Podcasts about National Counterterrorism Center

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Austin Branch, Dave Pitts, and Joe Miller discuss cognitive warfare, the gray zone, and intensifying great power competition. The ultimate goal is to compete by gaining and maintaining information advantage without kinetic fighting. Recording Date: 28 Apr  2025 Research Question: Has Russian cognitive warfare, including the use of reflexive control, red lines and nuclear threats, influenced US policy decisions regarding weapon deliveries and restrictions to Ukraine? Similarly, has Chinese cognitive warfare impacted US policy and strategic outcomes concerning Taiwan and the Philippines? Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #24 John Davis on Modern Warfare, Teamwork, and Commercial Cognitive Security #62 Jonathan Rauch on the Constitution of Knowledge #222 JD Maddox on Emerging IO Opportunities Unrestricted Warfare by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui The Cypher Brief Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field Save the Cat Story Structure: Definition and Beat Sheet by Blake Snyder Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Austin Branch founded Crescent Bridge to help serve the Information technical and cognitive needs of the Federal Government. Additionally, Austin joined ARLIS to help support the evolution of the Defense and U.S. Government Operations in the Information Environment (OIE) enterprise. Previously, Austin served as OIE Technology & Strategy at Secretary of the Air Force Directorate for Concepts, Development and Management (Exec IPA) after several years in the private sector at COLSA Corporation as the Executive Director for Information Strategies and Programs (2015-2021) after serving 30 years in Federal service as an Army Officer and Senior Civilian. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1986 from The Citadel, Charleston S.C. and went on to serve in multiple Command and Staff positions in conflict and in peace becoming the Army's first Information Operations Officer. Austin pioneered military operations in the information environment in key leadership positions in the Army, Joint Special Operations Command, Joint Staff, EUCOM, and deployed Joint and multinational Task Force Organizations across the globe. Upon retirement from the Army, Austin joined the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence as the Deputy Director and Chief of Operations for the Defense Policy Analysis Office with oversight of National special plans and technical operations. In 2008 was selected as a Defense Intelligence Senior Leader as Senior Advisor for Defense Information Operations focused on oversight, policy and support for Service and Joint Information Operations, and associated Special Access programs. In 2010, Austin was selected by the Secretary of Defense to lead the Information Operations and Military Information Support Defense Enterprise as the first Senior Director for this mission area in the Office of Policy and Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. In this capacity, Austin was DOD's senior representative for IO, MISO, EW and special program oversight, policy and assessments. In 2013, Austin was selected by the Director for the National Counter-Terrorism Center and the DNI to establish and lead a new organization to address Domestic Counter Terrorism, Counter Violent Extremism, and Counter Terrorism Cyber Strategy and Policy in support of the National Security Council. In this capacity, he also served as the National Co-lead for countering ISIS propaganda and influence and associated IPC lead strategist for National Security Council. Austin is also one of the founder's of a Non-profit, Information Professionals Association (IPA). IPA is a professional organization established to serve the interests of the broader Information community worldwide and for issues related to Cognitive Security. Austin also served on the Defense Science Board summer 2019 study focused on great power competition in the Information Environment and was recently was selected to join the University of Maryland Advanced Research Laboratory for Intelligence & Security (ARLIS) to help lead development of their Cognitive Security & Information Portfolio. He also serves on various Advisory Board(s) and professional associations. Austin and his wife, Carol live in Bluffton SC and have three children. They have two serving in active duty in the Army and one in Medical School at Icahn School of Medicine, Mt Sinai, NY. Dave Pitts is a senior national security professional, former CIA executive, and veteran with over four decades of experience in challenging and critical missions, ranging from intelligence operations, counterterrorism and special operations to great power competition. Dave served as the Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia, Chief of National Resources Division, senior leadership positions in the Counterterrorism Center—including in the strategic communications space—and led CIA's two largest Field Stations. Dave has a proven track record of leading large and diverse teams, building lasting partnerships, integrating innovative technologies, and delivering results in high-stakes and high-pressure situations. Dave is a thought leader, Cipher Brief Expert and a frequent writer and commentator on terrorism, great power competition, the gray zone, cognitive warfare and emerging global issues. Dave is a co-founder of The Cipher Briefs Gray Zone Group. Joe Miller, Senior Executive Service, is currently the Deputy Commander for Support at the US Army Special Operations Command, headquartered at Ft Bragg, N.C. Prior to his assignment to Ft Bragg, Joe was the J7 Director of Joint Training and Innovation at US NORAD/NORTHCOM at Peterson, AFB, Co and first SES assignment was the J5 Director, Policy, Strategy, Plans and Futures at US Special Operations Command at Mac Dill AFB, Fl. Joe is a retired US Army Colonel.  He has led and Commanded platoons, troops, detachments, a Battalion task force and a Brigade. He has served and operated in western Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, SW Asia and throughout the Americas. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honors, US Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies (Master of Military Arts and Sciences), an Army War College Fellowship. He earned a Master's Degree in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology.  He is a life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Joe is married with one son. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

DAVID! David Waldman hasn't washed his clothes in days, but you can hardly tell that on today's podcast. GREG! And Greg Dworkin bellies up to the bar with another raft o' stories. If actor George Wendt had ever run for office, he would have been the one most voters would have wanted to have a beer with. RIP Rep. Gerry Connolly, although even that won't give him enough seniority to head some House committees. The TLDR bill is stuck while Gops who say they'll vote no but will definitely vote yes say they'll vote no. Sure, they will be wrecking the economy for people in the short run, but in the long run they will really wreck the economy for people, with the exception of those people that they will kill. Thomas Massie isn't falling in line at the moment, and at this moment Trump is mad about that. Donald won't keep his bib on... and keeps throwing his food on the floor... and keeps screaming… Oh for God's sake, just let him have his toy already! Maybe then he'll shut up and tell us his “new numbers” that he learned. What a smart boy! Ashli Babbitt's lawyers scored a big payday. Sure, beats working… maybe they can get the money directly from the police officers' families? On the other hand, police won't be held responsible for any future killings. An FBI Agent goes public with a Russian intelligence operation that hooked Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, while American intelligence is being rewritten to not incriminate Donald K. Trump. Joe Kent, who likes more those more MAGA friendly intelligence reports, has been cast as Trump's pretty boy to direct the National Counterterrorism Center. Amazingly, we are still allowed to have elections. Gops fight to flip a NY Senate seat in a blue territory that Trump won in. Meanwhile, “reform DA” Larry Krasner won his primary on his way to his election in Philadelphia.

