The Lawfare Podcast
Episodes
The Senate Intelligence Committee, the 2016 Campaign and the Counterintelligence Threat
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has released the final counterintelligence volume of its extensive report related to many aspects of the R...
Alex Stamos on Fighting Election Disinformation in Real Time
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Alex Stamos, the director of the Stanfor...
Scott Anderson and Richard Gowan on the Disagreement in the Security Council on the Snapback of UN Sanctions on Iran
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Late last week, the UN Security Council voted down a resolution, offered by the United States, to indefinitely extend a conventional arms embargo on I...
Manipulating Intelligence Then and Now with Robert Draper
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump's relationship with the intelligence community is back in the news again after allegations that his administration manipulated an inte...
A Surprise UAE-Israel Deal
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a surprise announcement last week, the United Arab Emirates and Israel are normalizing relations, and Israel is putting on hold its plans for annex...
Adam Jentleson and Molly Reynolds on Getting Rid of the Senate Filibuster
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On July 30, former President Barack Obama, speaking at the funeral of Congressman John Lewis, threw his weight behind ending the Senate filibuster if ...
Shane Huntley on Countering Digital Threats at Google
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Alina Polyakova and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Shane Huntley, the director of Google...
Trump Takes Aim at TikTok and WeChat
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump recently issued executive orders aimed at banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in the United States. To discuss the sanction, Bobb...
The McGahn Decision and Proxy Voting
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington handed down a major en banc decision on the question of whether the president's former White ...
Jim Sciutto on Trump and 'The Madman Theory'
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
During the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon employed an unusual scare tactic in his efforts to reach a withdrawal—he led Vietnam to believe he was crazy e...
Chad Wolf vs. the Committee with No Bull
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday. He was a...
Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny Explain QAnon
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny, reporte...
DHS Compiles Intelligence on Journalists … Including our Editor-In-Chief
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“What if J. Edgar Hoover Had Been a Moron?” That’s the question Lawfare’s editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittes asks in a new article about his expe...
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic Staff Report on Diplomacy in Crisis
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last Friday the Lawfare Podcast brought you Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's full statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his que...
Michel Paradis on 'Last Mission to Tokyo'
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Michel Paradis is a scholar of international law and human rights who has worked for more than a decade for the U.S. Department of Defense Military Co...
Pompeo vs. the Committee with No Bull
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Pompeo was asked about the threats posed by China ...
Jillian C. York on Free Expression on a Broken Internet
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Kate Klonick and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Jillian C. York, the director for Intern...
Barr vs. the Committee with No Bull
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Attorney General William Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Barr was asked about the federal government's response to pro...
What to Do With Detained Islamic State Fighters in Iraq and Syria
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For a while, there have been large numbers of alleged former Islamic State state fighters and affiliates detained by the Iraqi government and by auton...
Anne Applebaum on the Twilight of Democracy
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Anne Applebaum is a columnist, writer, historian and most recently, the author of "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lore of Authoritarianism," a b...
How Corruption Works in China
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why has modern China prospered in spite of vast corruption? On this episode of ChinaTalk, Jordan Schneider talks with Yuen Yuen Ang, associate profess...
Hany Farid on Deep Fakes, Doctored Photos and Disinformation
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Hany Farid, a professor at the Universit...
Schrems II and the Future of Transatlantic Data
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, the European Court of Justice released its much awaited decision in Data Protection Commissioner v Maximilian Schrems, commonly known as Sc...
The Expanded Intelligence Activities of the Department of Homeland Security
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, Lawfare published an article revealing and analyzing a document from the Department of Homeland Security that offers legal guidance to anal...
The Forgotten War Remembered
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. Though often called the "Forgotten War," the Korean War has highly conditione...
John Allen and Darrell West on Artificial Intelligence
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Darrell West is vice president of the Brookings Institution and director of Governance Studies at Brookings. John Allen is the president of the Brooki...
