wijze spraakmakende mensen vanuit ieder pluimage. Aan de hand een paar drankjes en versnaperingen ontvouwt zich een gesprek. De sfeer is compleet vrijblijvend en onbevangen. Alles kan en mag, niets moet.

Dr. David Stoudt, is a Senior Executive Advisor and Engineering Fellow for Directed Energy at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., where he is responsible for providing clients with leadership and guidance on the science and business of advancing directed energy capabilities for American warfighters. Dr. Stoudt is also President of the Directed Energy Professional Society. With a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Old Dominion University, in electrical engineering, Dr. Stoudt spent 32 years serving in the Department of Navy, 12 of them as the Navy's first distinguished engineer for directed energy, an executive position where he was responsible for establishing and staffing world-class directed energy programs and facilities at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWCDD). From 2008 through 2012, Dr. Stoudt was the first Naval Sea Systems Command technical authority warrant for directed energy and electric weapon systems, including high-energy lasers (HEL), the electromagnetic rail gun, and high-power microwave (HPM) weapon systems. At the Naval Surface Warfare Center, he established and technically directed a number of high-power microwave and high-energy laser technology programs, including airborne electronic attack, counter-improvised explosive devices, and the beginning of the Navy's laser weapon system, currently deployed on the Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship, the U.S.S. Ponce. Dr. Stoudt established several prototype weapon development initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of IEDs during Operation Iraqi Freedom and these resulting prototypes represented the first ever successful tactical employment of directed energy weapons. As the senior director for capabilities and concepts in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy for Policy from 2011 to 2015, Dr. Stoudt initiated and served as the executive secretary for the directed energy steering group, which was chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy to develop the Department of Navy vision, strategy, and roadmap for directed energy weapons. Dr. Stoudt also established and served as the executive secretary for both the Navy non-acoustic anti-submarine warfare steering group and the naval space board, chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy and the secretary of the Navy, respectively. Among his many honors, Dr. Stoudt has received multiple Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Navy Distinguished and Superior Civilian Service Awards, and the Naval Sea Systems Command Scientist of the Year Award. 

This event is sponsored by the Asia Initiative Lecture Series at The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: In 1949, to the surprise of Americans who had hoped that WWII had marked the end of world conflicts, the Soviet Union exploded a nuclear weapon Identical to the bomb the US had dropped on Nagasaki. It was identical because the bomb's nuclear technology had been stolen through massive espionage by America's Russian communist wartime ally. Thus the calculus of power that overshadowed the new conflict—nuclear weapons and strategic intelligence operations– set the strategic framework of the fifty-year Cold War conflict. Also in 1949, the People's Republic of China began pursuing a similar hegemonic course, also relying on stolen nuclear weapons designs and strategic intelligence activities. Just as an aggressive Soviet Union was unwilling to accept either the American position as the world power or even peaceful standards of international behavior, so too does the PRC appear intent on replacing America as the sole remaining superpower in the twenty-first century. The presentation will review key developments in these Chinese efforts and where US policy stands today at the current crossroads in US policy towards the PRC. About the speaker: Kenneth E. deGraffenreid has over 40 years of leadership responsibility as a senior national level expert, practitioner, writer, and teacher in the areas of strategic defense and intelligence policy, and operations; counterintelligence and protective security; continuity of operations; and infrastructure, cyber, telecommunications and information protection. He has served as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy; Deputy National Counterintelligence Executive and Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs as White House Senior Director of Intelligence and Security Programs on the Ronald Reagan National Security Council. A retired Navy Captain, he also served on the Professional Staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He has been a Senior Group VP of an R&D and systems engineering firm and VP of a high level policy analysis firm supporting sensitive USG programs in counterintelligence, telecommunications, and security. He is Professor Emeritus at IWP, a graduate school in Washington, D.C. where he developed and directed the first MA degree in Intelligence and security studies to be offered in the United States. Currently, he is a Distinguished Fellow in Intelligence Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Bridget Burns, Executive Director of University Innovation Alliance, partners up with Paul Fain, the Contributing Editor of Inside Higher Ed, to interview city college presidents. For today's episode, the guest is Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, the Commissioner for Higher Education in Louisiana, and former Executive Director at Colorado Higher Ed and Deputy Undersecretary at the US Department of Education. -- "Sponsored in partnership with Inside Higher Ed. “ Welcome to innovating together, a podcast produced by the University Innovation Alliance. This is a podcast for busy people in higher education who are looking for the “aha moments” that can propel their work forward. Innovating Together curates the best insights, research, and experts. To connect with us further, visitwww.theuia.org. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/innovationalliance/message