Robert "Bob" Harward is a retired United States Navy SEAL and a former Deputy Commander of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) under General James Mattis. He served for 34 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring in November 2013 as a Vice Admiral. As a Navy SEAL, he had extensive combat experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Bosnia, where he led the U.S. Special Operations invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 and oversaw the Navy SEALs role in Iraq in 2003. He also served as Deputy Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, and even served as a SEAL Leader back when Mike first enlisted at SEAL Teams at only 19 years old. Since then, Bob has served on the National Security Council during the Bush administration as well as having commissioned the National Counter Terrorism Center. He also was the Chief Executive for Lockheed Martin Middle East for eight years, and was recognized by Forbes as one of the top 50 most influential CEO's in the Middle East. In 2017, he was offered the position of National Security Advisor by President Donald Trump, but declined. Recently he authored a book titled "The Gouge!: How To Be Smarter Than the Situation You Are In," which shares his leadership philosophy based on his military and corporate experiences. Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop ---------- Support Bob Harward - Get Your Copy of Bob's book, 'The Gouge!: How to Be Smarter Than the Situation You Are In' at https://www.amazon.com/Gouge-How-Smarter-Than-Situation/dp/B0CSBSCDCR Shield AI - https://www.shield.ai/company-executives/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-harward-7a760575/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thegougebybob/ ---------- Sponsors: C. Crane When the internet goes dark, radio still works! Order Your C. Crane CC Radio 3 today when you call C. Crane's U.S. based Customer Service at 800-522-8863 or visit https://ccrane.com/drop and use code DROP at checkout for 10% off orders over $75! ---------- BUBS Naturals The BUBS namesake derives from Glen ‘BUB' Doherty, who was heroically killed in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. In addition to remembering Glen for the patriot he is, the BUBS ethos centers around the passionate and adventure seeking life that Glen lived. BUBS Naturals products are rooted in sustainably sourced ingredients and controlled consistency to provide our customers with the highest quality Collagen Protein & MCT Oil Powder that help you feel amazing and live a fuller life. Our mission is simple. FEEL GREAT. DO GOOD. 10% always goes back to charity, helping military men and women transition back into civilian life. Go to https://www.bubsnaturals.com/mike and use code MIKE for 20% off your order. ---------- TEAM DOG FOOD, TREATS & SUPPLEMENTS Be Your Dog's Hero: Veteran-owned by a former Navy SEAL and Special Operations K9 Trainer, Team Dog provides a complete diet of science-backed premium dog food, treats, and supplements to optimize your dog's health, forged from rigorous standards and real-world expertise. https://www.teamdog.shop TEAM DOG ONLINE TRAINING Mike Ritland – a former Navy SEAL & Special Operations K9 trainer – shares his simple and effective dog training program to build trust and control with your dog. Based on Mike's bestselling book “Team Dog, Train the Navy SEAL Way”, join tens of thousands of families that successfully trained their way to a better dog. https://www.teamdog.pet SHOP ALL THE MIKE RITLAND BRANDS Get all your Mike Ritland branded gear - Mike Drop | Trikos | Team Dog https://shop.mikeritland.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can a mother say to the cold-blooded executioner of her son? In American Mother, the heartrending story of the murdered American journalist Jim Foley, the writer Colum McCann and Diane Foley, Foley's mother and founder of the Foley Foundation, explore this terrible dilemma. This memorable conversation with Foley and McCann explores forgiveness, faith, and the moral complexities of justice. Most of all, though, it's the conversation about a mother's remarkable love for her dead son which she maintains and even redirects to his ISIS killer.Here are the five KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with McCann and Foley:* The Power of Forgiveness: Diane Foley's ability to forgive Alexander Kotey, one of her son Jim's killers, demonstrates extraordinary grace. Her Christian faith played a crucial role in this process, though forgiveness wasn't easy or natural - it was a conscious choice that led to meaningful human connection even in the most difficult circumstances.* Policy Impact Through Tragedy: Jim Foley's death led to significant changes in U.S. hostage policy. The Foley Foundation's work has helped bring home nearly 150 Americans since 2015, and led to the creation of a formal government structure for handling hostage situations - a direct result of the Obama administration's initial failures and subsequent reforms.* The Complexity of Justice: The case highlights nuanced views on justice and the death penalty. The Foleys advocated against the death penalty for their son's killers, arguing that life imprisonment offers a chance for reflection and potential redemption, while execution would simply perpetuate cycles of violence.* Grief's Individual Journey: Diane's experience shows how grief manifests differently for each person. While her other children needed distance from the situation to heal, she channeled her grief into activism and forgiveness. Her willingness to meet her son's killer was not shared by other family members.* The Value of Journalism: Jim Foley's story underscores the importance and dangers of conflict journalism. His commitment to telling stories of people yearning for freedom in the Middle East, even after being kidnapped once in Libya, reflects the crucial role journalists play in helping the world understand complex situations and human struggles.Diane M. Foley is President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which she created in September 2014 less than a month after the public beheading by ISIS in Syria of her son James W. Foley, an American freelance conflict journalist. In 2015, she led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Hostage US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety, ACOS. She actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30. This directive created the current US hostage enterprise consisting of an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and a White House Hostage Response Group to free innocent Americans taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. JWFLF was instrumental in the passage of the Robert Levinson Hostage Taking and Accountability Act. She has been a tireless hostage, wrongful detainee and family advocate within the US hostage enterprise, Congress, and every presidential administration since 2014. She has raised awareness of international hostage-taking and wrongful detention using the award-winning documentary, “Jim, the James Foley story”, opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today and media interviews. Diane has spoken on the power of forgiveness in various faith communities and was included in 200 Women, edited by Geoff Blackwell. She co-authored the book “American Mother” which was published in 2024 with writer Colum McCann. Diane is also the author of a chapter called, “Life For A Voice: the Work of Journalist James W. Foley through the Eyes of his Family” in Living with Precariousness, edited by Christina Lee and Susan Leong, which was published in 2023.Previously, Diane worked as a community health nurse and as a family nurse practitioner for 18 years. She received both her undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of New Hampshire. She is active in her Roman Catholic parish of St Katherine Drexel in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where she lives with her husband, Dr. John W. Foley. She is the mother of five children.Colum McCann is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic. His newest novel, Apeirogon, will appear in 2020. It has already been acclaimed as a "transformative novel" (Raja Shehadeh). He is also the author of Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as three critically acclaimed story collections. His fiction has been published in more than forty languages. As well as a National Book Award winner, Colum has been a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was the inaugural winner of the Ireland Fund of Monaco Literary Award in Memory of Princess Grace. He has been named one of Esquire's "Best and Brightest," and his short film Everything in This Country Must was nominated for an Oscar in 2005. A contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Paris Review, he teaches in the Hunter College MFA Creative Writing Program. He lives in New York City with his wife and their three children.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Politics right now it feels like everything is shifting all the time. Federal agencies dismantled? Educational funds frozen? Tech broligarchs breaking into data stores of private citizens? A lot of it is hitting home in Washington. On today's Sound Politics, hosts Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann talk about how the changes at the United States Agency for International Development are trickling down to Seattle, a global health hub. Then — a discussion about how some legislation here in Washington -- regarding Tesla -- could mess with an Elon-opoly… a Musk-opoly? Plus, a local far-right figure just got nominated to run the National Counterterrorism Center. But not everything is shifting sand and deep chasms of division. The pod takes a detour to one bipartisan Washington state tradition that has, improbably, withstood the test of time. It involves an ugly duckling and the inventor of pickleball. Lastly, the pod answers a question from a listener about a different shift -- LGBTQ+ representation among lawmakers. KUOW Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay joins the show for this grab bag episode. Read Scott's story on "The Chick" here: https://www.kuow.org/stories/washington-s-congressmembers-have-been-sharing-one-ugly-painting-for-50-years Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabe Spitzer. Our producer this week is Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy Podcast for our especially daily special, Tarrytown Chowder Tuesday is now available on the Spreaker Player!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, Trump's illegal actions as president prove “we are not a nation of laws.”Then, on the rest of the menu, no one could have ever thought that smarmy, sanctimonious Ben Sasse would treat the University of Florida as his personal bank account; failed Washington state MAGA candidate Joe Kent is known for calls to defund the FBI and spouting off the craziest QAnon conspiracies, so Trump nominated him as director of National Counter Terrorism Center; and, a 25-year-old Musk engineer has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where Trump wants to hold US aid to Ukraine hostage until he can get the country's rare earth materials; and, China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!The Netroots Radio Live Player​Keep Your Resistance Radio Beaming 24/7/365!“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” -- Ernest Hemingway "A Moveable Feast"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/west-coast-cookbook-speakeasy--2802999/support.

President Trump has nominated Joe Kent to lead the National Counter Terrorism Center, highlighting his experience as a Green Beret and CIA officer. Read the full story at https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/president-trump-nominates-joe-kent-to-become-director-of-national-counter-terrorism-center/ #JoeKent #NationalSecurity #CounterTerrorism #PresidentTrump #CIA #GreenBeret #MilitaryService #WashingtonDC #ClarkCountyWa #LocalNews

Being secretary of defense is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. But after Pete Hegseth was plucked from a part-time Fox & Friends gig, Republican senators could only kiss his ass and act starstruck during his confirmation hearing—all to ensure he takes their calls when they need military equipment or contracts in their states. Meanwhile, Nancy Mace has been a con artist from the beginning, Trump nominated Nazi-curious Joe Kent to run the National Counterterrorism Center, and Tulsi thinks Edward Snowden is a hero.  Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Adam Kinzinger join Tim Miller. show notes Tim's piece on Joe Kent courting the racist fringe vote when he ran for Congress

Former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller joined ACME General Corp live from our New York office to talk about innovation and transformation in national defense. A former Army Special Forces colonel, Chris also previously served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He is the author of Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America's Most Dangerous Enemies.

If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard would oversee 18 intelligence organizations including the CIA and NSA. Her nomination could set off a fight since Gabbard has no intelligence experience and is accused of defending dictators and parroting disinformation. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Michael Leiter, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard would oversee 18 intelligence organizations including the CIA and NSA. Her nomination could set off a fight since Gabbard has no intelligence experience and is accused of defending dictators and parroting disinformation. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Michael Leiter, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For time immemorial, various groups have been taking hostages, political prisoners, and illegally detaining people with impunity. This tried-and-true method of gaining leverage over a rival state or group continues today, despite the fact that is runs contrary to established international law. As of this posting 42 Americans are being illegally detained by foreign governments and the United States, after a long practice of not negotiating, is finally getting serious about bringing its citizens home. As this delicate dance continues to play out on the international stage, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation continues to lead the way on responses to these illegal and immoral actions taken by foreign governments, rebel groups, and terrorist organizations. In this month's episode, we speak with Diane Foley, mother of slain journalist James Foley, about the work of their family's foundation to help ensure no other family has to endure the pain they did back in 2012 when ISIS killed their son. We dive into what the research tells us about different responses, what is effective, what needs to change, and how we all can work to keep ourselves safe while traveling abroad. This important conversation provides audiences with key information and hope for the future. The more international attention we can bring to this practice, the more we can pressure governments to sign on to the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, a global initiative started by Canada in 2021, the less likely it is that people will continue to be used as political pawns, simply because of their nationality. 2024 Foley Foundation Hostage Report10th Annual James W. Foley Freedom RunDiane M. Foley is President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which she created in September 2014 less than a month after the public beheading by ISIS in Syria of her son James W. Foley, an American freelance conflict journalist.In 2015, she led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Hostage US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety, ACOS. She actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30, which created the current US hostage enterprise to free innocent Americans taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. JWFLF was instrumental in the passage of the Robert Levinson Hostage Taking and Accountability Act.She has been a tireless hostage, wrongful detainee and family advocate within the US hostage enterprise, Congress, and every presidential administration since 2014. She has raised awareness of international hostage-taking and wrongful detention using the award-winning documentary, “Jim, the James Foley story”, opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today and media interviews.She co-authored the book “American Mother” which was published in 2024 with writer Colum McCann. Diane is also the author of a chapter called, “Life For A Voice: the Work of Journalist James W. Foley through the Eyes of his Family” in Living with Precariousness, edited by Christina Lee and Susan Leong, which was published in 2023.