Jane Lytvynenko on Debunking the Disinformation Garbage Fire
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Jane Lytvynenko, a senior reporter at BuzzFeed...
A Deep Dive on China and the Uighurs
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 Xinjiang. It concerns th...
David Rohde on the Supposed "Deep State"
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a 2018 poll, 74 percent of Americans said they believed that some group of unelected government and military officials was definitely or probably s...
COVID-19 and its National Security Implications in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard a lot about COVID-19 and its effects in the United States, China and East Asia, Europe and Brazil. But what about the Middle East, South ...
The Subpoena Cases Come Down
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, the Supreme Court, on the final day of its term, handed down the two big subpoena cases: Trump v. Vance, in which the president tried to be...
Brandi Collins-Dexter on COVID-19 Misinformation and Black Communities
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Brandi Collins-Dexter, the senior campai...
Xinjiang, Hong Kong and China
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The protests in Hong Kong have grabbed international headlines, but Hong Kong is hardly the only region of China that is experiencing brutal repressio...
David Priess on the History of the President's Daily Brief
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Priess is the chief operating officer of the Lawfare Institute. He is also a former CIA briefer for the Attorney General and the FBI director, a...
Chris Brose on 'The Kill Chain'
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Christian Brose was the staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he was also John McCain's senior policy adviser. He now works as th...
David Shimer on "Rigged"
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Goldsmith spoke with David Shimer, the author of "Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference." They discussed United ...
Darius Kazemi on The Great Bot Panic
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Darius Kazemi, an internet artist and bo...
Taking China to Court Over the Coronavirus
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the United States continues to suffer from the effects of the coronavirus, the controversy surrounding China's alleged role in the pandemic has con...
About Those Russian Bounties
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The New York Times and Washington Post both report that a Russian intelligence unit is paying bounties to Taliban-affiliated militants for killing coa...
Eric Posner on ‘The Demagogue's Playbook'
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Goldsmith sat down with Eric Posner, the Kirkland & Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, and the author of ...
Hong Kong’s Protests One Year On
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jordan Schneider, the host of ChinaTalk, sat down with Antony Dapiran, Hong Kong-based lawyer and author of two books on protests in Hong Kong. They d...
Whitney Phillips and Ryan Milner on Our Polluted Information Environment
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Whitney Phillips and Ryan Milner, author...
Election Meltdown Update
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
COVID-19 is still rampaging around the country, primaries in several states did not go as planned, and, of course, there are Russians lurking in the b...
Glenn Kessler on Donald Trump's Assault on Truth
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Glenn Kessler is the head of the Fact Checker staff of the Washington Post. Along with Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly, he is the author of the new book,...
John Bolton’s Book is Out of the Barn
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton's White House memoir, titled “The Room Where it Happened,” has made a lot of waves recently. Not only...
Mira Rapp-Hooper on 'Shields of the Republic'
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper is the Stephen A. Schwarzman senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the new book, "Shie...
Laura Rosenberger on Chinese Information Operations
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Alina Polyakova and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Laura Rosenberger, the director...
Norm Ornstein and John Fortier on the Continuity of Government
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Molly Reynolds spoke with Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center about the Continuity of ...
Lawrence Douglas on Presidential Election Concessions
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2020 presidential election is less than five months away. As the election inches closer and closer, concerns have grown about the possibility that...
Patrick Skinner on Warrior Cops and Neighborhood Policing
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Skinner is a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, who brings diverse experience to that job. He served as a case officer at the Central Intell...
Evan Osnos on Tiananmen and Lafayette
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
ChinaTalk is the newest member of the Lawfare Podcast family, and its impresario, Jordan Schneider, does a wide range of interviews related to China's...
Eileen Donahoe on Protecting Free Expression Online
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Alina Polyakova and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Eileen Donahoe, the Executive Directo...
David Frum on Trumpocalypse
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Frum is one of the most prominent and eloquent conservative critics of the president. The former George W. Bush speechwriter and current writer ...
