The Lawfare Podcast

Danielle Citron on Intimate Privacy and How to Preserve It in a Digital Age

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The effect of the digital revolution on privacy has been mixed, to say the least, and for intimate privacy—information about our health, sexual acti...

Rational Security 2.0: The “Ku Ku Kachoo” Edition

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by China expert and law professor Julian Ku to talk through some of the week's big national security ne...

Lawfare Archive: The State of the U.S.-China Relationship

29 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From August 24, 2020: In recent months, relations between the United States and China seem to have reached a new low as disagreements over trade, tech...

Why the First Amendment Doesn’t Protect Trump’s Jan. 6 Speech

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's been a lot of discussion about whether Donald Trump should be indicted. Lately, that discussion has focused on the documents the FBI seized fr...

Claudia Swain on Cybersecurity and Trains

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claudia Swain is Lawfare’s digital strategist—but before coming to Lawfare, she worked at the Federal Railroad Administration, deep in the bureauc...

Catching Up on the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This past weekend, the Chinese Communist Party held its 20th National Congress, an event held every five years at which it appoints its senior leaders...

Why Poll Worker Policies are Crucial for Functioning Elections

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In two weeks, millions of Americans will head to the polls for the 2022 midterm election. During that time, an estimated one million poll workers will...

The Violent Extremist Threat to Critical Infrastructure in the United States

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, the George Washington University Program on Extremism published a report called, “Mayhem, Murder, and Misdirection: Violent Extremist At...

Chatter: How To Support a Vice President with Olivia Troye

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Olivia Troye has worked in the Republican National Committee, the Pentagon, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, the National Cou...

Lawfare Archive: Transnational Repression: Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach

22 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From February 5, 2021: Some countries don't just abuse their citizens within their own borders; increasingly, they target individuals after they have ...

The Biden Administration’s New Policy on Drone Strikes

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, Charlie Savage of the New York Times reported that the Biden administration had finalized a new policy governing drone strikes used in count...

Lawfare Podcast Shorts: Oath Keepers Trial Update III

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Senior Editor Roger Parloff joins Managing Editor Tyler McBrien for another quick update on the prosecution’s case in the Oath Keepers’ seditious ...

Kellen Dwyer on the Fallout From the Conviction of Uber's Former Chief Security Officer

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Sullivan, Uber's former chief security officer and a former federal prosecutor, was found guilty of obstruction of justice and misprision of a fel...

The Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenaed Trump. What Now?

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On October 13, the Jan. 6 committee closed what may be its final public hearing with a dramatic vote: unanimously, the committee members agreed to sub...

Anna Bower Explains It All For You

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fulton County DA Fani Willis is closing in on Donald Trump's 2020 election meddling. She could begin issuing indictments as soon as December, CNN repo...

Presidential Transitions with David Marchick

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Presidential transitions are the most delicate and hazardous periods in the entire political cycle. Even at the best of times, incoming administration...

Rational Security: The “Wahoowa” Edition

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Rational Security, Alan Rozenshtein, Quinta Jurecic, and Scott R. Anderson were joined by beloved Lawfare contributor and UVA L...

Lawfare Archive: Jacob Schulz on Seditious Conspiracy

15 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From March 24, 2022: It's been a big week for the seditious conspiracy statute, which has long been on the books, quietly forbidding violent interfere...

Lawfare Podcast Shorts: Oath Keepers Trial Update II

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Senior Editor Roger Parloff joins Ben Wittes for another quick update on the prosecution’s case in the Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy trial.Su...

A Jan. 6 Hearing Debrief

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thursday was the final day of hearings for the Jan. 6 select committee, and it turned out to be a bit of a barn burner, with a lot of new information ...

The Supreme Court Takes On 230

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court has granted cert in two cases exploring the interactions between anti-terrorism laws and Section 230 of the Communications Decency A...

Alexander Downes on the Foreshadowed Failures of Foreign-Imposed Regime Change

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign-imposed regime change is a policy tool that a number of countries—most frequently the United States—have used to establish friendly regime...

The Russian Occupation of Kherson, Ukraine

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian region of Kherson, along with others. In the months lead...

Lawfare Archive: Vladimir Milov on Russia Beyond the Headlines

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From May 25, 2018: Vladimir Milov is the current economic advisor to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the former deputy minister of energ...

Chatter: The People Side of Intelligence with Darrell Blocker

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Darrell Blocker retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2018 after serving as an operations officer and manager in many countries, especially ...