Christine Abizaid, who has served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) for the past three years, sits down with State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly to talk about how the threat of terrorism has changed dramatically over the years and why the threat to Americans is still very real.

On today's program, Ralph welcomes two guests who have worked as civic advocates for more than fifty years—chemical engineer and environmentalist Barry Castleman, and solar energy advocate Ken Bossong. How do they maintain their civic stamina over more than five decades? That's what Ralph wants to know. Then, Ralph is joined by our resident international law expert Bruce Fein, to discuss breaking news from the International Criminal Court. Barry Castleman is a chemical engineer, environmentalist and researcher specializing in health issues. He is the author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects and has worked with public interest groups around the world over the past 50 years on the control of asbestos and chemical hazards. Mr. Castleman has been involved in rule-making on asbestos by numerous federal agencies as a consultant to the agencies and to environmental groups. He has testified as an expert witness in civil litigation in the US on the history of asbestos as a public health problem, and the reasons for failure to properly control asbestos hazards.I remember speaking to students at Johns Hopkins about 30 years ago about careers in international public health, and talking to them about how they should try and listen into themselves and think about what it is they'd really like to do, what they're really interested in, and try to follow that. Rather than following the money or auctioning themselves off to the highest bidder when they graduate from Hopkins.Barry CastlemanYou lose your innocence reading these corporate documents. They're unbelievable in terms of showing that all of these decisions about health and safety and environment are business decisions to the people who make them. And the wanton, reckless, willful disregard of public health is clear. So making these documents publicly available is an extraordinary public service.Barry CastlemanKen Bossong is the Executive Director of the Sun Day Campaign, a non-profit research and educational organization he founded in 1992 to aggressively promote sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels. Mr. Bossong has advocated for solar energy and other renewable energy for more than 50 years, and he previously served as Director of the Critical Mass Energy Project at Public Citizen. Nearly 100% of all the new generating capacity in the United States in the month of March—which is the most recent month for which there are statistics—came from solar alone. There was none from coal. There was only one megawatt from natural gas. There was, I think, three megawatts from oil. And there was zero from nuclear. So the only resource that's growing and scaling up rapidly is solar. Coming in second place is wind. The fossil fuel technologies and nuclear power combined are producing very little.Ken BossongWhat keeps me going? Basically the bad guys. I am always ginned up by the challenge of confronting people who are doing things which I consider to be socially, environmentally irresponsible. And as you pointed out with the example of the oil companies, there's never been a shortage of people who are trying to do things that I think are damaging. Ken BossongBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law.  Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.Although it doesn't really change a whole lot on the legal chessboard, the more countries that recognize a Palestinian statehood, the more pressure there will be on the United States to do something that acknowledges their right…The one other element that comes into play, however, is that there are various tribunals, jurisdictions that can be employed only by a state... So the more that we have international recognition of a Palestinian state, it then would have standing instead of South Africa to go to the International Court of Justice and say—we want a declaration that genocide is being committed against us by Israel. So there are small ways in which I think the greater the recognition, the greater the legal standing Palestine has as in at least some international body.Bruce FeinIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 5/22/241.  On May 20th, the International Criminal Court announced it would seek arrest warrants related to the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Bucking pressure from western governments, the ICC will pursue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges including “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare…[and] Extermination…as a crime against humanity.” The Court also announced it would seek arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for their alleged international offenses. The ICC's decision was met with indignation by Israel and its western allies, including President Joe Biden, who said “What's happening is not genocide,” per the Guardian. Mousa Abu Marzouk – the first chief of Hamas' politburo, and the head of Hamas' international relations – writes in Media Review Network “Hamas stands ready to appear before the ICC with witnesses and live testimony and bear the burden of any judicial finding against it or its members after a full and fair trial with rules of evidence; with examination and cross examination into [what] we have done or not over the many years of our leadership as a national liberation movement. Is Israel?”2. On May 19th, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter was forced to make a “hard landing” near the Iranian/Azerbaijan border. Many suspect Israeli involvement in this crash, largely due to Israel's history of assassinating Iranian officials. Israel however denies any involvement. The Middle East Monitor, relaying what Israeli officials told Channel 13, reports “The message Israel is sending to the countries of the world is that Tel Aviv has nothing to do with the incident.”3. Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog has sent a letter to dozens of congressional Democrats “accus[ing] lawmakers of aiding…Hamas…misrepresenting Israeli policy and…inappropriately trying to influence President…Biden,” per the Huffington Post. This letter – a response to moderate Democrats Jason Crow and Chris Deluzio's May 3rd letter alleging that Israel is breaking U.S. law – has rankled Democrats in Congress. One staffer told the Huffington Post that multiple parts of the letter “verg[ed] on offensive,” and another said “the tone of this letter is not reflective of the fact that the U.S. is the primary guarantor of Israel's security. An unaware reader would assume that Israel is the superpower in this relationship and the U.S. the recipient of aid.” Yet another aid put it this way, “Never before have we received such a harsh letter from the Israeli government. But then again, never before have we been so critical of their actions.”4. Independent investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein reports “The National Counterterrorism Center, created in the wake of 9/11 to combat al Qaeda, is now working overtime to find evidence of foreign funding of pro-Palestinian student protesters.” Klippenstein continues “The effort follows repeated calls by Congress for the federal government to investigate university protesters' purported links to Hamas, and coincides with a push by the FBI and homeland security bureaucracies to link the campus demonstrations to foreign actors. Tempting as it might be to laugh off the specter of foreign powers directing undergraduate protesters, evidence of this would provide the legal basis for the intelligence community to spy on Americans. Absent a foreign connection, the protests are constitutionally-protected speech.” Civil liberties advocates have long warned of the American anti-terrorism apparatus being weaponized against internal dissent. During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, the Trump administration infamously worked feverishly to cook up some connection between foreign governments and supposed domestic “antifa” leaders. The fact that the Biden administration is seeking to do the same speaks to just how enticing it is for the federal government to use trumped up terrorism accusations to silence legitimate protests.5. In a chilling new installment of the campus crackdown on pro-Palestine activity, POLITICO reports the California State University system has “placed Sonoma State campus President Mike Lee on leave… after he agreed to protesters' demands to involve them in university decision-making and pursue divestment from Israel.” In a statement, CSU Chancellor Mildred García derided president Lee for his “insubordination and the consequences it has brought upon the system.” The message is clear: any degree of violence in confronting the student protesters is acceptable, engaging with their demands is not.6. In more higher education news, the Harvard Graduate Student's Union – organized under the UAW – has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the university over their response to campus pro-Palestine protests, per Bloomberg labor reporter Josh Eidelson. “[The union is] claiming the school's retaliation violated students' right as employees to protest over workplace issues.” This charge will test the limits of workplace speech protections and we will be watching closely to see where the board lands.7. Last week, workers at two Alabama Mercedes-Benz plants voted against joining the United Autoworkers by a margin if 2,045 to 2,642, per 1819 News. UAW President Shawn Fain blamed the loss on union busting by the corporation, stating “Mercedes engaged in egregious illegal behavior. The federal government as well as the German government are currently investigating Mercedes for the intimidation and harassment they inflicted on their own workers. We intend to follow that process through…This is a David and Goliath fight. Sometimes Goliath wins a battle. But David wins the war.” Fain went on to say “Justice isn't about one vote or one campaign. It's about getting a voice, getting your fair share. And let's be clear: workers won serious gains in this campaign. They raised their wages, with the 'UAW bump.' They killed wage tiers. They got rid of a CEO who had no interest in improving conditions in the workplace. Mercedes is a better place to work thanks to this campaign, and thanks to these courageous workers.” Finally, Fain noted the similarities between this campaign and the previous attempts to unionize Volkswagen plants, stating “[Mercedes] told the workers to give the new CEO a chance. That's exactly what Volkswagen told its workers in 2019. And in 2024, Volkswagen workers realized it's not about a CEO. It's about a voice on the job, it's about getting our lives back, and getting our time back. The only path to do that is through a union contract.”8. CNN reports that on Tuesday May 14th, the Justice Department  “notified Boeing that it [had] breached [the] terms of its 2021 [deferred prosecution] agreement in which the company avoided criminal charges for two fatal 737 Max crashes.” This report goes on to say “Families of victims and lawyers representing them met with the Justice Department late last month to persuade the Biden administration to end the agreement in light of multiple safety lapses at Boeing this year and in past years after the 2021 agreement was reached.”  Following this meeting, attorney Paul Cassell said the deferred prosecution agreement was “rigged” and “pledged to hold Boeing accountable for its ‘fraud and misconduct.'” 9. On Monday May 20th, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange won the right to appeal his extradition to the United States. Per Democracy Now! “Assange's lawyers argued before the British High Court that the U.S. government provided ‘blatantly inadequate' assurances that Assange would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain. Assange…faces up to 175 years in prison for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.” This is a major victory for Assange. Yet, as Chip Gibbons, policy director of Defending Rights & Dissent puts it “[Assange is] not out of Belmarsh [Prison] yet…This could still end in him being sent to the U.S. And the person who can stop this is Joe Biden.”10. Finally, according to Washington Post labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley, “[Over 400] physicians have filed to unionize with SEIU, in what they say would be the first doctor's union in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic.” These physicians – employed by ChristianaCare, Delaware's largest private employer – have laid out a list of grievances they hope to address by organizing, including “patient safety concerns due to understaffing and inadequate resources…the erosion of the physician-led model of care...[and] the moral injury caused by the pressure to prioritize...profit over patient needs.” Gurley further highlighted that a key priority of this doctor's union is “combating excessive corporatization,” in healthcare.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard.  Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

