National Security

National Security

episodes

Interviews with scholars of national security about their new books.

Michael Poulshock, "Power Structures in International Politics" (Low 8, 2023)

March 5, 2024

Power Structures in International Politics

Michael Poulshock
Hosted by Vincent Yang

Power Structures in International Politics (Low 8, 2023) presents an original perspective on the dynamics underlying world events, approaching interna…

Paul Scharre, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" (Norton, 2023)

February 24, 2024

Four Battlegrounds

Paul Scharre
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

An award-winning defense expert tells the story of today’s great power rivalry―the struggle to control artificial intelligence. A new industrial re…

The Future of the Chinese Military

February 23, 2024

The Future of the Chinese Military

James A. Siebens

For all the talk of China being a peaceful country with no aggressive intentions, it has behaved like most other rising powers – spending lots of mone…

How to Stage a Coup and Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft

February 14, 2024

How to Stage a Coup and Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft

Rory Cormac
Hosted by Petra Alderman

Why do states engage in secret statecraft and covert action? How different are these secret and covert state activities in real world settings compare…

Timothy A. Sayle, "Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order" (Cornell UP, 2019)

February 11, 2024

Enduring Alliance

Timothy Sayle
Hosted by Dexter Fergie

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization regularly appears in newspapers and political science scholarship. Surprisingly, historians have yet to devote …

John Horgan, "Terrorist Minds: The Psychology of Violent Extremism from Al-Qaeda to the Far Right" (Columbia UP, 2023)

February 8, 2024

Terrorist Minds

John Horgan
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

What makes a person want to become a terrorist? Who becomes involved in terrorism, and why? In what ways does participating in violent extremism chang…

Florence Mok, "Covert Colonialism: Governance, Surveillance and Political Culture in British Hong Kong, c.1966-97" (Manchester UP, 2023)

February 8, 2024

Covert Colonialism

Florence Mok
Hosted by Bing Wang

Florence Mok's book Covert Colonialism: Governance, Surveillance and Political Culture in British Hong Kong, c.1966-97 (Manchester UP, 2023) is timely…

Wendy Cheng, "Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism" (U Washington Press, 2023)

February 8, 2024

Island X

Wendy Cheng
Hosted by Donna Anderson

This episode, which is co-hosted with Tandee Wang, features a conversation with Dr. Wendy Cheng, author of Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campu…

Beatrice Heuser, "War: A Genealogy of Western Ideas and Practices" (Oxford UP, 2022)

February 3, 2024

War

Beatrice Heuser

War is often thought of mainly the concern of professional soldiers and maybe politicians as well. However, philosophers and theorists of varying type…

J. Overton, "Seapower by Other Means: Naval Contributions to National Objectives Beyond Sea Control, Power Projection, and Traditional Service Missions" (Nomos, 2023)

January 31, 2024

Seapower by Other Means

J. Overton
Hosted by Boris Karpa

Naval forces exist to control the seas and project power, often through the use of violence. This does not, however, include everything they have done…

Curtis Fox, "Hybrid Warfare: The Russian Approach to Strategic Competition and Conventional Military Conflict" (30 Press Publishing, 2023)

January 30, 2024

Hybrid Warfare

Curtis Fox

The on-going war in Ukraine continues to highlight the distinct differences between how Russia operates large-scale military operations from the usual…

Calder Walton, "Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West" (Simon & Schuster, 2024)

January 28, 2024

Spies

Calder Walton
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West (Simon & Schuster, 2024) is the history of the secret war that Russia and the West have been wa…

Paddy Walker and Peter Roberts, "War's Changed Landscape?: A Primer on Conflict's Forms and Norms" (Howgate, 2023)

January 27, 2024

War's Changed Landscape?

Paddy Walker and Peter Roberts

Throughout much of the 21st century thus far, the common argument among military pundits was that war has or will soon be radically changed in manners…

Jeffrey A. Friedman, "The Commander-in-Chief Test: Public Opinion and the Politics of Image-Making in US Foreign Policy" (Cornell UP, 2023)

January 14, 2024

The Commander-in-Chief Test

Jeffrey A. Friedman
Hosted by Samuel Canter

Americans frequently criticize US foreign policy for being overly costly and excessively militaristic. With its rising defense budgets and open-ended …

Matthew Levitt, "Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad" (Yale UP, 2008)

January 14, 2024

Hamas

Matthew Levitt
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

The world is reeling from the savage terror attack that brutalized, raped, murdered and kidnapped Israelis and civilians from at least 25 other countr…

Sam Lebovic, "State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America's Secrecy Regime" (Basic Book, 2023)

January 12, 2024

State of Silence

Sam Lebovic
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America's Secrecy Regime (Basic Books, 2023), political historian Dr. Sam Lebovic uncovers the …

Paul F. Diehl et al., "When Peacekeeping Missions Collide: Balancing Multiple Roles in Peace Operations" (Oxford UP, 2023)

January 8, 2024

When Peacekeeping Missions Collide

Paul F. Diehl, Daniel Druckman, and Grace B. Mueller
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The contemporary world is beset with a wide variety of conflicts, all of which have features without historical precedent. While most accounts of peac…

Gary Shiffman, "The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism" (Cambridge UP, 2020)

January 3, 2024

The Economics of Violence

Gary Shiffman
Hosted by Sidney Michelini

Dr. Gary Shiffman’s book The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism (Cambridge UP, 2…

David T. Beito, "The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance" (Independent Institute, 2023)

December 27, 2023

The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights

David T. Beito
Hosted by Boris Karpa

The legacy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt enjoys regular acclaim from historians, politicians, and educators. Lauded for his New Deal policies, le…

Jeffrey Whyte, "The Birth of Psychological War: Propaganda, Espionage, and Military Violence from WWII to the Vietnam War" (Oxford UP, 2023)

December 27, 2023

The Birth of Psychological War

Jeffrey Whyte
Hosted by Michael Vann

Jeffrey Whyte's book The Birth of Psychological War: Propaganda, Espionage, and Military Violence from WWII to the Vietnam War (Oxford UP, 2023) explo…