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson speaks with Maurice A. Jones, former Deputy Undersecretary of HUD and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and current President and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a community development finance corporation providing a variety of financial and technical services to schools, healthcare...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson speaks with Maurice A. Jones, former Deputy Undersecretary of HUD and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and current President and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a community development finance corporation providing a variety of financial and technical services to schools, healthcare […]

Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin is back! Nikita continues his conversation with the General, who is one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and who now serves as Family Research Council's Executive Vice President after serving the United States for 36 years. He continues to share his passion for spreading the Gospel and cultivating real men of God.

Chip Fulghum, former Deputy Undersecretary of Management and CFO of DHS, and Guidehouse Senior Strategic Advisor Chris Cummiskey reflect on their experience at DHS undergoing Presidential transitions and the challenges and successes they faced.   For more information on the series, visit: https://guidehouse.com/insights/national-security/2020/presidential-transition-podcast-mini-series

Nikita chats with Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force & former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. After 36 years of service to the United States, he now serves as Family Research Council's Executive Vice President and is passionate about spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The Voice of Reason in a city of chaos. Weekday afternoons on 1310 WIBA Madison. At the top of the program Eric Trump joins Vicki to discuss his father campaigning in the state and the Presidential Election. Then, Sheriff David Clarke discusses the weekend campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, as well as general election thoughts. During the 3pm hour, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin talks about the threat of China and how the Biden administration may deal with them. Then, pathologist Dr. Roger Klein discusses the pandemic, whether or not masks help protect you from the virus, and health information not being reported by the mainstream media. In the 4pm hour, Matt Kittle discusses the issue with a lack of a good education children are getting from virtual schooling, and the parents that are starting to complain about the virtual education.