On this episode, experts from the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center discuss cybersecurity threats to the agriculture industry. We check in with National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Hunter Ihrman to learn about this week's NCBA Legislative Conference on Capitol Hill in “Beltway Beef,” and in our “Meat Monitor” segment, we learn about the U.S. Meat Export Federation's efforts to educate consumers in Central America on the benefits of U.S. pork. In “Bushels and Cents,” Ray Bohacz discusses the importance of following the proper bolt tightening sequence on your farm equipment. The episode also features the latest song from Alex Miller, “My Daddy's Dad.” Timestamps Intro/news: 0:00 Goatlifeclothing.com advertisement: 5:41 Cybersecurity in agriculture discussion: 6:00 Hunter Ihrman, National Cattlemen's Beef Association: 26:13 Lucia Ruano, U.S. Meat Export Federation: 35:04 Ray Bohacz, “Bushels and Cents”: 37:43 Alex Miller: 39:10

When Christine Abizaid — the director of the National Counterterrorism Center — first began working for the United States government in 2002, the biggest terror threat facing the U.S. was from Al-Qaeda. Now, homegrown far-right terrorists pose a key threat, the Hamas attacks on October 7th and the ongoing war in Gaza are fueling new risks, and some American politicians claim that lots of terrorists are entering the U.S. through the southern border. In a rare interview, Abizaid describes the real terror threats facing the United States today.Go to audible.com/news where you'll find Peter Bergen's recommendations for other news, journalism and nonfiction listening.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vice Admiral (Ret.) Mike LeFever of the US Navy is the former Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center. Mike heads up Concentric, one of the world's most influential privately held security firms and are co-authors of the best selling book End Game First: A Leadership Strategy for Navigating Crisis and Business. In the book, he details how the national security industry has changed rapidly over the past few decades, writing "...men with guns can't protect you from a virus, an online threat, or crypto-driven cyber extortion." This former Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center crashes the podcast to spill the tea on leadership, security, how high-profile companies can survive a cyber-attack, and shares epic tales from the humanitarian battlefield! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0:00 - Nikki Haley “stayin' alive” presser   11:28 - Jackson Co, MO, prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announcing murder charges against two adults in KC Super Bowl parade shooting   27:33 - BLM Brandon & the NPR Times   45:52 - Fauci visits UIC   01:01:44 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, on renewing concerns over bureau's vetting and the growing danger at the southern border   01:21:43 - Noted economist Stephen Moore doesn't believe either side wants to cut government spending. Get more Steve @StephenMoore   01:37:23 - Benjamin Herold, award winning journalist and author, discusses magic dirt/tragic dirt and his new book Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs 01:53:05 - Senior Instructional Professor in Economics at University of Chicago and an authority on sports economics issues, Allen R. Sanderson, weighs in on Reinsdorf's plans for a South Loop Sox stadiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walter: Founder and CEO of StackAware, which started as a vulnerability management tool and is now an AI risk consulting company Creator of the popular security blog "Deploy Securely" that started his entrepreneurial journey Worked in the National Counterterrorism Center for two years Check out the episode for our discussion on his pivot away from the initial product to a services model, why that might change in the future, and the role of his security blog Deploy Securely in growing StackAware. blog.stackaware.com stackaware.com

Admiral Robert Harward is one of history's most accomplished US Navy SEALs. After graduating from the US Naval Academy, his NSW career began when he graduated with BUD/S class 128 in 1984 and joined SEAL Team Three, where he served as a platoon commander. From there, he screened for NSW Development Group, the US Navy's tier-one unit, known at the time as SEAL Team Six, where he served as an assault team leader and operations officer. He earned his master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Then he served as the task group commander during Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait, the Joint Special Operations Task Force commander for Operation Rugged Nautilus, the deputy commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Bosnia, the Special Warfare Plans Officer for the Commander of Amphibious Forces in the U.S. Seventh Fleet; USSOCOM Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief; then as the Executive Officer of NSW Unit ONE and as the commanding officer of SEAL Team Three.Admiral Harward assumed command of NSW Group One in August of 2001 and deployed to Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks. He commanded a multi-national task force named Task Force K-Bar and directed special reconnaissance and direct action missions throughout the country.The following year, he deployed to Iraq as the commander of Task Force 561, where he commanded NSW Task Group Central. The forces at his command there included not just all the assets in the Naval Special Warfare but also forces from the Polish GROM, the UK Royal Marines, and the Kuwaiti Navy.In 2003, he left NSW Group One and reported to the Executive Office of the President at the White House, where he served on the National Security Council as the Director of Strategy and Defense Issues.He went to the newly created National Counterterrorism Center in Washington from the White House.Then, he served as the deputy commanding general of JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command, at Fort Bragg and did several more combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.In 2008, he assumed the role of deputy commander of the United States Joint Forces Command.Finally, in 2011, at the rank of Vice Admiral, he was assigned the role of Deputy Commander of USCENTCOM before retiring in November 2013. After his retirement, Admiral Harward became the chief executive of Lockheed Martin in the UAE.He is currently the executive vice president for International Business and Strategy for Shield AI, an AI-focused Defense Company. In this episode, we talk with Admiral Harward about his career in Naval Special Warfare, his advice for young leaders in the military, and the evolution of warfare as artificial intelligence takes a greater role on the battlefield. Timestamps:00:00:22 Intro to Admiral Bob Harward00:05:03 Younger Career00:10:30 Going Officer or Enlisted00:14:06 Becoming a Good Leader00:15:34 Advice for Aspiring Special Operators  00:21:13 Always be Prepared for War00:23:38 Well-Educated Warriors00:26:46 Comparison of SOF Units Around the World00:30:00 China and the US00:31:33 The Role of A.I.00:34:31 Half of Our Potential00:36:54 Best and Worst Advice 00:39:16 Outro

Christy Abizaid, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, spoke about the duties of the center, terrorist threats to the United States and the role of counter-terrorism during an era of strategic competition. She also participated in a moderated question and answer session with Mark Pomar, discussing U.S. foreign policy, the counter-terrorism mission, and what it is like to work with in the intelligence community.  

Mea Culpa welcomes Olivia Troye to our show. Troye who considers herself a McCain Republican, is a national security official who has worked on homeland security issues at the National Counterterrorism Center, the US Department of Energy, The Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and the DHS. She also worked for former Vice President, Mike Pence. While serving on the Corona Virus Task Force she famously parted ways with Pence over the administration's response to the pandemic. Troye is here to share her unique perspective on Capitol Hill.

