International Security & Defense

25 Items

Vladimir Putin

Wikimedia CC/Kremlin.ru

Audio - Today Explained

The New Cold War

| Sep. 05, 2023

The Cold War started earlier than we think — and maybe never ended at all. Historian Calder Walton says understanding the US-Soviet conflict prepares us for this era of tensions with Russia and China.

Audio - A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

He Thought Like an Insurgent: Bernard Fall

| May 30, 2023

A Better Peace welcomes Nate Moir to discuss his book, Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare, which analyses Fall's life to understand what drove his thinking and understanding of the situation. He joins host John Nagl to explain how Fall was consistently ahead of the conventional wisdom.

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Analysis & Opinions

Private Sector Intelligence: On the Long Path of Professionalization

| May 18, 2022

The field of private sector intelligence can often be misinterpreted on the surface level as espionage, guards and gates. Its road to professionalization has been a long one and is still evolving. Maria Robson Morrow spoke with Fred Burton on the Ontic Protective Intelligence podcast on her dissertation research on building a better understanding of private sector intelligence's role in security risk mitigation and business decision-making. The conversation touches on her latest research on pathways to entry, the impact of intelligence cooperation, and camaraderie in mitigating security risks. The author also shares what surprised her most in her research and what she plans on digging into next.

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Analysis & Opinions

Former Moscow chief of station Rolf Mowatt-Larssen on the state of play in Ukraine - "Intelligence Matters"

| May 18, 2022

In this episode of "Intelligence Matters," host Michael Morell speaks with former senior CIA operations officer and Moscow station chief Rolf Mowatt-Larssen about the likely trajectory of the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of a negotiated peace — or dangerous escalation. Mowatt-Larssen offers insights on Putin's options, potential rifts among his intelligence agencies, and persistent rumors about the Russian leader's health. Morell and Mowatt-Larssen also discuss Western involvement in the conflict and the lingering potential for the Kremlin to use weapons of mass destruction. 

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Analysis & Opinions

Intel community weighs role of open source intelligence amid Ukraine conflict

| Apr. 21, 2022

Intelligence agencies have struggled to define how open source intelligence fits into its broader work, but the wide breadth of publicly available information about the Ukraine conflict, combined with proactive disclosures of classified information, are providing some clarity about OSINT’s role. Lauren Zabierek and Maria Robson Morrow spoke with the Federal News Network on how the public and private sectors are leveraging open source intelligence, including challenges and opportunities.

Audio - Canada’s History

Gouzenko Deciphered Part 2

| Oct. 07, 2020

Calder Walton is interviewed about the defection of the Russian cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, in September, 1945, who revealed to Canadian authorities a web of Soviet espionage spun throughout Canada, with threads running through atomic military research, Canadian parliament, and across the world — in Washington DC, London, and Moscow. Seventy-five years later, we can observe how this single defection sent ripples and cracks throughout the global military and political landscape.

Analysis & Opinions - NPR

Sue Gordon Discusses Her Decades-Long Intelligence Career, 1 Year After Quitting

| Aug. 14, 2020

One of the most senior intelligence officials to serve under the Trump administration is telling her story to NPR. Sue Gordon was principal deputy director of national intelligence. She was in line for an even higher post when she was forced out in 2019, ending a career that had lasted nearly four decades. Gordon has made some public comments. But this is by far her fullest account since leaving government. Her story illustrates the pressures that intelligence agencies face in 2020.

Audio - The Red Box Politics Podcast

From Russia with Love

| July 21, 2020

Matt Chorley is joined by two experts on Russia — Dr Jonathan Eyal from RUSI and Dr Calder Walton from Harvard — to dissect the Russia report, published by the British Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, and look at the country's history of interference abroad.

Audio - iHeartRadio

What Was the KGB?

| July 07, 2020

The KGB was the notorious strong arm of the Kremlin. Run afoul and you died. Learn all about them in a podcast featuring a discussion of Calder Walton's article, "Spies, Election Meddling, and Disinformation: Past and Present," which appeared in the Brown Journal of World Affairs.

Audio - Acast

Coronavirus: Intelligence Failure

| May 26, 2020

Dan Snow is joined by Calder Walton to talk about whether there was a huge intelligence failure around the outbreak of the pandemic, but also whether our intelligence communities are properly organized to realistically evaluate the real nature of the threats to our societies. He also has a bold idea to help avoid a future recurrence.