This week, Iron Butterfly is joined by Tish Long, former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the first woman who became Director for a "big five" 3-letter agency. She shares her experience serving in key leadership roles across the community, including as the Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.In this episode, Tish walks us through her journey to becoming one of our community's "firsts." She shares the challenges of self-promotion, the link between leadership and confidence, and her journey growing the courage to ask "why not me?" See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon bring back Dr. Stephen Bryen to discuss Israel’s emergence as the Middle East’s superpower enabling normalization with the Arab emirates and possibly Saudi Arabia. This comes as Israel signed the first Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the White House brokered by the Trump Administration, changing the geo-political makeup of the region threatening Iran and sidelining the Palestinians. Now there are prospects that this agreement may be followed by others in the Gulf region, given announcements by Bahrain and Oman. The question is when will the Saudis join the process. Among the takeaways from this Israel News Talk Radio – Beyond the Matrix with Dr. Bryen are the following. Israel’s Pre-emptive nuclear power, air force and intelligence makes it the strong horse in the Middle East. Dr. Bryen suggests that this major regional normalization with Sunni Arabs in the Middle East happened because Israel is the only region nuclear power with an umbrella of pre-emptive weapon systems, both land and sea based. Moreover, it has a world class air force and first-rate intelligence capability. The latter is evident in the seizure of Iran’s nuclear development archives and speculation that it may have been behind the cyber -kinetic attacks this summer that have once again set back Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Dr. Bryen is a former Reagan era Deputy Undersecretary for Technology and Security, a noted military technologist who is a columnist for The Asia Times. Bryen revealed during the interview that as a Senior US Senate Foreign Relations staffer he wrote a strategic paper on normalization with Egypt in the mid-1970’s that involved discussions with Egyptian Generals who remarked “we did not need another war with Israel”. That resulted in the Begin - Sadat Camp David “cold peace” treaty with Egypt in 1979, followed by a similar one with Jordan in 1994. The 2020 Israel-UAE Accord is based on a “warm peace” with full commercial, trade and diplomatic exchanges. Israel’s Triad Nuclear Umbrella is Powerful Deterrent. Like major powers, Israel has a triad of nuclear pre-preemptive capabilities. It has the Jericho ICBM equipped with a nuclear warhead. Its fleet of F-15’s and F-16’s can deliver nuclear and conventional bombs. However, the F-35” I” versions do not fit a nuclear delivery mission profile. The Israeli fleet of German built Dolphin Class Submarines are equipped with conventional and nuclear torpedoes and cruise missiles, as well as swimming capabilities to launch intelligence gathering and naval commando operations. The Dolphin submarines, while diesel electric powered, use the Air Independent Propulsion system that can operate silently at great depths and like the US Trident nuclear missile boat “boomers” are difficult to detect. It is a hydrogen-based power module that allows the submarine to operate for a long term fully submerged. For a diesel electric they gain many of the virtues of a nuclear submarine at a fraction of the cost and are much safer to operate and cheaper to build. Thus, the triad of land based, air and submarine delivery of nuclear weapons is meant to address Israel’s “asymmetry problem”: the threat of nuclear missiles by an enemy could destroy 80 percent of the small country’s population. Thus, the Israeli Triad is based solely on a first strike pre-emptive capability. Dr. Bryen noted this was the lesson learned from the mistake made by Israel’s then PM Gold Meir and security cabinet prior to the October 1973 Yom Kippur War by not acting pre-emptively for fear of offending Washington. By acting pre-preemptively as it did during the June 1967 Six Days of War, “Israel could have saved lives”. Iran does not have nuclear capable long-range missiles, but the Abraham Accords includes a deterrent. Beyond the Matrix 16SEP2020 - PODCAST

Can the country rebound from the social, cultural, and economic toll of COVID-19? Now we know what happens while we’re sleeping; have we woken up? And what will it take to right the ship? GUESTS: Gigi Kwik Gronvall, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security and a Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center and the Center for Climate Security; Travis L. Adkins, lecturer of African and Security Studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; Marissa Conway, Co-founder of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. ADDITIONAL READING: Foreign Policy Begins at Home, Council on Foreign Relations. At the Intersection of Domestic and Foreign Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Is American Foreign Policy the Key to Economic Growth?, The Washington Post. The Legacy of American Racism at Home and Abroad, Foreign Policy. The Scientific Response to COVID-19 and Lessons for Security, Survival.

Phil Reitinger has been been a pioneer in cutting edge concepts for reducing risks in cyberspace for years. He was a special assistant US Attorney in the late 1990's, a time when high end nation state attacks were on the rise and the application of US law to help counter threats was in a nascent stage. He helped move the Department of Justice to more vigorous action in cyberspace as Deputy Chief of the DoJ Computer Crime Section. He was appointed to lead the DoD Cyber Crime Center, one of the nation's most highly regarded computer crime forensics organizations. He would later serve as an executive at Microsoft and then return to government service as a Deputy Undersecretary of Homeland Security as that organization was assuming new roles in defense of the nation's cyberspace. He would later direct the security activities of Sony as SVP and CISO. For the past four years Phil has been leading a non profit organization known as the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA). The GCA works on projects that seek to mitigate risks from the most prevalent cyber threats that individuals and businesses face. They develop and deploy practical, real-world solutions that measurably improve the security of our cyber ecosystem. Topics discussed include:  The challenges Phil faced at DHS, including the need to lead change across a broad stakeholder community. The nature of the work at GCA What executives need to know about DNS and DMARC Ways people can get involved with the GCA How the GCA moved into action as the world shifted to WFH The future of cybersecurity Related Resources: The Global Cyber Alliance Phil Reitinger on LinkedIn 10 Red Teaming Lessons Learned Over 20 Years – Red teaming is one of the most valuable things you can do within your organization.  OODA CEO and Co-Founder Matt Devost offers up his top ten red teaming lessons learned from over two decades of red teaming across hundreds of engagements. OODA’s Special Reporting on the Federal Technology Market: This market should be part of any tech firm's strategy OODA Special Report on Best Practices for Agile Cybersecurity Tips from our experts Context on Make vs Buy in the Federal Ecosystem: If you know of anyone anywhere in government who is thinking of building/coding a new data system to track issues around the pandemic they should just stop and should buy a commercial platform. OODAcast on YouTube: OODA’s YouTube Channel