Ralph welcomes back public interest advocate Donald Cohen to discuss the long history of corporate propaganda covering for corporate greed, and his new book Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America. Then Ralph is joined by founder of the Free Law Project, Michael Lissner, to talk about why the American legal system is so hard to use and the ongoing fight to make it more accessible.Donald Cohen is the founder and executive director of the research and policy center In the Public Interest. He is the co-author of The Privatization of Everything and his latest book, co-authored with Nick Hanauer and Joan Wals, is Corporate B******t: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America.Every time they say something, our natural instinct is to debunk it, which means we're playing on their playing field. We want to pre-bunk it. We say, “That's bull. You're just playing a game. And listen to how you've done it in the past.” Because many of the quotes in this book are kind of hilarious, actually. We want to make fun of them and we're hoping that this becomes a little bit of a vaccine going forward. Donald CohenThis is more than just lies, falsehoods, off-the-wall predictive phoniness. It's more than that. It's deadly. In other words, it's not just rhetoric. It's not just craziness. It leads to the suppression of the society's response to foresee and forestall hazards, ripoffs, and the like, and to engage in preventive activity— regulations, opening it up for lawsuits under tort law—and deterrence. So we're dealing here with not only malicious patterns of rhetoric, we're dealing here with deadly delays. Ralph NaderMichael Lissner is Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer of the Free Law Project. The Free Law Project is a nonprofit that uses technology, data, and advocacy to make the legal ecosystem more equitable and competitive. They build open-source tools to make legal information more accessible, and they host major open databases of opinions, federal filings, judges, financial disclosures, and oral arguments. Open information is really how government works… You can imagine if the Supreme Court didn't publish its opinions. Right now you can go to their website, you can find their latest decisions. But you could imagine a system where people went to the Supreme Court, they decided who was right and who was wrong, and they told those people— and that was it, and they didn't explain themselves. It wouldn't work very well, because we wouldn't know how the laws are being interpreted. And I hate to say so, but when you get a little bit away from the Supreme Court…you realize that's kind of the system we have. Michael LissnerIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantis1. On Saturday November 4th, the largest ever pro-Palestine demonstration was held in Washington. The Real News Network reports over 100,000 demonstrators gathered in Freedom Plaza and marched on the White House, demanding a ceasefire. CNN reports that another 100,000 protesters gathered in London, along with demonstrations throughout the world, including in Paris and Berlin, where authorities have sought to quash or outright ban pro-Palestine protests. These tremendous shows of solidarity underline how much the politics of this issue have changed in the western world.2. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, has been censured by the House of Representatives. Defending herself on the floor of the House, Rep. Tlaib said “I will not be silenced, and I will not let you distort my words…Trying to bully or censure me won't work because this movement for a cease-fire is much bigger than one person. It is growing every single day. There are millions of people across our country who oppose Netanyahu's extremism and are done watching our government support collective punishment and the use of white phosphorus bombs that melt flesh to the bone. They are done watching our government…supporting cutting off food, water, electricity, and medical care to millions of people with nowhere to go…they don't believe the answer to war crimes is more war crimes. The refusal of Congress and the administration to acknowledge Palestinian lives is chipping away at my soul. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed. The majority were children…The idea that criticizing the Government of Israel is anti-Semitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it is being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our Nation…I can't believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings just like anyone else…Speaking up to save lives…no matter faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial…The cries of Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I do not understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you-all…We cannot lose our shared humanity…We will continue to call for a cease-fire…for the immediate delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza, for the release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained, and for every American to come home. We will continue to work for real, lasting peace that upholds human rights and the dignity of all people and centers peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, censures no one, and ensures that no person, no child, has to suffer or live in fear of violence.” Despite enormous pressure by the Israel lobby, support for a ceasefire in Congress continues to grow – adding powerful new allies like Rep. Maxine Waters and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, who has, incredibly, taken a bolder stance than longtime progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.3. Two recent stories reveal widespread dissent within the State Department regarding the administration's policy on Gaza. POLITCO is out with a report on a leaked State Department memo calling for the U.S. to support a ceasefire and allow for criticism of Israel's military tactics, the gag on which “contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor,” further arguing that American “tolerance” for wanton civilian death “engenders doubt in the rules-based international order that we have long championed.” Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reports State Department officials feel sidelined by the administration and unable to steer policy at this vital moment. One unnamed official decried the department for using “hollow moves” which “fail to acknowledge the complicity of our decisions and policy in the relentless suffering of Gazans…igno[ing] the fact that we still aren't pushing for a cease-fire, still not asking Israel to control itself.”4. The State Department isn't the only institution dealing with internal dissent over Gaza. Democracy Now! reports that Jazmine Hughes, an award-winning writer for The New York Times Magazine, “resigned after signing an open letter condemning Israel's genocide in Gaza. The move constituted a violation of newsroom policy. New York Times contributor Jamie Lauren Keiles, who describes himself as a “religiously observant Jew,” also left the publication after signing on to the letter.”5. Brandeis University has banned their campus' chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The group posted on their Instagram that the Student Affairs department at the university “derecognized” the group after they planned a vigil for the dead in Palestine, deeming the demonstration “a genuine threat or harassment.” Brooklyn College Professor Corey Robin wrote “the idea of an institution bearing [the] name [Brandeis], of all names, to investigate student groups exercising their speech rights—in the name of combating alleged danger—is outrageous. "Men feared witches and burnt women," he wrote. Quite.” The ACLU has urged higher education leaders to “Reject calls to investigate, disband, or penalize pro-Palestinian student groups for exercising their free speech rights.”6. According to the Intercept, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Christine Abizaid is using the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel to argue for reauthorization of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Section 702 “enables the U.S. government to gather vast amounts of intelligence — including about U.S. citizens — under the broad category of foreign intelligence information, without first seeking a warrant.” This section of the law is set to expire at the end of this year, though lawmakers are likely to renew it in some form. The Brennan Center for Justice recently published a report documenting how the FBI “has used the 702 authority to spy on U.S. representatives, senators, civil liberties organizations, political campaigns, and activists.”7. CNN reports that South Africa and Chad have recalled their diplomats from Israel. South African officials also “noted the continuing disparaging remarks of the Israeli ambassador to South Africa about those who are opposing the atrocities and the genocide of the Israeli government,” adding that “A genocide under the watch of the international community cannot be tolerated.” South Africa and Chad now join Turkey, Honduras, Colombia, Chile, Jordan and Bahrain, in withdrawing diplomats from Israel, while Bolivia has opted to cut off diplomatic relations with Israel entirely, citing “crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people.”8. In domestic politics on Israel, Wisconsin Rep. and outspoken progressive Mark Pocan made waves this week for criticizing AIPAC, Israel's chief lobbying arm in the U.S. In an interview with Slate, Pocan said “I don't give a f**k about AIPAC—period…I think they're a cancerous presence on our democracy and politics in general, and if I can be a surgeon, that's great.” The Slate article goes to say “following Pocan's lead, a small number of congressional Democrats (and one congressional Republican) have openly accused the organization of spreading falsehoods and misrepresentations in its lobbying efforts.” AIPAC was the top 2022 donor to both Reps. Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries, respectively the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House.9. Finally, in non-Palestinian news, More Perfect Union reports that “Tens of thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh who make products for brands like Zara, H&M and GAP are on strike. Their minimum wage is $75 a month, and they're demanding it rise to $208. The bosses are only offering $90. They've shut down over 300 factories so far.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Violent, criminal acts that are committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by foreign organizations or nations are international terrorists. Domestic terrorists commit the same kind of carnage in the homeland but their ideological goals stem from domestic influences like politics, religion, social or racial influencers or environmental concern. Their concerns might be legitimate but their method of gaining attention is criminal. Let's talk terrorism.======================================= Get 10% Off your TruthFinder subscription with code EVIL10 at checkout: https://truthfinder.pxf.io/c/3466408/1404760/15694 

0:00 - Maine massacre 13:49 - Is BLM Brandon panicking? 33:14 - Hate has a home at Hinsdale Central 56:43 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, looks at Trump's legal troubles and investigates Biden Inc 01:15:16 - REALITY BITES – Gen Z 01:35:52 - David Harsanyi, senior editor at the Federalist, looks at how do (and should do) education in America at large. David is a great follow on X  @davidharsanyi 01:53:37 - U of C Prof. John Mearsheimer on Ukraine (on Glenn Loury podcast) and the prospects of escalation 02:04:29 - OPEN MIC FRIDAY!!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Bonnie Evangelista is joined by special guest, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael Nagata, former Director of Strategy for the National Counterterrorism Center and retired United States Army veteran with a storied 38-year career. Mike shares his insights on the importance of embracing technological military change and the need for collaboration between government and industry to create a risk-tolerant culture. Tune in to learn what it takes to prevail as a nation in this new technological era. TIMESTAMPS: (2:42) Spending 38 years in the Army (8:34) Why Special Ops exists (13:11) How AI tech challenges military leaders to adapt (17:31) Why digital technology disrupts military affairs globally (22:23) How to incentivize risk (28:19) Government and Industry relationships must change drastically (34:54) How to be solutions-based vs. requirements-based (39:04) What leaders must do to embrace failure LINKS: Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-nagata-4241a419/ Follow Bonnie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-evangelista-520747231/ CDAO: https://www.ai.mil/ Tradewinds AI: https://www.tradewindai.com/

Matt Maasdam, a Navy SEAL for 20 years, the SEAL training program's head instructor, and for 2.5 years, the carrier of the President's ‘nuclear football,' is so good in this interview that we broke it up into two episodes: Part I: Training the SEALs, and Part II: Carrying the Nuclear Football.In Part II, Navy SEAL leader Maasdam returns for a riveting bonus round. Here he tells us how he got selected to carry the infamous “Nuclear Football” for the president, what the job entails, and what he learned from his 2.5 years carrying the nuclear football within a few feet of the leader of the free world, and the many top advisors the president consults every day. Maadam has stories!He also discusses his role working with the legendary Navy SEAL Team 6 before its raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound to get the terrorist leader, and explains how a Navy pilot saved the operation by essentially crash landing his helicopter nose first, and protecting his passenger's ability to complete their mission.So tune in for more great stories and leadership lessons. About our Host:For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:http://www.letthemleadbybacon.comhttp://www.johnubacon.comYou can connect with John via these platforms:https://www.facebook.com/johnubaconhttps://twitter.com/Johnubacon