Congressional Overspeech with Josh Chafetz
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
High profile congressional hearings, like the 2015 Benghazi hearings, the 2019 Mueller Report hearings and most recently, the Ukraine impeachment proc...
The Trump Administration’s Latest Moves to Dismantle the Iran Nuclear Agreement with Peter Harrell and Richard Nephew
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On May 27, the Trump administration announced that it was withdrawing sanctions waivers that had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to wo...
Covert Action, Regime Change and International Law with Michael Poznansky
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We normally think of international law as constraining leaders' actions, especially aggression toward other countries. But what if one effect of an es...
Ryan Merkley on Why Wikipedia Works
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Ryan Merkley, the chief of staff to the ...
Rashawn Ray on Police Violence
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Rashawn Ray is a David M. Rubenstein fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He's also an associate professor of sociology at t...
On the Brink with the Insurrection Act
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The president is threatening to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization. This evening, he appears to have ordered a tear gas attack on peaceful p...
Bart Gellman on 'Dark Mirror'
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Bart Gellman is the author of the new book, "Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State." Jack Goldsmith sat down with...
Eli Lake Makes the Case for Flynn
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Eli Lake is a columnist for Bloomberg and the author of a recent article in Commentary magazine on the case of Michael Flynn. In that article, he argu...
Gabrielle Lim on the Life and Death of Malaysia's Anti-Fake News Act
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Gabrielle Lim, a researcher with t...
Hong Kong Erupts
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hong Kong protesters are out in the streets once again, as the Beijing legislature contemplates a new national security law for the city, and the Hong...
The SpaceX Launch and the Future of Space Law
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday, NASA and the SpaceX Corporation are scheduled to send astronauts back into outer space from U.S. soil for the first time since the U.S. ...
Steve Teles on 'Never Trump'
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Teles is the author of a new book with Robert P. Saldin, "Never Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites." Benjamin Wittes spoke with Teles...
Deen Freelon on Why Black Trolls Matter
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Deen Freelon, an associate professor at ...
Trump and his Predecessors with Kate Andersen Brower
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There may not be many laws governing how former presidents should interact with the current commander-in-chief, or with each other, or how the sitting...
Firing Inspectors General
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump on Friday fired the inspector general of the State Department. It was the fourth time he had fired or removed an inspector general in ...
David Kaye on Free Speech During a Pandemic
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The global pandemic has raised searching questions about the relationship between a public health emergency and free speech. Jack Goldsmith sat down w...
Global Trade and Investment in the Coronavirus Era
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The global coronavirus pandemic has changed the way different corners of the world interact with each other, perhaps forever. Nowhere is this more tru...
Craig Silverman on Real Reporting on Fake News
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek spoke with Craig Silverman, the media editor for Buzzfeed...
Elizabeth Shackelford on 'The Dissent Channel'
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scott R. Anderson sat down with Elizabeth Shackelford, a former foreign service officer whose late 2017 resignation became a sign of growing disconten...
The President's Tax Returns and the Supreme Court
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court today held arguments in a blockbuster case. Do the Trump tax returns and associated financial documents at firms like Mazars and Deu...
'Unmaking the Presidency'
10 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From the moment of his inauguration, Trump has challenged our deepest expectations of the presidency. But what are those expectations? Where did they ...
Dropping the Flynn Case
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Justice Department moved this week to dismiss the charges against Michael Flynn, a man who had pled guilty to lying to the FBI. It was an extraord...
Tony Mills on Congress's Institutional Limitations in Responding to the Coronavirus
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Taylor sat down with Tony Mills, director of science policy at the R Street Institute, to talk about an article he recently wrote with Robert...
Aric Toler on How Not to Report on Disinformation
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For this week's episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Alina Polyakova talked to Aric Toler of Bellingcat, a coll...