April 4, 2020 Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. "Jerry" Boykin serves as Family Research Council's Executive Vice President. He was one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force. He was privileged to ultimately command these elite warriors in combat operations. Later, Jerry Boykin commanded all the Army's Green Berets as well as the Special Warfare Center and School. In all, Lt. Gen. Boykin spent 36 years in the army, serving his last four years as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is an ordained minister with a passion for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encouraging Christians to become warriors in God's Kingdom. His new book is "Man to Man". https://www.amazon.com/Man-Rediscover...

Bette Brand, the Deputy Undersecretary for USDA Rural Development, joins us today to discuss how they are helping rural Americans during this stressful time.

Sherri Goodman is an experienced leader and senior executive, lawyer and director in the fields of national security, energy, science, oceans and environment.  She is co-founder of Red Duke Strategies, a strategic advisory firm, Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and CNA, and Senior Strategist at the Center for Climate and Security.  Previously, she served as the President and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Sherri served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of CNA (Center for Naval Analyses)  where she was also the founder and Executive Director of the CNA Military Advisory Board, whose landmark reports include National Security and the Threat of Climate Change (2007), and National Security and the Accelerating Risks of Climate Change (2014),  Advanced Energy and US National Security (2017), and The Role of Water Stress in Instability and Conflict (2017) among others.  The film The Age of Consequences  in which Sherri is featured, is based on the work of the CNA Military Advisory Board. Sherri served as the first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) from 1993-2001.   As the chief environmental, safety, and occupational health officer for the Department of Defense (DoD), she established the first environmental, safety and health performance metrics for the Department, and led its energy, environmental and natural resource conservation programs. Overseeing the President’s plan for revitalizing base closure communities, she ensured that 80% of base closure property became available for transfer and reuse. Sherri has served on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee for Committee Chairman Senator Sam Nunn.  She has practiced law at Goodwin Procter, as both a litigator and environmental attorney, and has worked at RAND and SAIC.

Climate-fueled floods, fires and droughts have devastated America’s cities and rural areas. Our natural response is to regroup, recover and rebuild. But should we instead be preparing for managed retreat? In her book Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption, Alice Hill warns that the consequences of failing to prepare for further global warming will be staggering. How will we manage the costs of the growing climate threat? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Alice Hill, Senior Fellow for Climate Change Policy, Council on Foreign Relations, co-author, Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption (Oxford University Press, 2019) Sherri Goodman, Senior Strategist, The Center for Climate & Security; Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) Janet Ruiz, Strategic Communication Director, Insurance Information Institute This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on January 27, 2020.