Lawfare Archive: Upheaval and Repression in Iran

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From December 31, 2019: Iran is in turmoil. Protests erupted across the country last month, sparked by the government's decision to triple the price o...

Suzanne Maloney on the Protests in Iran

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a tumultuous few weeks in Iran with the death of a young woman at the hands of the morality police leading to street protests all over the c...

Lawfare Podcast Shorts: An Oath Keepers Trial Update

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ben Wittes sits down for a quick update on the prosecution’s case in the Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy trial from Senior Editor Roger Parloff...

The US, China, and Semiconductors

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The United States is looking to curb China's advanced computing and chip production capabilities by using the so-called Foreign-Direct Product Rule to...

An Update on Electoral Count Act Reform

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After months of mostly quiet, behind-the-scenes debate, both the House and Senate seem ready to move forward with reforming the Electoral Count Act, t...

Mark Bergen on the Rise and Rise of YouTube

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re bringing you another episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on the online information ecosystem. Lawfare senior editor Quinta Jurecic ...

What’s Going on in Russia, with Vindman and Ioffe

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's been a lot going on in Russia: a partial mobilization, protests, a mysterious explosion underwater along the Nord Stream pipelines, and most r...

Chatter: Hurricanes and Governmental Response with Eric Jay Dolin

02 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, the eastern United States faces the prospect—and, too often, the reality—of major hurricanes that cause extensive physical and financi...

Lawfare Archive: Bart Gellman on 'Dark Mirror'

01 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From Monday, June 1, 2020: Journalist Bart Gellman is the author of the new book, "Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance Stat...

Shane Reeves and Rob Lawless on Data-Rich Battlefields and the Future LOAC

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In modern-day warfare, data is considered a weapons system, and the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict gives us some perspective into what warfare looks li...

What Happened at the UN General Assembly Session, with Richard Gowan

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week marked the end of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, an annual event that brings world leaders together in New York and often serv...

How to Fix the Insurrection Act

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For much of its history, the United States has had a single law on the books that governs when the president can deploy the military to enforce federa...

Brian Winter on the Imminent Election Crisis in Brazil

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In just under a week, on October 2, Brazil will hold the first round of its general election, which will determine the country's next president. To ta...

Roger Parloff Keeps His Oath

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stewart Rhodes, the chieftain of the Oath Keepers, goes on trial this week for seditious conspiracy. The trial is expected to run about five weeks, wi...

Rational Security 2.0: The “Korea Culpa” Edition

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Rational Security, Alan, Quinta, and Scott went guestless to discuss the week’s big national security news, including:“Ne Me Quitte P...

Lawfare Archive: A Deep Dive on China and the Uighurs

24 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From July 15, 2020: We talk a lot about Chinese policy in Hong Kong, but there's another human rights crisis going on in China in the province of Xinj...

The Fifth Circuit is Wrong on the Internet

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our Arbiters of Truth series on the online information ecosystem has been taking a bit of a hiatus—but we’re back! On today’s episode, we’re d...

Dan Byman on Content Moderation Tools to Stop Extremism

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's enormous debate about how much social media platforms should be doing to moderate extremist content. But that debate often lacks nuance about ...

Foreign Agents and the Barrack Indictment

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This past Monday, the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack began in federal court in the Eastern District of New York. Barrack, who served as an informal ...

Geoffrey Berman on ‘Holding the Line’

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Geoffrey Berman was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Trump administration. He was appointed under peculiar circumstances...

Judge Cannon’s Latest Mar-a-Lago Ruling

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On September 15, Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued two key rulings in the Mar-a-Lago document...

Chatter: CIA Paramilitary Ops in Reality and Fiction

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Of all of the Central Intelligence Agency's activities, paramilitary operations might remain the least understood. This, in part, is both a cause and ...

Lawfare Archive: A Real, Live Framer of the Constitution

17 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From March 17, 2018: In 1963, John Feerick became a witness to and a framer of our constitutional history. Within two years of graduating from law sch...

The Legal Legacy of Ken Starr

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ken Starr, the former federal judge and independent counsel who became famous for his investigation of President Bill Clinton, died this week on Septe...

Dmitri Alperovitch on the Ukrainian Counteroffensive

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dmitri Alperovitch is the founder of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a geopolitics think tank in Washington, and the impresario of the Geopolitics D...

Rupert Stone on the Booming Afghan Drug Trade

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Amid the war and instability in Afghanistan over the last two decades, the opium industry has seen explosive growth. In fact, Afghanistan accounts for...