This week Justin sits down with Joe Augustyn. Joe was a member of the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service for 28 years, working as a case officer in several locations and later as Chief of Station on three different occasions. After the September 11th attacks, he was appointed the deputy associate director of CIA for Homeland Security until the standup of the brand new Department of Homeland Security in November, 2002. He's also been credited as being one of the original architects of what is now called the National Counterterrorism Center. Joe even served as Chief of Staff for the Deputy Director for Operations, where he monitored and helped manage the CIA's covert action programs. Today, he dives into one of his assignments as Director of the CIA's Defector Resettlement Center, responsible for the resettlement of high level defectors granted entry into the United States. In particular, they discuss Aleksandr Zaporozhsky, the KGB agent who notoriously gave up Alrich Ames.Connect with Spycraft 101:Check out Justin's latest release, Covert Arms, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: spycraft-101.myshopify.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.Support the show

In this captivating Spotlight Sunday episode, I'm joined by Lauren Lusby Fernandez, a remarkable individual who embarked on an extraordinary journey from graduating with a Political Science: Pre-Law degree to working with the Secret Service in Washington, D.C. Lauren's path took her through elite training centers, and she collaborated with prestigious agencies like the Department of State, CIA, the National Counterterrorism Center, and other Intelligence communities. Her hilarious take on this unique career is brilliantly captured in her self-published book, "Talk Back Barbie: The Secret Service Edition." Join us as we dive into her girly-girl experiences in a high-stakes world, and discover how she made it to where she is today.We thought that with the fun that's come out of the Barbie movie release, this is a great story to spotlight: “Secret Service Barbie.. Find out more about Lauren and her incredible story at https://beforeyougopodcast of ;isten on your favorite listening platform#SecretService #TalkBackBarbie #PoliticalScience#Comedy #CareerJourney #IntelligenceCommunity #WashingtonDC#SelfPublishedAuthor #UniquePath #InspiringStoriesThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacyPodcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

0:00  - They were 2 Chicago pizza delivery guys. Then, they ran a Mexican drug cartel, feds say   10:37 - Democrats Want a Trump O.J. Simpson Trial   26:49 - Tucker Carlson talks to Devon Archer   49:18 - Kevin R. Brock is a former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to the latest indictment of former President Trump   01:06:48 - Dakota Wood served America for two decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and is the Senior Research Fellow for Defense Programs at The Heritage Foundation. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to Devon Archer's interview with Tucker Carlson   01:21:16 - Obama Once Wrote To Ex-Girlfriend That He ‘Repeatedly Fantasizes About Making Love To Men,' Biographer Says   01:38:49 - Longtime Northwestern assistant details procedures Fitzgerald had in place   02:00:24 - Erin Geary is a writer, consultant, mother, wife, and volunteer. After thirty years of teaching, she left the profession to pursue her dream of writing. Her twice weekly articles on American culture and politics can be found at Commonfolk365.substack.com. She joined Dan and Amy to talk about the state of education in Chicago and Illinois See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:00 - Tucker vs. Mike Pence on Ukraine   13:00 - Tucker asks Pence for his reflections on J6   32:58 - The Great Disintegration: When the peacekeepers are shot and on electronic monitoring   45:56 - After having last Thursday & Friday off Dan gets his "bite" at Chris Wray's House Judiciary testimony with Kevin Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center   01:06:17 - Markets Specialist for Market Day Report!, Scott “the cow guy” Shellady, on the Bidenomics “boom” in DEI & ESG jobs and the issues of investing with your feelings instead of facts. Catch Scott's Market Day Report! - 10:30am CT to 1pm CT- and The Cow Guy Close – 1pm CT to 1:30pm CT – both at RFD-TV   01:22:02 - Tucker vs. Asa Hucthinson at the Family Leadership Summit (Des Moines) on state's role in protecting children from the trans ghouls   01:39:20 - Scott McKay, publisher of the Hayride & contributing editor at the American Spectator, on Trump v DeSantis and his "cocaine communism" theory. Make sure to check out Scott's book The Revivalist Manifesto   01:58:28 - Dan & Amy with a reminder of how just unreachable people are: Luke Combs/Tracy ChapmanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:00 - The way Chicago and NYC make pizza may be different but the way they're run as cities are the same 13:18 - Dan & Charles check out WaPo columnist Wesley Lowery's new book American Whitelash 31:51 - Dan & Charles dive deeper into American Whitelash with reaction from listeners 48:59 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, shares his concern that the current DOJ is doing all it can to protect Biden and his family 01:06:38 - Chicago real estate agent: please stay 01:26:23 - Noted economist Stephen Moore on Bidenomics - "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." For more Steve @StephenMoore 01:39:55 - King Randall, I., “community shifter” and founder of the Life Preparatory School for Boys in Albany, Georgia, shares how his school shapes young men into upstanding protectors and providers for their communities. For more on the Life Preparatory School for Boys visit thexforboys.org 01:54:55 - Trump Administration's U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, discusses his new book No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America's WorkersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:00 - THE GREAT DISINTEGRATION: Mayor BLM Brandon   11:49 - Is it finally time to disband the FBI?   27:00 - Miller Lite's woke “good sh*t” ad   45:43 - Auburn's Derick Hall's story from the womb to the NFL   57:56 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, weighs in on the Durham report and the investigation into Biden inc   01:16:58 - President at Wirepoints, Ted Dabrowski, discusses the uncertain future for Illinois' tax credit scholarship program, the city's migrant crisis and the financial future for Brandon Johnson's Chicago. Get Ted's latest at wirepoints.org   01:32:49 - Dan & Amy share a report on officials neglecting adverse side effects from COVID vaccines   01:49:19 - President of Perma Seal Basement Systems, Roy Spencer, shares a better way to protect & seal your concrete surfaces. For more on Roy “the guy who keeps you dry” Spencer and the great work of Perma Seal Basement Systems visit permaseal.net 01:56:55 - Dan & Amy take issue with Brandon Johnson comparing Adam Toledo and Officer Areanah Prestson's deaths See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's spring break, and your kids might have more time on their hands… so we are revisiting one of our best and increasingly relevant episodes.Over a third of Americans spend hours every day on an app that directly feeds their data to the Chinese government. TikTok, owned by Chinese parent company Bytedance, is constantly collecting reams of data on its users, from GPS to keystrokes to outer-app monitoring, and even encrypted data that might be useful someday. But aren't these D.C. elite problems — worrying only for those who plan to work in intelligence or government someday? Nope. The implications of China's TikTok-enabled reach touch almost every American. Personal privacy aside, our national security is at immediate risk. The Chinese Communist Party exerts a measure of control over more than one-third of Americans. Are we going to continue to cede our sovereignty to Xi Jinping? Or will the U.S. Government shut down TikTok once and for all?These questions with Klon Kitchen, a senior fellow at AEI. He specializes in national security, defense technology, innovation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Previously, he was a director at the Heritage Foundation and was the national security advisor to Sen. Ben Sasse. He has worked at the NCTC, the National Counterterrorism Center, in the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, and at the Defense Intelligence Agency.Download the transcript here

Gary EdgingtonShow NotesOn today's episode we had a delightful conversation with Gary Edgington, the author of“Outside The Wire” (not the science fiction film of the same name). It was publsihed by KoehlerPress and was released in August of 2022.A retired LA counterterrorism cop and a fearless Army doctor risk everything, including theirburgeoning romance, as they battle clandestine Iranian operatives bent on the slaughter ofthousands of innocents and ultimately the destruction of America.After a yearlong lull, local Iraqi insurgents launch a deadly mortar barrage at the sprawlingCamp Victory Base in Baghdad, Iraq. Rick Sutherland, a retired LAPD lieutenant working as anembedded counterterrorism advisor, is wounded in the attack, and a local interpreter is killed.Along with Major Nancy Weaver, his former doctor and now partner, Rick embarks on an off-the-books investigation that quickly morphs into a race to stop murderous Iranian operatives fromexploding multiple dirty bombs during a critical meeting of US and foreign heads of state.Working together, Nancy and Rick make a formidable team-but will it be enough?Gary Edgington is a 30-year law enforcement veteran. Gary is also the son of a lawenforcement officer who was tragically murdered in the line of duty in 1979. This event occurredwhile Gary was in the third week of L.A. Sheriff's Academy training. Gary graduated with hisclass and began his career with the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Gary later transferredto the Beverly Hills Police Department, then the LA Co DA's office, before being appointed aSpecial Agent with the California DOJ-Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in 1994.Throughout his career, Gary has held assignments in major narcotics, internal affairs,intelligence, government corruption, counter-terrorism, and as a firearms and tactics instructor.As a Ca. DOJ Special Agent, Gary served from 1999 to 2008 as a member of the Los AngelesFBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. After 9/11, Gary was promoted to Task Force Commander andtook command of a multi-agency counter-terrorism task force based in Los Angeles. Gary hasalso served in an assignment at the National Counter Terrorism Center in Va. Additionally, hehas received counter-terrorism training from agencies such as the FBI, CIA, US Army, and DIA.He is currently working on volume two in this series.His website is https://garyedgingtonauthor.comTRIVIA:Last week's question was:Author Elly Griffiths received inspiration for Her Ruth Galloway serief from?a. Relativesb. Neighborsc. Street namesd. Friends from schoolThis answer is a. Relatives. The character of Ruth Galloway was inspired by Griffiths' husband,who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist. The location is credited to her aunt, "wholives on the Norfolk coast and filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that areaThis week's question is:Which author created the charity “Save the Libraries?”a. Karin Slaughterb. Jane Winspearc. Martha GrimesTune in next week for the answer. Good luck!