On the evening of January 7, 2020, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched more than a dozen short range ballistic missiles from Iran that hit US coalition bases at Al – Sad and Irbil in Western and Northern Iraq. There were initial unconfirmed reports of possible casualties. Early warning of the attack may have sent both Iraqis, US and other coalition military personnel to safety in bunkers. Was this the threatened “hard revenge” that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned would come against US military bases? This Iranian missile attack was response to the US MQ9 Drone missile strike at Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020 that killed General Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of the elite Quds Force and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Commander of Iran – controlled Iraqi PMF Kata'ib Hezbollah. The Trump White House and Pentagon were monitoring these developments and considering possible retaliatory actions to take. The question is could President’s Trump’s fateful decision to assassinate General Soleimani trigger escalate reprisal actions between the US and Iran leading to a possible war in the Middle East region? Just prior to these developments, Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon convened a discussion with Ken Timmerman, veteran Iran watcher, investigative journalist and best-selling author and Stephen Bryen, Reagan -era Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Technical Security, noted military technologist and Asia Times columnist. The purpose was to assess the significance of the assassination of General Soleimani and its impact on combating Iran’s hegemonic support for regional terrorism via attacks by proxies against US assets and allies in the Middle East region. Beyond the Matrix 08JAN2020 - PODCAST

The Voice of Reason in a city of chaos. Weekday afternoons on 1310 WIBA Madison. 2PM – Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, discusses the bombing of American air bases in Iraq. 2:30 – Congressman Mike Gallagher, two time deployment to Iraq, talks with Vicki about Iran's attacks on American air bases in Iraq. 3PM – Hans von Spakovsky, Heritage Foundation and former member of President Trump's Election Integrity Task Force, examines potential issues that can lead to voter fraud in Wisconsin. 3:30 – Christian Toto, Hollywood In Toto, talks about Ricky Gervais's Golden Globes monologue. 4PM – Bonner Cohen, National Center, joins the show to talk about HUD rolling back Obama-era regulations 4:30 – Former Congressman Sean Duffy joins the program to discuss the Democrats move to push a war powers resolution through Congress

Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon bring back Dr. Stephen Bryen. Dr. Bryen is a former Reagan era Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for technology security, a noted Military Technologist and Asia Times Columnist. We discuss breaking news of Turkey’s Erdogan ‘saber rattling’ using Turkish Navy vessels to disrupt Cypriot offshore drilling in its Exclusive Economic Zone and chasing off an Israeli research vessel supporting the Cypriot effort. Dr. Bryen considers Erdogan’s use of military force as a “reckless, and provocative”. In reaction, Cyprus has appealed to NATO for naval support opposing Erdogan’s arbitrary claim over offshore gas development rights in the Eastern Mediterranean threatening Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt. The EU, Italy, France are not buying Erdogan’s bullying tactics to muscle into the offshore energy potential of the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin. The EU is backing the Triple Alliance of Israel, Cyprus and Greece by underwriting the $20 billion East Med submarine gas pipeline that avoids passing through Turkey. It would provide the EU with an alternative source of natural gas to Russia’s Nordstream pipeline in the Baltic Sea feeding Germany and the Russian-backed Turkish Stream pipeline. Even Erdogan’s claim to Libya’s offshore energy resources may be for naught as the UN – backed Islamic government may be in imminent collapse given advances by the forces of Field Marshall Haftar’s Libyan National Army backed by Russia. Then there are Erdogan’s threats to eject NATO from Incirlik with 60 over aging nuclear weapons. Dr. Bryen contends those weapons serve no useful purpose, as there are no aircraft that can use them. The real danger is the plutonium in the nuclear cores that Erdogan could use to develop his own nuclear weapons. The White House and the Pentagon are stymied on how to retain Turkey in NATO, given Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems and imminent industrial deal with Russia to co-produce either SU-35’s or SU 57’s. The US Congress in anger about Turkey’s dalliance with Russia, incursion in northeastern Syria, land grab in Iraq and support for Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza has passed a resolution condemning Turkey’s role in the Armenian Genocide during and after WWI, what Dr. Bryen called “an historic fact”. With impeachment of President Trump looming, the Administration’s attempt to keep Turkey in NATO, according to Dr. Bryen is not going well. On the matter of whether the US and Israel are confronting Iran internally and in riot plagued Lebanon and Iraq, as well as Syria, Dr. Bryen said the US is not doing enough. He noted the recent insertion of armored vehicles in Iraq endeavoring to suppress violent protests against the Iraqi government and Iranian Sh’ia proxies. Iran’s objectives Bryen contends are “to control Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and make war on Israel”. The only bright exception was US Secretary of State Pompeo announcement giving encrypted communications support for domestic opposition in Iran. Despite the political stalemate in Israel, the IDF carried out raids in Syria effectively taking out the IRGC headquarters there. On President Trump’s announcement of withdrawing 4,000 troops from Afghanistan Bryen suggests it amounts to declaring victory in the 19-year war with the possibility of collapse of the government there and likely return of the Islamist Taliban. Beyond the Matrix 18DEC2019 - PODCAST