Rainer Sonntag, Vladimir Putin, and the German Far Right

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Since his 1991 death, Rainer Sonntag has been remembered as a martyr by generations of neo-Nazis and other far-right activists, especially in his nati...

Pakistan's Flood Disaster and National Security

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pakistan is experiencing one of the largest natural disasters in modern history. The massive floods there, combined with glacier melt, have led to one...

Chatter: 9/11 Memorialization with Marita Sturken

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From January 25, 2022: In this bonus episode of Chatter, David Priess talks with professor and author Marita Sturken about 9/11-related memorials, mus...

Rational Security: The “Anniversary Hot Take Takedown” Edition

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Rational Security, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by co-host emeriti Ben Wittes and Shane Harris for a very special anniversary edit...

Lawfare Archive: Alissa Starzak on Cloudflare, Content Moderation and the Internet Stack

10 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From September 3, 2020: This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Alissa Star...

Todd Huntley and Marc Garlasco on the Pentagon's New CIVCAS Action Plan

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On August 25, the Defense Department released its long-awaited Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan, something that human rights advocate...

Justin Sherman on the Twitter Whistleblower Complaint

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On August 23, the Washington Post published a story about a whistleblower complaint filed by Peiter Zatko, the former security lead and member of Twit...

About That Special Master Ruling

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Monday afternoon, a federal judge in Florida acceded to Donald Trump's motion to appoint a special master to review privilege claims arising out of th...

Christo Grozev on Socialite, Widow, Jeweller, Spy

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Late last month, investigative journalists at Bellingcat and partner organizations published a story exposing the identity of a Russian spy named Mari...

Live From Ukraine: Oleksandra Povoroznik Talks Language Politics and Wartime Culture

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oleksandra Povoroznik is a (⁦@rynkrynk) is a Kyiv-based journalist, film critic and translator, who joins us to discuss the changing politics of lan...

Lawfare Archive: Nina Jankowicz on 'How to Lose the Information War'

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From September 24, 2020: Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke to Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, about her new book: “...

Lawfare Archive: Benjamin Wittes and Conor Friedersdorf Debate the Ethics of Drones

03 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From February 15, 2014: The University of Richmond invited Ben and Conor Friedersdorf to participate in a debate on the ethics of drone warfare. Conor...

Marsin Alshamary on Iraq’s Latest Political Crisis

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In recent months, the country of Iraq has been living through the latest in a series of political crises as different factions have struggled for cont...

Unpacking the Justice Department's Opposition to the Trump Team's Special Master Request

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday night, running up against the 11:59 PM deadline, the Justice Department filed its 40-page motion opposing Donald Trump's request that a spe...

Leah Sottile on ‘When the Moon Turns to Blood’

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2020, police in the town of Rexburg, Idaho, uncovered evidence of what seemed like an unthinkable crime: two children murdered by one of t...

Reflecting Upon CFR’s Reports on U.S. Goals in Cyberspace

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The era of the global internet offered opportunities for economic and political progress, but it has also afforded bad actors the opportunities to man...

Max Smeets on Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“Cyberspace is the domain of modern warfare” is a popular headline in recent times. Recent state and non-state cyber attacks have given support to...

Rational Security 2.0: The “BOYZ NITE” Edition

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Rational Security, a Quinta-less Alan and Scott were joined by host emeritus Benjamin Wittes to talk through the week's big national secu...

Chatter: The Moon, Mars, and National Security with Fraser Cain

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

NASA next week plans to launch the first of several Artemis missions, which collectively aim to land astronauts on the Moon again for the first time i...

Lawfare Archive: Stephanie Leutert on Violence in Mexico and Central America

27 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From October 8, 2016: Stephanie Leutert, the Mexico Security Initiative Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Lawfare's&n...

Sean Ekins and Filippa Lentzos on a Teachable Moment for Dual-Use

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Back in March, a team of researchers published an article in Nature Machine Intelligence showing that a drug discovery company’s AI-powered molecule...

A Jan. 6 Criminal Update with Roger Parloff

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While everyone's eyes have been on Mar-a-Lago, there has also been a lot going on with the Jan. 6 investigation: cases going to trial, major sentencin...

Elliot Ackerman on America's End in Afghanistan

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One year ago this month, the last American troops withdrew from Afghanistan, marking the end of a 20-year war. To reflect on those two decades, Lawfar...

Michael Gordon on the U.S. War Against the Islamic State

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, as Islamic State insurgents took control of the Iraqi city of Mosul, President Barack Obama made the decision to send troops back to Iraq. Wi...

