Help Support the NBN on Patreon | Visit New Books Network en Español!

New Books Network
National Security
Media May 19, 2023

City of Newsmen

Public Lies and Professional Secrets in Cold War Washington

Kathryn J. McGarr

Hosted by James Kates
Kathryn McGarr’s City of Newsmen: Public Lies and Professional Secrets in Cold War Washington (U Chicago Press, 2022) explores foreign policy journalism in Washington during and after World War II—a …

National Security

Subscribe:

Interviews with scholars of national security about their new books.

Military History May 17, 2023

Age of Danger

Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats

Thom Shanker and Andrew Hoehn

Hosted by AJ Woodhams
Again and again, American taxpayers are asked to open their wallets and pay for a national security machine that costs $1 trillion operate. Yet time and time again, the US …
General History May 15, 2023

Khmer Nationalist

Sơn Ngc Thành, the CIA, and the Transformation of Cambodia

Matthew Jagel

Hosted by Michael Vann
Khmer Nationalist: Sơn Ngc Thành, the CIA, and the Transformation of Cambodia (Northern Illinois UP, 2023) is a political history of Cambodia from World War II until 1975, examining the …
Madison's Notes May 13, 2023

China and the New Cold War

A Conversation with Matt Pottinger

Matt Pottinger

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What does Xi Jinping want, and what is he afraid of? What is the future of China's relationship with Russia? What should the United States be doing to counter China …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones May 8, 2023

The Future of Guantanamo

A Discussion with James Connell

James Connell

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
Will Guantanamo ever be closed down? Some people are still there – all these years after 9/11. So why are they still held and when will it end? James Connell is …
Military History May 7, 2023

Rise of the Mavericks

The U.S. Air Force Security Service and the Cold War

Philip Clayton Shackelford

Hosted by Stephen Satkiewicz
The U.S. Air Force had to struggle to establish itself as an independent branch of the American military, and originally was an extension of the Army. The experiences during World …
Military History May 2, 2023

Flying Camelot

The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia

Michael W. Hankins

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia (Cornell UP, 2021) brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two …
Madison's Notes May 2, 2023

Graveyard of Empires

A Conversation with Ambassador Nathan Sales

Nathan Sales

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What went wrong in Afghanistan, and who is to blame? Is America safer today than on September 10, 2001? What lessons should the leaders of America's foreign policy draw from …
Political Science May 1, 2023

Deploying Feminism

The Role of Gender in NATO Military Operations

Stéfanie von Hlatky

Hosted by Susan Liebell
In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing launched the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Successive UN Security Council resolutions highlighted the need to include more women …
French Studies May 1, 2023

Marianne Is Watching

Intelligence, Counterintelligence, and the Origins of the French Surveillance State

Deborah Bauer

Hosted by Stephen Satkiewicz
In the wake of its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the French Third Republic sought to rebuild its strength to avenge its defeat and secure itself as a major …
Madison's Notes April 30, 2023

Hostage Affairs and the Great Books

A Conversation with Roger Carstens

Roger Carstens

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
What does the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs do? How can a liberal arts education help you personally and professionally? Roger Carstens, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage …
Military History April 28, 2023

On Operations

Operational Art and Military Disciplines

B. A. Friedman

Hosted by Boris Karpa
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines (US Naval Institute Press, 2021) traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and …
Policing, Incarceration, and Reform April 18, 2023

Insecure Guardians

Enforcement, Encounters and Everyday Policing in Postcolonial Karachi

Zoha Waseem

Hosted by Deniz Yonucu
The police force is one of the most distrusted institutions in Pakistan, notorious for its corruption and brutality. In both colonial and postcolonial contexts, directives to confront security threats have …
Military History April 11, 2023

Secrets of the Cold War

Espionage and Intelligence Operations - From Both Sides of the Iron Curtain

Andrew Long

Hosted by Stephen Satkiewicz
The Cold War was a major geopolitical contest between the United States and the Soviet Union over predominance over the entire world. Unlike the previous two world wars, the two …
Political Science April 10, 2023

Bargaining in the UN Security Council

Setting the Global Agenda

Susan Allen and Amy Yuen

Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty
Even after seventy-five years, the UN Security Council meets nearly every day. They respond to a range of threats to international peace and security, but not all threats. Why does …
MIT Press Podcast April 1, 2023

The Structure of Success

How the Internal Distribution of Power Drives Armed Group Behavior and National Movement Effectiveness

Peter Krause

Hosted by MIT Press
Listen as Peter Krause and Sean Lynn-Jones discuss the key differences between united and hegemonic power and the internal structure of violent and nonviolent national movements, as outlined in Krause’s …
MIT Press Podcast March 28, 2023

The Meaning of the Cyber Revolution

Perils to Theory and Statecraft

Lucas Kello

Hosted by MIT Press
As Lucas Kello reveals, it is far easier to attack than to defend when it comes to cyber war. Listen as Kello and Sean Lynn-Jones discuss the dangers of cyber …
MIT Press Podcast March 22, 2023

Present at the Creation

Edward Mead Earle and the Depression-Era Origins of Security Studies

Sean Lynn-Jones and David Ekbladh

Hosted by MIT Press
Edward Mead Earle was a historian, scholar, professor, and international relations expert; he was also a founding father of the field we know as Security Studies. Listen as David Ekbladh …
Military History March 18, 2023

The Island of Extraordinary Captives

A Painter, a Poet, an Heiress, and a Spy in a World War II British Internment Camp

Simon Parkin

Hosted by AJ Woodhams
The Island of Extraordinary Captives: A Painter, a Poet, an Heiress, and a Spy in a World War II British Internment Camp (Scribner, 2022 is the “riveting…truly shocking” (The New York …
National Security March 17, 2023

Original Sin

Power, Technology and War in Outer Space

Bleddyn E. Bowen

Hosted by Samuel Canter
Space technology was developed to enhance the killing power of the state. The Moon landings and the launch of the Space Shuttle were mere sideshows, drawing public attention away from …