2PM - Ola Lisowski, Mac Iver News Service, delivers a grade for state schools. 3PM - Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke discusses the left's leniency on crime. 3:30 Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, talks about the impeachment hearings. 4PM - Judge Jim Troupis joins Vicki to look at the day's news.

2PM - Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke talks with Vicki about crime and what isn't being done to lessen the situation. 3PM - Professor Duke Pesta, UW Oshkosh, discusses the indoctrination of students in public schools. 3:30 Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of State, talks with Vicki about impeachment and hearsay. 4PM - Rich Noyes, Media Research Center, examines media coverage and ratings for the impeachment hearings. 4:30 - State Senator Pat Testin discusses what's happening under the dome of the Capitol.

Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon bring back Dr. Stephen Bryen to address Iran’s provocative nuclear and missile threats to Israel and the US. Dr. Bryen is a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense during the Reagan Era, a noted military technologist and Asia Times columnist. This timely discussion occurred on news of Iran further breaching the 2015 Nuclear deal with ramp up of uranium enrichment threatening to produce enough fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons within a year. Moreover, given recent strikes by cruise missiles in Saudi Arabia led Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Kochavi to warn of credible Iranian threats to launch precision missile strikes against Israel from Yemen, Syria and possibly Gaza. Iranian proxy in Gaza, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), launched a barrage of over 170 rockets against targets in Southern and Central Israel. Israel retaliated with air strikes killing PIJ leaders in Gaza. Bryen dismissed unconfirmed rumors by a Chinese news agency about Russia possibly obtaining a David Sling Stunner interceptor missile in Syria. The Stunner interceptor missile, jointly developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Systems and US partner Raytheon, is equipped with sophisticated digital radar, embedded software and electro optical systems enabling it to discriminate decoys from targets at a range of 190 miles. These Stunner interceptor capabilities makes it a valuable standoff air defense system for Israel against Iranian cruise missiles and drones. It is far superior to the US Patriot Missile air defense system that failed to intercept a swarm of ground hugging Iranian cruise missiles with advanced detachable warheads that made precision strikes on oil tanks in Saudi Arabia. Bryen cited noted Israeli missile defense systems expert, Uzi Rubin, who noted that these Iranian precision cruise missiles with detachable warheads were equipped with optical homing systems with infrared capable of attacking fixed civilian or military targets. Israel must assure that it doesn’t lose deterrence against such threats. Given this sophisticated Iranian missile capability, Bryen said that Israel has three options: 1) shoot down incoming missiles; 2) attack launching sites; 3) conduct a general retaliation war against Iran and proxies in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza. Bryen noted that Palestinian Islamic Jihad can acquire precision rockets and missiles from Iran via smuggling by sea with delivery by small boats and from the Sinai through tunnels into Gaza. Hezbollah receives such missiles via Iranian air deliveries to Damascus airport, despite frequent Israeli air and missile attacks. Of mounting concern is Iran’s continual breaching of the 2015 nuclear agreement with news that the Tehran regime is loading gases into centrifuges at the underground Fordow facility near Qom, Iran. Bryen suggests that Iran will have enough fissile material within a year to produce multiple nuclear weapons. This presents a significant challenge to both Israel and the US, especially as neither is interested in a war with Iran. Instead, the Trump Administration is engaging in a campaign of “maximum pressure “including ratcheting up sanctions against key IRGC officials and controlled institutions. Despite this Iran pursued its nuclear program and regional support for proxies, estimated at $16 billion annually. Beyond the Matrix 14NOV2019 - PODCAST