Andrew Tutt on the Torres Case, State Sovereign Immunity, and Congress's War Powers

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the last decisions that the Supreme Court handed down this year was Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety. Le Roy Torres, an Iraq war vet...

Chatter: Gone with the Wind, Hitler, and America First with Sarah Churchwell

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gone with the Wind—the top-grossing movie of all time, adjusted for inflation—remains an iconic influence in American culture, despite its deeply ...

Rational Security: The “Mar-a-gate v. Water-a-Lago” Edition

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this cross-post of Rational Security, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by their fellow Lawfare senior editor Molly Reynolds to talk th...

Lawfare Archive: African Elections and U.S. Interests

20 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From March 19, 2019: Demographic, technological, and geostrategic developments are disrupting the electoral landscape in sub-Saharan Africa. How do th...

Hal Brands and Michael Beckley on the Emerging Conflict with China

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is the nature and timescale of U.S. geopolitical competition with China? Which country is stronger in the near term and long term? And what will ...

Daniel Bessner on the Restraint v. Liberal Internationalism Debate

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, the cover of Harper's Magazine declared that the American century is over. Then it asked a single question: What's next? To dig into ...

Catching Up with the Jan. 6 Contempt of Congress Cases

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the course of the Jan. 6 investigation, Congress has voted to hold four Trump associates in contempt and refer them to the Justice Department for p...

The MTCR and Its Possible Reforms

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lawfare associate editor Matt Gluck sat down with Tom Karako, the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and Internationa...

Intelligence and the State with Jonathan House

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is the proper relationship between the intelligence community and national decision makers in the United States? The author of a new book argues ...

Chatter: Journalism as Fodder for Fiction with Mary Louise Kelly

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Louise Kelly is one of the most recognizable voices in American journalism. A co-host of NPR’s flagship program “All Things Considered,” sh...

Emergency Edition: About That Mar-a-Lago Warrant

13 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Friday afternoon, the federal court in Florida, acting at the Justice Department’s request, unsealed the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago that the FBI ...

The Past and Future of the Jan. 6 Committee

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Jan. 6 select committee has wrapped up its first spree of hearings, and it has announced a second set of hearings when Congress returns in Septemb...

Tunisia's New Constitution

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The country of Tunisia is in the midst of a slow motion political crisis. The country's populist president has crafted a new constitution that gives h...

Unpacking the FBI's Search at Mar-a-Lago

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The FBI on Monday conducted a surprise search of Donald Trump's home and resort at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The investigation appeared to involve the re...

Nick Turse on the Pentagon’s Secretive Funding Authority, 127e

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, The Intercept published a new investigation from Alice Speri and Nick Turse looking into a secretive funding authority at the Pentagon kno...

Decoding Aleksandr Ionov’s Influence Operation with Thomas Rid and Brandon Van Grack

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On July 29, the Justice Department announced the indictment of Aleksandr Ionov, a Russian national and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of...

Rational Security: The “Small World After All” Edition

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Rational Security, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by favorite guest Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett to hash throug...

Lawfare Archive: Elsa Kania on China’s Quantum Quest

06 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From September 22, 2018: If you ask scientists what is most likely to kick off the next great wave of technological change, a good number will answer ...

When Lawyers Spread Disinformation

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks ago on Arbiters of Truth, our series on the online information system, we brought you a conversation with two emergency room doctors about...

Pelosi in Taiwan

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nancy Pelosi made a visit to Taiwan this week. It wasn't exactly a surprise—we all knew it was happening—but it wasn't announced, and it wasn't qu...

Dan Byman and Scott Anderson on the al-Zawahiri Strike

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another day, another leader of al-Qaeda is killed by U.S. forces. This time, it was Ayman al-Zawahiri, killed on his balcony in Kabul by a Hellfire mi...

Europe Doubles Down on Client Side Scanning

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On May 11, the European Commission announced a new proposal designed to combat online child sexual abuse material. The proposal has drawn notable crit...

How to Evaluate Progress in the Justice Department's Jan. 6 Investigation

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s been a great deal of debate recently about how to understand the apparently slow pace of the Justice Department’s investigation into Jan. ...

Chatter: Spotting Fake News with Cindy Otis

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fake news has been around for thousands of years in different forms that have changed with media technology, and there's little doubt that it's here t...

Lawfare Archives: Liza Osetinskaya on Journalistic Freedom Under Putin

30 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From March 20, 2018: Shortly before last Sunday’s election in Russia, Alina Polyakova spoke to Liza Osetinskaya, editor of The Bell and fo...