In this week's Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus spends some time speaking with retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Chris Miller, who served as the Acting Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump. Chris also served as Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center as well as numerous command and staff positions within the 5th Special Forces group (Airborne). He also participated in combat operations in Afghanistan & Iraq. In his role as the Secretary of Defense, Chris was overseeing military departments, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the unified commands, as well as planning and coordinating military deployments and operations. With his vast military knowledge and experience of over 3 decades, Mr. Miller brings to the table an interesting and informative perspective to the role of the U.S military, and it's function at every level. In this episode you will hear: • This is the book launch, officially. (9:01) • They have all this exclusive intelligence. You know how much got to the ground force? Zero.(15:44) • There were lessons learned, and we're all about passing it on. That's what we're all about now. (18:07) • [Speaking to Marcus] This is the path the Lord put you on. You accept that. You are the face of the war. (21:58) • The [the military] has a structure that will take people in and form them differently and change how they view life in a good way. (25 :00) • The army makes a good man better and a bad man worse. (27:26) • It's all about selfless service and it's not about you (32:44) • When my heart and my mind became aligned with being a selfless servant, it was like rocket fuel. (33:28) • When you realize this is how it is might as well just embrace it. It's a game changer. (33:42) • I was the Secretary of Defense under President Trump for the last 73 days. Not a lot went on. (37:19) • I spent like 35-36 years as a government employee or as a military person. (38:03) • If you are asked to interview for a job, always interview because you're gonna learn something and you might get the job. (42:28) • Al Qaeda had been seriously weakened from all of our attacks. We call it mowing the grass. Just keep killing them off. Eventually there's not going to be anybody left – and it worked. (44:32) • I know we can't defeat terrorism - that's a verb. We can defeat Al Quada (a noun).  (45:26) • [Marcus] If we're fighting terrorists, we're trained terrorists, trained to cause terror to them, so much so that there won't be another group coming up after them. (45:57) • Special Operator: Figure out the network, figure out the incentive system, communicate, execute. (46:50) • The only person who could keep us attacking was President Trump. (47 :04) • We killed off the head of ISIS. This guy was the definition of evil. (47:38) • The President asked me if I wanted to become a political appointee. (48:36) • The purpose of the military is not only to protect and serve, but to defend the constitution and to ultimately protect the people of the United States. (51:43) • I only learn when I screw something up. (64:05) • I was really pissed about the way Afghanistan ended. (65:55) • We will fire a kid who messes up a piece of paperwork, and our generals aren't held accountable for losing a war. (66:16) • Chris' Book: Soldier Secretary (85:57) 

0:00 - Biden: classified docs locked in my garage with my Corvette   11:27 - KJP: We have been transparent   29:38 - The FBI   44:00 - Timothy Fitzgerald, associate professor of business economics at Texas Tech University and served as chief international economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, 2017-18, explains why  Gasoline Prices Will Rise Again   58:01 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, weighs in on Biden's classified documents and looks into a few of the FBI's pending investigations   01:19:40 - THE PURGE/THE REVOLT: Vote for me…I'm a woman   01:36:54 - Lionel Shriver, contributor to The Spectator and best selling author of  We Need to Talk About Kevin, describes How we created a self-hating generation. Mrs. Shriver has a new book out  Abominations: Selected Essays from a Career of Courting Self-Destruction   01:57:09 - OPEN MIC FRIDAY!!!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over a third of Americans spend hours every day on an app that directly feeds their data to the Chinese government. TikTok, owned by Chinese parent company Bytedance, is constantly collecting reams of data on its users, from GPS to keystrokes to outer-app monitoring, and even encrypted data that might be useful someday. But aren't these D.C. elite problems — worrying only for those who plan to work in intelligence or government someday? Nope. The implications of China's TikTok-enabled reach touch almost every American. Personal privacy aside, our national security is at immediate risk. The Chinese Communist Party exerts a measure of control over more than one-third of Americans. Are we going to continue to cede our sovereignty to Axios Jinping? Or will the U.S. Government shut down TikTok once and for all?These questions with Klon Kitchen, a senior fellow at AEI. He specializes in national security, defense technology, innovation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Previously, he was a director at the Heritage Foundation and was the national security advisor to Sen. Ben Sasse. He has worked at the NCTC, the National Counterterrorism Center, in the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, and at the Defense Intelligence Agency.Download the transcript here

0:00 - How was your Thanksgiving?   10:24 - Trump's Look Who's Coming to Dinner   26:06 - Chicago mayor's race – filing deadline today   43:43 - Jim Iuorio, analyst for FOX Business, helps explain rising interest rates and purchasing power. Get more Jim Iuorio @jimiuorio   01:01:11 - Teacher & historian Frank McCormick offers a warning on “SEL sessions” happening at a school near you! For more from Frank find his blog at ChalkboardHeresy.com   01:21:08 - CAMPUS BEAT: Univ of FL scholarship revocation   01:38:36 - CAMPUS BEAT, 2nd period: Deprogrammed from AWLF U   01:58:05 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, weighs in on recent comments by former FBI agent Frank Figliuzzi blaming Tucker Carlson for the Colorado nightclub shooting See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Olivia Troye has worked in the Republican National Committee, the Pentagon, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security. But it was her role on the small team directly supporting Vice President Mike Pence that brought her the most challenging experiences of her career while making her all too aware of the surprisingly thin staffing for the next in line to the presidency.Lawfare publisher David Priess spoke to Troye about her path from El Paso to Philadelphia to Washington, her experience on Capitol Hill on 9/11, serving in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion, working at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security, differences between core National Security Council staff and the support staff for the vice president, the many different tasks that support to a vice president entails, Mike Pence as a customer of the President's Daily Brief, the value of civil service professionals, the ups and downs of working with Pence during the COVID-19 pandemic, the inappropriate handling of classified material she saw during her final years on the job, the ethical reasons spurring her to leave government service, the importance of reasonable gun control, and more.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Troye has worked in the Republican National Committee, the Pentagon, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security. But it was her role on the small team directly supporting Vice President Mike Pence that brought her the most challenging experiences of her career while making her all too aware of the surprisingly thin staffing for the next in line to the presidency.David Priess spoke to Troye about her path from El Paso to Philadelphia to Washington, her experience on Capitol Hill on 9/11, serving in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion, working at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security, differences between core National Security Council staff and the support staff for the vice president, the many different tasks that support to a vice president entails, Mike Pence as a customer of the President's Daily Brief, the value of civil service professionals, the ups and downs of working with Pence during the COVID-19 pandemic, the inappropriate handling of classified material she saw during her final years on the job, the ethical reasons spurring her to leave government service, the importance of reasonable gun control, and more.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. Among the works mentioned in this episode:The TV show HomelandThe TV show Veep Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest installment of our new podcast, we sit down with Dr Muhammad Fraser-Rahim to discuss radicalisation and extremism, and how individuals find themselves recruited into extremist groups. Dr. Fraser-Rahim currently is Vice President, Global Intelligence, Resilience and Response Operations at Salesforce and is on faculty at the Citadel and Yale University as a Visiting Assistant Professor where he teaches a range of courses on intelligence, counterterrorism and deradicalization issues domestically and worldwide. He is also the former Executive Director, North America for Quilliam International, the world's oldest counter-extremist organization, where he oversaw policy issues centering around rehabilitation, demobilization and deradicalization against violent extremism. He is an expert on violent extremism issues both domestically and overseas. He previously worked for the U.S. Institute of Peace leading their Horn of Africa programs as an expert on extremism. Dr. Fraser-Rahim worked for the U.S. government for more than a decade, including the Department of Homeland Security; Director of National Intelligence; and the National Counterterrorism Center providing strategic advice and executive branch analytical support on countering violent extremism issues. He also worked for the White House and the National Security Council where he was the author or co-author of Presidential Daily Briefs and strategic assessments on extremist ideology and counter-radicalization. Dr. Fraser-Rahim has conducted research in more than 40 countries on the African continent, and has worked and studied throughout the Middle East and is a Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project. He completed his Ph.D at Howard University with a focus on African studies, Islamic intellectual history and security studies and is the author of the award winning book, Americas Other Muslims: Imam WD Mohammed, Islamic Reform and the Making of American Islam.