2PM – Vicki talks about a Milwaukee County Supervisor who 2:30 – Joy Pullman, writer-The Federalist, discusses education and Elizabeth Warren's education plan, Common Core and other education concerns. 3PM – Mark Mix, National Right to Work, examines the labor policies of the democratic presidential field. 3:30 – Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, chats with Vicki about the raid that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 4PM – Brian Reidl, Manhattan Institute, discusses economics and the economics plans of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

2PM – Senator Ron Johnson talks with Vicki about his appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday 2:30 – Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke address the growing homeless problem in Milwaukee. 3PM – Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of State and Contributor to the Washington times, talks about his article about the President Trump Impeachment inquiry. 3:30 – Dan Gainor, Media Research Center, examines the media coverage of the impeachment inquiry. 4PM – Brian Schimming is in studio to talk about the news of the day.

2PM – Vicki talks about her trip to Washington DC 2:30 –.Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke joins Vicki to discuss the swamp. 3PM – Alderman Paul Skidmore talks about the retirement of Madison Police Chief Mike Koval. 3:30 – Madison Police Chief Mike Koval joins Vicki to detail his decision to retire Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, chats with Vicki about impeachment and other issues. 4PM – Brian Schimming is in studio to discuss Chief Koval's retirement.

2PM – Kevin Nicholson, former GOP Senate candidate, joins Vicki to talk about his new group No Better Friend Corps. 2:30 – Vicki reports on the climate protests taking place in DC. 3PM – Bonner Cohen, National Center for Public Policy Research, chats with Vicki about climate protests and EPA rules that have been rolled back. 3:30 – Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of State, discusses the uproar over President Trump's call with the Ukraine leader. 4PM – Julie Gunloch, Women's Independent Forum, joins Vicki to examine the concern over vaping and e-cigarettes. 4:30 – Judge Jim Troupis talks with Vicki about her trip to Washington DC.

2PM – Gordon Haberman's daughter perished in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/2001. Gordon joins Vicki to talk about his daughter and a memorial higway being considered in her honor. 3PM – Jed Babbin, Washington Times, Spectator.org and former Deputy Undersecretary of State, talks with Vicki about President Trump's called of meeting with the Taliban, the resignation of John Bolton and other issues. 3:30 – Judge Jim Troupis joins Vicki to chat about the University Wisconsin planting 19 additional flags in their 9/11 memorial. Was it an honest mistake or are they honoring the 19 terrorists? 4:30 – Kimberly Guilfoyle, Senior Trump Advisor, talks with Vicki about her upcoming speaking engagement at the UW.