The Lawfare Podcast Bonus Edition: John Ratcliffe vs. The Committee With No Bull
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Representative John Ratcliffe testified before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee as a part of his nomination for the position of Director of Na...
Jung Pak on 'Becoming Kim Jong Un'
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jung Pak is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a former CIA analyst and a North Korea specialist. She is the author of "Becoming Kim Jong U...
Law, Policy and Empire with Daniel Immerwahr
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us don’t think of United States history as an imperial history, but the facts are there. The law and policy surrounding westward expansion, ...
Tom Wheeler and Nicol Turner Lee on 5G Deployment and Digital Competition with China
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Taylor spoke with Brookings scholars Tom Wheeler and Nicol Turner Lee to discuss their new papers published as part of a two-year-long Brooki...
Thomas Rid on 'Active Measures,' Part 2
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth miniseries on disinformation, Quinta Jurecic and Alina Polyakova spoke with Thomas Rid about his new bo...
Thomas Rid on 'Active Measures,' Part 1
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Goldsmith spoke with Thomas Rid about Rid’s new book, "Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare." The book i...
Sophia Yan Reports from Quarantine in Beijing
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sophia Yan, a correspondent in Beijing for the London Telegraph, joined Benjamin Wittes from Beijing where she is in coronavirus lockdown after travel...
Coronavirus, Federalism and Supply Chains: A Case Study
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We've covered this novel coronavirus from many angles, focusing on the disaster response issues that make up part of national security. For this episo...
Charlie Warzel on the Pandemic Internet
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Kate Klonick and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Charlie Warzel, an opinion writer ...
Mom and Dad Talk Clinical Trials in a Pandemic
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There has been a lot of confusion during the COVID-19 crisis about what counts as legitimate clinical evidence that a treatment really works. The pres...
Former Congressman Brian Baird and Daniel Schuman on How Congress Can Continue to Function Remotely
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On April 16, former members of Congress participated in a "Mock Remote Hearing" via Zoom to test the viability of online congressional proceedings dur...
Is Contact Tracing a Privacy Threat?
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many people are holding out contact tracing as the way we are going to control the COVID-19 epidemic. Once we start opening up the economy again, it i...
The Lawfare Podcast Special Edition: The National Security Law Guys Talk Adjourning Congress, “Total Authority” and Guantanamo
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lawfare founder Bobby Chesney and Lawfare contributing editor Steve Vladeck host the weekly National Security Law Podcast from the University of Texas...
Camille François on Covid-19 and the ABCs of Disinformation
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of our Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Camille François, the Chief Innovation ...
Viktor Orbán Switches Democracy Off
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody has been more aggressive about using the coronavirus crisis to seize power than Hungarian strong man Viktor Orbán. Orbán declared a state of ...
ICE, CBP and Coronavirus Response
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it has been travel bans, family separation, or changes to asylum rules, the Trump administration has long been embroiled in controversies over...
Stan Brand on the State of Congressional Oversight and Subpoena Power
11 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Taylor sat down with Stan Brand, who served as the general counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983. They talked about ...
Jim Baker on FISA Errors
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Baker served as general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was also the counsel for the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review ...
Kate Klonick and Alina Polyakova on Pandemics, Platform Governance and Geopolitics
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Quinta Jurecic speaks with Alina Polyakova and Kate Klonick, who both have ex...
China, Technology and Global Supply Chains with the Cyberspace Solarium Commission
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
March 11 marked the launch of the official report of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. The commission is a bicameral, bipartisan intergovernmental b...
The United Nations and the Coronavirus Crisis
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The devastating effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 are being felt in nearly every corner of the world, with little regard for national borders or bou...
Stephen Holmes on Liberalism in the 21st Century
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Holmes is the Walter E. Mayer Professor of Law at New York University. With Ivan Krastev he is the author of "The Light that Failed: a Reckoni...
Nate Persily Asks Whether Democracy Can Survive the Internet
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Lawfare Podcast's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Nate Persily, the Jame...