Jim Horacek served as an analyst, supervisor, and instructor in the Central Intelligence Agency from 1999-2014. A specialist in the ethnic conflicts that broke out after the break-up of the Soviet Union, his first assignment in the Agency was as an analyst in the Caucasus and Central Asia Group. After 9/11, he volunteered to join the newly created Office of Terrorism Analysis within the Counterterrorism Center (CTC). As an executive assistant in the CTC front office in 2002, he worked on both the internal and external reviews of the events of 9/11 and witnessed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI's Counterterrorism Analysis group. He then became one of the first analysts to follow the terrorist network that would become known as ISIS, with its founder Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, and he served as a senior analyst in the Iraq Group during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From 2006-2008, he served as a supervisor in both the CTC Weapons of Mass Destruction Group and the National Counterterrorism Center's CBRN Counterterrorism Group. After a tour as a leadership and management instructor in the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis, he became one of the CIA's representatives to US Strategic Command in Bellevue, Nebraska in 2011. Jim resigned from the CIA in 2014 in order to accept a position as a manager in Nebraska Medicine's Project Management Office. In 2019, he became the lead project manager charged with opening the Nebraska Medicine-UNMC Global Center for Health Security. Jim returned to US Strategic Command in 2021, where he now works as a Sr. Deterrence Analyst in the Plans and Policy Directorate.

On the morning of July 31, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has been in hiding since 9/11, walked onto the balcony inside a compound in downtown Kabul. The Egyptian-born physician had taken over the leadership of the terrorist organization after US Navy SEALS killed Osama bin laden in Abbottabad in 2011. For 11 years he had directed al-Qaeda from the shadows and there had been many false starts for the US intelligence agencies and special operations team who were tracking him.  But on this day, as he stood outside, a US directed hellfire missile, reportedly fired from a drone killed him.  The missile was incredibly precise, it killed the al Qaeda leader but not his family, who are believed to have been inside the building at the time. Air to surface missiles like this one are just one of the tools that US counter-terrorism teams have been using as they hunt down terrorist leaders around the globe.  While Zawahiri's killing was seen as the end of a long and costly manhunt – both in human lives and resources – what does his death mean to the future of the al Qaeda? I spoke recently with retired Lieutenant Generals Scott Howell and Mike Nagata. Lt. Gen Howell served as Commander of Joint Special Operations Command Central before he retired just over a year ago and Lt. Gen Mike Nagata served as Commander of US Special Operations Command before retiring in 2019. As the first Air Force officer to command JSOC, Lt Gen. Howell led a force of 14,000 personnel engaged in special operations across multiple areas of instability and was responsible for the readiness and mission execution of highly-specialized forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. And Lt. General Nagata's final position before retiring was Director of Strategy for the National Counterterrorism Center – a job he held from 2016 to 2019. He served as Commander of US Special Operations Command-Central and was responsible for Special Operations across the Central Command region from 2013 to 2015 and was heavily involved in the first two years of combat operations against the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere.

0:00 - Ari Fleischer: FBI Either Found The Smoking Gun Or Merrick Garland & Christopher Wray Must Resign, There Is No Inbetween   14:20 - Former President Trump has released a video response to the FBI raid: A Nation in Decline   31:38 - How Do We Get Rid of the FBI?   52:42 - Kevin R. Brock is a former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to this week's raid of Mar-a-lago by the FBI.   01:10:20 - Scott Walker is President and CEO of Young America's Foundation, a former Republican Presidential candidate and 45th Governor of Wisconsin. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act and the results of Tuesday's primary election in Wisconsin.   01:26:13 - Stephen Moore is a Noted Economist and author of Trumponomics and also most recently Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy—And Our Freedom. He joined Dan and Amy with reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act and the new inflation numbers.   01:38:08 - Teresa Mull is an assistant editor at Spectator World and former editor at Gun Powder Magazine. She joined Dan and Amy to talk school choice. 01:52:31 - Lake Co Board member Dick Barr on assault weapon ban resolutionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, we sit down with Olivia Troye! Olivia is a former national security official who worked on national security and homeland security issues at the National Counterterrorism Center, the United States Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Troye worked in the Office of the Vice President of the United States as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence and also served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force as Pence's lead staffer on the Task Force. She famously resigned from the White House in August 2020. We talk to Olivia about the January 6th hearings, her thoughts on the modern day Republican party, if Donald Trump will be prosecuted by the DOJ and much more. Throughout the episode, the brothers bring you the latest breaking news to keep you up to date. We discuss Republicans voting against codifying same-sex marriage, Trump's radical rally in Arizona, the Nazi Flags & symbols at the Turning Point USA event and more. If you enjoyed today's show please be sure to rate, review & subscribe. New episodes of The MeidasTouch Podcast are released every Tuesday and Friday morning at 5am ET! DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS: AG1 by Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/meidas Shop Meidas Merch at: https://store.meidastouch.com Remember to subscribe to ALL the Meidas Media Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 The Tony Michaels Podcast: https://pod.link/1561049560 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

0:00 - Dan & Amy sort through what we know about the Highland Park Shooter and shooting so far  32:42 - Lori Lightfoot drops F bombs, points fingers, and might have a potential side hustle 49:03 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, offers his professional perspective on the Highland Park shooter/shooting and asks  How will the FBI respond to threats of violence by abortion supporters? 01:04:34 - D.C. columnist at The Federalist, Eddie Scarry, shares his new book  Liberal Misery: How the Hateful Left Sucks Joy Out of Everything and Everyone. Be sure to check out Eddie's other book  Privileged Victims: How America's Culture Fascists Hijacked the Country and Elevated Its Worst People 01:17:06 - Noted economist, Stephen Moore, makes some bold political predictions and does not foresee an economic pivot to center from Biden. If you haven't already, check out Steve's newest book Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy—And Our Freedom 01:34:15 - Dan & Amy respond to comments from the Highland Park Shooter's family lawyer  01:53:57 - John Greenfield: Uninterrupted John Greenfield, Streetsblog Chicago co-editor and Reader columnist, answers to his tweets regarding Dan and John Kass See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:00 - Dan & Amy analyze Uvalde Chief Pete Arredondo's decision   4:52 - Dan & Amy take a listen to Trump at NRA convention   25:21 - Dan & Amy react to the new grading system at OPRF   45:12 - Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, breaks down the Uvalde Police response   01:01:42 - Richard A. Epstein, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Law, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago:  The Futility of Gun Control   01:21:09 - President at Wirepoints, Ted Dabrowksi, with his weekly discussion on Illinois' High taxes, bad policy. Check out Ted's latest wirepoints.org   01:32:25 - Professor of economics at the University of Chicago who served as the chief economist of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in 2018–19, Casey Mulligan, takes notice that Fentanyl Overdose Rates Are Rising Fast. Check out Casey's most recent book  You're Hired! Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President  01:46:51 - Top Gun explained See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Christine "Christy" Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Abizaid explains how the center's mission has evolved in the two decades following 9/11 and where its current areas of focus are. She details the existing external attack capabilities of terror networks including ISIS, al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab and explains how their ideologies have spread worldwide. Abizaid also offers her perspective on the threat within the United States of domestic violent extremists, explaining how NCTC supports domestic law enforcement agencies in tracking and disrupting potential attacks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Olsen held so many important and difficult jobs in federal law enforcement and national security that it is hard to know where to begin.  A son of North Dakota and a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School, Matt worked as a civil rights prosecutor, an Assistant United States Attorney, on the staff of FBI Director Bob Mueller, as the Executive Director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force, as the General Counsel of the National Security Agency, and as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center.Though we could dedicate an episode to his work in any one of those posts, his work as a civil rights prosecutor – fresh out of a judicial clerkship – was fascinating and vital.  There, he focused on enforcing the Voting Rights Act – a landmark civil rights statute – in several southern states to ensure that minority citizens were not disenfranchised.  Later, appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to lead the Guantanamo Review Task Force, Matt found that assignment to be among his most challenging and difficult.  In that role, it was his responsibility to try to meet one of President Obama's earliest stated objectives – to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay within the president's first year in office.  That, as Matt describes, turned out to be an enormously complex task – a conundrum given the population there and the difficult decisions that had to be made about who should be released, who should be tried – either in a civilian court or in a military commission setting – and who could neither be tried nor released.  The process that Matt and his team built to inform those decisions was serious and thoughtful, but the task was inordinately complex and the headwinds that his task force confronted – political and practical – were fierce.  Matt also served as the General Counsel for the National Security Agency – the leading signals intelligence agency in the world, and one of the most important sources of information for U.S. national security officials.  That job required striking a balance on uncertain and often shifting legal terrain.  One one hand, Matt was keenly aware of – and devoted to – his duty to the Constitution and to the laws that govern intelligence collection.  He knew his lawyers and NSA operators should never cross “the line” and that it was therefore crucial that they understood where the line was and not get too close to it.  On the other hand, Matt clearly understood the need to confront dangerous and relentless counterterrorism and counterintelligence adversaries because of the harm they could inflict on U.S. persons and our national security interests.  He approached this job – and this balancing act – in a careful, ethical, and deliberate manner. Matt Olsen was a thoughtful and principled public servant, a gifted leader, and a true expert on national security.  He is also humble, kind, and deeply thoughtful about the proper role the government should play to secure our nation and protect its citizens while honoring its commitment to civil rights and civil liberties.If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at theoathpodcast@gmail.com.Find the transcript and all our previous episodes at MSNBC.com/TheOath