If you are like most people and know something bad is happening with global warming but are not sure how it will impact you, and more importantly, how to help slow it down, this podcast episode is for you. Retired Rear Admiral David Titley, and former Naval Meteorologist and Oceanographer was tasked with assessing and planning for security risks our country faced with regards to global warming. Having spent 32 years in the Navy, David remains especially concerned about sea levels rising. He expects sea levels to rise up to 6 feet by the year 2100. Then, he predicts that by the time the sea levels stabilize, we could be looking at a 30 feet increase in sea levels globally.  What does this mean for you or perhaps your offsprings? This means Orlando becomes the southernmost point of Florida. Baton Rouge is the southernmost point of Louisiana. Everybody in Harlem, New York are elated because they now have beachfront properties. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Climate change Global warming Sea levels rising Potential related security risks to come Changes we can expect as a result of climate change What you can do to help Dr. David Titley's biography: Before retiring, David Titley was the Professor of Practice in the Department of Meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University, and founding Director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk.  The Center helps organizations and citizens prosper and succeed in today's and tomorrow's weather and climate environment by taking advantage of all the skill in weather and climate forecasts. Mr. Titley served as a naval officer for 32 years and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.  Dr. Titley’s career included duties as commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command; oceanographer and navigator of the Navy; and deputy assistant chief of naval operations for information dominance.  He also served as senior military assistant for the director, Office of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 2009, Dr. Titley initiated and led the U.S. Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change.  After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Titley served as the Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Operations, the chief operating officer position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Titley serves on numerous advisory boards and National Academies of Science committees, including the CNA Military Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Center for Climate and Security, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the National Academy of Science Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. Dr. Titley is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.   He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  In 2017, Dr. Titley was the recipient of the College of Earth and Mineral Science Wilson Award for excellence in service. Connect with Dr. David Titley: Twitter Linkedin TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: David W. Titley: Ladies and gents, that could be child’s play compared to what we will see if we don’t get a handle on greenhouse gas emissions pretty much now. Tanya: That’s Dr. David William Titley, former US Navy and Rear Admiral who spent ten years at sea and served his country for over 32 years. With a PhD in Meteorology and a deep expertise as the Navy’s oceanographer. David has been asked to testify before congress on numerous occasions to discuss the state of climate change. Once neutral on the subject, David is now an avid believer that climate change is real, and immediate action should be taken to address the imminent threat to our planet. You really had an amazing career in meteorology and oceanography, and you spent 32 years in the Navy, and then did a lot of other stuff afterwards which we’ll get into,

3PM – Vicki details a list of things that are now considered racist also known as “Everything is racist” 3:30 – Jed Babbin, Deputy Undersecretary of State, discusses the 2020 presidential campaign and the anti-Semitic comments being made by some democrats. 4PM – Mark Mix, National Right to Work Foundation, talks with Vicki about Bernie Sanders's desire to repeal right to work laws. 4:30 – Madison Police Chief Mike Koval chats with Vicki about a Madison School Board member referring to police as Nazis and comparing youth jail to concentration camps. 5PM – David Blaska joins Vicki to continue the discussion on the Madison School Board member calling police Nazis and comparing youth jail to concentration camps.

Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to the former President's death over the weekend at the age of 94. Plus, Ronald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of books on the Secret Service, FBI and CIA, including The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to the death of President George H.W. Bush and the latest twists and turns in the Mueller investigation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there any country more nationalist than France? Is Macron trying to position himself as leader of the EU as the other European countries are falling apart? Is Nielsen on her way out of Homeland Security? What is Trump to do with the Saudis taking orders from MBS to murder Khashoggi? Anything likely to come out of the G20 Summit at the end of the month? Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, Jed Babbin joins Dan and Amy to discuss

From my over 40 years of experience in developing policy positions and making resource allocation decisions on military and international affairs, including several years as President Reagan’s Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, I have learned a lot.  I know that international agreements do not work when they include no adequate verification mechanisms.  There are plenty of examples, but the most recent relates to the 2013 agreement with Syria to relinquish their entire stockpile of chemical warfare material for the United States to destroy at our taxpayers’ expense. It is believed that ISIL has acquired the mustard gas they have increasingly used in recent weeks from chemical weapons stocks retained by the Syrian regime. This is an extremely serious violation that may have grave consequences for regional security.

Malaysia has come in second-last in a report published in May on environmental legislation. The Environmental Democracy Index ranks 70 countries, and is compiled by the U.S.-based World Resources Institute. Is this a sign that we are not doing enough to protect our environment? Or is the report intrinsically flawed? To explore these questions, I’m joined by Dr. Gary Theseira, Deputy Undersecretary at the Environmental Management & Climate Change Division, Roger Chan, an environmental lawyer, and Jeffrey Phang, a member of The Access Initiative and Chairman of the Friends of Kota Damansara.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.